Rodding USA January/February 2019

Back in early August, I was on my annual trip to the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville. I was sitting on an American Airlines jet at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on the second leg from Tucson when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I looked up, and it was fellow Deuce roadster pickup owner and friend Don Lindfors. Don is the Exhaust R&D Manager at PerTronix Performance Products in San Dimas, CA and was headed to Louisville to staff their vendor display. We had dinner that night at the headquarters hotel, and in conversation, he asked if the Rodding USA Roadster Pickup was going to SEMA in October. I mentioned that the car was on a selection list from a company and that I would know in a week…

Brian Everett is a custom car lover from way back and has owned several top-notch show winning customs over the years, including his candy red Lil’ John-built ’50 Merc which won the 1997 Bailon Kandy Apple award. He is also a longtime member of the renowned Beatniks car club. One of Brian’s latest creations is this stunning 1940 Mercury built by Oz Welch Kustoms in Oroville California. Brian found the car in a run-down barn in Texas over twenty years ago and dragged it home to New Mexico, where it sat lost but not forgotten in his garage for over a decade. Brian, who happens to be a world-renowned tattoo artist and owner of Route 66 Tattoo in Albuquerque, spent several of those years gathering parts and creating the beautiful…

OWNER: Brian Everett – Tijeras, New Mexico CHASSIS: Stock 1940 Merc, boxed & modified. FRONT SUSPENSION: Fat Man Stage 4 w/air bags, power disc brakes. REAR SUSPENSION: Triangulated four-bar, 9” Ford, drum brakes, air bags. WHEELS/TIRES: 15” steelies, modified sombrero hubcaps, Coker wide whites. ENGINE: Ford Racing 306ci 340hp. TRANSMISSION: Lentech AOD Ford. BODY: Chopped top, ’39 Zephyr rear fenders, handmade skirts, suicide doors, channeled 5 inches, ’48 Ford taillights, extended front fenders and hood, frenched Dagmars, shaved trim, House of Kolor candy Pagan Gold paint. INTERIOR: 1964 T-bird bucket seats, tonneau cover, handmade headrests and console, white and beige tuck & roll upholstery, LeCarra art deco steering wheel, Flaming River tilt column, Lokar shifter.…

HRIA RECEPTION - BIG CROWDS AND BIG MONEY RAISED With over 400 hot-rod professionals in attendance, the much-anticipated 2018 Hot Rod Industry Alliance reception continued the tradition of honoring those who have served the hot-rodding industry. With former HRIA Chair Rick Love of Vintage Air emceeing the night, five prominent honorees were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the hot-rod industry. Award winners include: • Chairman Award: The late John Menzler of Comp Performance Group, accepted by his daughter Kristi • Industry Recognition Award: John Drummond of Goodguys Rod & Custom • Business of the Year: Bowler Performance Transmission • HRIA Hall of Fame Inductees • Bret Voelkel of RideTech • Tom Vogele of the NSRA Along with honoring these individuals for their dedication, the HRIA was also able…

September 22, 2018, was a big day for Rex and Annette Watson as they celebrated the Grand Opening of Affordable Street Rods’ new 12,000 square foot warehouse, showroom, and store in Peabody, Kansas. The day was made special with the help of a few hundred friends at their first annual Open House. Music, food, door prizes, facility tours, and hot rods filled the agenda while the early fall Kansas weather cooperated perfectly. According to Annette, “It was a great day. A huge number of our suppliers and manufacturers sent terrific door prizes. Most everyone who registered a car for the event left with something which was provided by one of our vendors.” Several hot rodding dignitaries made their way to the middle of Kansas to help the Watsons usher in…

Steve Lykken of Solvang, California has been building cars since his first one; a 1923 Ford roadster hit the streets in the early 1960s. From there he went on to build a 1932 Ford Phaeton, which was based on a Wescott fiberglass body. He completed that car in the early 1980s and then built an Art Gooding fiberglass ’32 Vicky which he customized into a sedan delivery complete with rear “gull wing” door. Then in 1985, he bought the California Star from Don Varner and kept it for 29 years before selling it to Blackie for his collection. In 2013, Brookville Roadster began building their ‘32 Roadster pickup, and he just had to have a real steel car for once. He was used to doing his own fiberglass work, but…