Tabla de contenidos para Volume 3, Issue 25 - October 2022 en Modern Rodding

There’s nothing worse than the feeling of passing up a truly golden opportunity. This nagging emotion doesn’t usually rear its ugly head until it’s too late to do anything about it. Not one to put himself in such a predicament, Bruce Benson, of Chandler, Arizona, made sure to purchase a very special hot rod when the opportunity arose—and it did when this ’36 Ford three-window coupe was put in front of him. Bruce worked in the auto dealer business as well as being an avid hot rodder since the early ’70s, and in that time he has developed quite the palate for unique cars. While he is retired from work, he is still very active in building custom cars. Over the years, he has made a lot of friends and…

A’56 Chevy may look like all other ’56 Chevys but such isn’t the case within the world of hot rods. For Aubrey King, of Tennessee, he knew he wanted a ’56 Chevy, his favorite Tri-Five. He also knew he wanted all the modern accessories that would turn this vintage tin into a modern hot rod rolling under traditional sheetmetal. To pull all this together Aubrey, along with a number of close friends, and, most importantly, Mike Hoover of Fab-Auto, teamed up to bring this project together. The ’56 Chevy is based on a 210 Delray, and from the outside, with very few giveaways, this is a stocker. Danchuk supplied all the exterior and interior trim along with the glass and bumpers to bring this ’56 together. The sheetmetal at one…

One of the greatest pleasures of owning a hot rod or custom is the freedom to pack your bags, top off the tank, and hit the open road with a fun destination in mind. There’s nothing better than the sound of a fine-tuned V-8 as it moves though the gears while putting down the miles to one of the East Coast’s largest events. For the 22nd year, the NAPA Auto Parts Syracuse Nationals played host to some of the country’s hottest hop-ups at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse for the three-day horsepower festival packed with an endless schedule of cool things to do. Once checked in at the host hotel it’s a short hop to the fairground to start the weekend as you cruise into the venue, motoring…

Behind every influential fabrication shop is a support system that helped make a dream, the ’56 Buick convertible you see before you, turn into a reality. Now, that dream is as different and unique as each individual business, but in the case of Ross Logsdon of Premier Street Rod, of Lake Havasu, Arizona, he was looking to turn his passion of tinkering in the back of his parents’ parts shop into a full-blown automotive revolution. If you pay any attention to customized classic vehicles at all, then you’ve most likely run into the Premier name a time or two. While Ross’ folks, Rob and Kerry, laid the foundation for their son’s passion by opening a retail service most notable for offering GM-licensed vintage Chevy truck bodies, it was ultimately two…

When we concluded our Summit Racing LS (330ci) engine build last time we had the block all dialed in and the 3.622-inch stroked crankshaft in place. And while it doesn’t sound like a lot of progress, working with the team at American Heritage Performance (AHP) and their chief engine builder Kyle Martelli, we illustrated just how much prepwork is involved before engine assembly can begin. Thorough block inspection is paramount to a successful performance engine build, and Martelli’s attention to detail will no doubt show through when we put our LS engine through its paces on AHP’s dyno. But before that can happen, we need to continue with the assembly process, starting with the rotating assembly. To continue with our Summit build, it should come as no surprise that we…

Customs designed and crafted today are a far cry from the customs of the ’60s yet each have their place in our world. Garrett Jedlicki of Minnesota is no stranger to the world of hot rods or customs, and neither is his association with Cole Foster of the Salinas Boys Customs. As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the pair teamed up once again to test their “limits.” The result is the ’37 LaSalle Opera coupe done in a modern custom car approach. (A few years back Foster built a traditional ’32 Ford highboy roadster for Garrett, complete with an ARDUN-powered Flathead. Simple in its approach yet exceptional in its result.) Garrett had his heart set on the Series 50 while Foster was harboring more of a ’40…

The Last Roundup This year will be the last Hot Rod Roundup event sponsored by the Shades of the Past Car Club out of Maryville, Tennessee. This will be the 39th year and it marks the end of a long tradition for the two-day car show. It has long been recognized as one of the finest events in the country. It appears that the contract that Shades of the Past has had with Splash Country Water Parks runs out this year and it cannot be renewed. The club has looked about and feels it cannot find a suitable location. We can only hope something can happen and the event in some form or fashion “rises from the ashes.” It should be noted that the Triple Crown of Rodding will continue…

In the earliest days of our hobby, innovative hot rodders identified that increasing power wasn’t the only way to go faster in their stripped-down coupes and roadsters. Decreasing wind resistance was also key. Chopped tops and lowered stances not only looked cool, they reduced the overall height of the bricks-on-wheels these racers were trying to push across the dry lakes. But there was another modification that came into favor early on known as channeling. The premise is simple: cut out and raise the floor of the car to slide the body down over the frame. The result thins the car’s profile and reduces wind resistance, shaving valuable seconds from e.t.’s in the process. Aesthetically, channeling has just as much impact as chopping a car. Though we all love the styling…

One of the realities of hot rodding is once you are married a family is not too far behind. J.D. Terry, of Oklahoma, could see the handwriting on the wall. He purchased his ’61 Chevy Brookwood station wagon as a stocker and all original. His intentions were to build a cross-country driver that could hall himself, his wife, Carissa, and their two daughters, Layla and G.G. Once J.D. had the Brookwood home he got with his longtime friend Seth Curry of Curry Custom Fab and disassembled the car, returning the chassis and body parts to J.D. From here J.D. went to work. Eric Banks of B T Powder Coating helped with the complete frame, inner fenders, core support, and numerous other odds and ends that needed to be powdercoated. Supplying…

Model A coupes have an iconic look that has been considered cool since people started modifying them back in the ’40s. A lot of builders chop the tops on these cars, and the original fabric insert in the center of the roof is often replaced by welding in a metal insert. Natalie Bolea wanted a traditional A coupe on a ’32 frame, but she wanted something that stood out from the crowd, so she contacted Craftworks Fabrication in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, to get their take on it. E.J. Talik, the proprietor, has a long history of doing finely crafted metalwork, and he loves to find unique ways to add style to his customer’s projects. The top would be chopped of course, but instead of welding in a metal roof insert, he…