Indice dei contenuti per Volume 4, Issue 34 - July 2023 in Modern Rodding

It was at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2022 where I first saw the Jimmy Summers ’36 Ford custom coupe. I had heard stories of this forerunner of outstanding early customs but had never seen it in person. Over the years I may have seen a few old-timey black and white snaps before being exposed to some pics of it at a recent Pebble Beach Concours. I remember thinking, “What a distinctive look.” But thanks to Jim Bobowski of New Jersey, the current owner and the one responsible for the impeccable restoration, I and many others were able to stand back and take in the amazing style. Finally having a chance to stand there in front of the custom and take it in I thought to myself, “The stylized…

There are two types of rodders: the DIY guy who likes to do as much work on his car as he is able and the guy who can’t afford to take the time building a car demands but has the means to pay a professional. For the DIY guy, this article will help him learn how to achieve professional results cutting and buffing paint to perfection. For the guy who can afford to pay a professional, it will help him understand why cutting and buffing to concours quality is such an expensive proposition. A couple months ago I got a call from my friend Harold Clay saying he was in Biloxi, Mississippi, attending a PPG Restoration Class taught by Charley Hutton. I was kind of surprised because I know Clay…

There are two for sure iconic Chevy body styles: the “bat wing” cars of 1959 and 1960 and the “bubbletop” cars introduced in 1961. In fact, at first glance, one might think a ’60 Chevy might be the revered bubbletop but, alas, it isn’t. The ’59 and ’60 body will continue to be one of the most sought-after body styles in our world of hot rodding. Dave Jacobsen of Naples, Florida, is one such hot rodder who truly is keen on the ’60 Chevy Impala and he shows us just what can be done (not overdone) to a ’60 Chevy Impala to come away with an amazing-looking hot rod. In an interesting twist of “how did you come by your project?”, Dave found the ’60 Chevy Impala he thought would…

This track-nosed ’27 Ford highboy roadster comes from longtime and well-known hot rodder Jon Hall. Many car guys will know Jon as he is the founder and owner of Shadow Rods and the owner of Motor City Flathead, both of Michigan. Both companies are longtime hot rod fixtures and an integral part of this build. It’s been said that it takes a “lot of friends” to build your hot rod; such was the case for Jon and his ’27 Ford roadster. Beginning with a “clean sheet” and ending up with a roller, it was all done at Shadow Rods led by Jon with the likes of Randy Norton and Ashley Root. Substantial amounts of sheetmetal work was then performed by Dave Autin while considerable machining was handled by Cliff Samual.…

One of the most frustrating experiences for any of us trying to build our next hot rod is to put the time, effort, and money into a project only to find out that it isn’t what we thought. In fact, if it is worse than we could have imagined it’s now back to square one. Such was the case of Greg Tidwell of Northern California and his current project. The ’50 Ford woodie that you see before you is the result of overcoming adversity and it’s as fine a result as one could wish. What came before, not so much. Greg’s first effort was the purchase of a ’51 Ford woodie some time ago that turned out to be a combination of “rust bucket” and “terminate wagon”—neither spawning ideas of…

Track roadsters have been popular since the beginning of hot rodding. The style was first developed for pure race cars, but this iconic look has been used on street-driven cars for generations. Jon Hall, the founder of Shadow Rods, wanted to build a car based on one of his XL27 bodies that boasts a modern interpretation of this traditional theme. The car was meant to be special in many ways. It features the first all-cast aluminum Flathead V-8 engine from Motor City Flathead, a division of Shadow Rods. It is fitted with numerous, one-of-a-kind accessories; most are made of cast aluminum as well. Subtle modifications to the body and chassis abound, such as a wedge section to lower the cowl, lengthened and flush-fitted doors, and a Shadow Rods–stamped ’32 Ford–style…

When setting up our project car or truck, it often comes down to the smallest or simplest of parts that can make the biggest of differences. Such is the case with the brakes on our hot rods. Braking is something that we should never take for granted. As such, the brake pads (while not the most glamorous of parts) can yield the most significant results. To make sure we have the right brake pads, we looked at the Duralast line. Duralast’s three-tiered brakes offering gives you the greatest opportunity to match your driving needs. Granted, not all cars have four-or even two-wheel disc brakes but the reality is the vast majority currently do. It is our intention in this article to look at the Duralast family of brake pads—Duralast, Duralast…

When Willys-Overland Motors debuted the Americar, performance was never part of the program, but the Willys coupe became a common sight at just about any dragstrip in the country during the ’60s. The Candy Apple Red ’41 Willys on these pages has gone through a huge transformation, but it once burned up the dragstrips in Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas during the gasser wars of the mid ’60s. This is one of three Willys coupes campaigned by Atlanta-area racer Bogan Renfroe from 1965-70, and now belongs to his son Beau of Murrayville, Georgia, and will be handed down to the third generation. After all, this is more than just a car—it’s a member of the Renfroe family. Bogan’s first Willys was set up for A/Gas with a 427ci Ford engine,…

At one time Buick’s advertising slogan was: “When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them.” Arguably some of the best examples of those better Buicks they made were the ’63-65 Rivieras. Marketed as a personal luxury vehicle, Rivieras were designed to compete with such cars as the Ford Thunderbird, Chrysler 300-J, Studebaker Avanti, and even the Pontiac Grand Prix. Introduced in late 1963 as a ’63 model, along with the classy sheetmetal came a revised version of GM’s X-frame that would be the basis for the Riviera’s new E-body chassis. While the frame was in fact new, the suspension was standard Buick with the roll centers lowered to reduce body lean. As a result, automotive writers of the day gave the Riviera high marks for its excellent balance, comfort,…