Rodding USA July/August 2019

LARS Support and participation are the keys to any events, success, and longevity. It takes hundreds and sometimes thousands of hours of planning, meetings, and hard work to make these events come together, and when they are done right, it becomes a win-win for both the participants and the promoters. Five years ago, the L.A. Roadster Show celebrated its 50th anniversary, and it was the “show of all shows” and is still talked about to this day. Rodding USA produced an exclusive 116-page pictorial which chronicled several groups of rodders who made the trek to California from various points in the U.S., along with the event. The Fairplex in Pomona was filled to the brim with roadsters, specialty cars, swappers, vendors, and spectators. If you did not attend, you missed,…

If you’ve ever stopped by the bright red tractor-trailer featuring the iconic Edelbrock logo on the side which is parked at any one of the many shows across the country, you may have met Smitty Smith. You may have also had the opportunity to see his stunning 1937 Ford truck, which sits right and rides like a dream. He tries to drive it to as many events as possible, even when he is working in the Edelbrock vendor area. Smitty has been with Edelbrock for 28 years with the tile of Technical Sales Coordinator and the Media Technical & Application Information Specialists. Before being employed by Edelbrock, he worked for several speed shops in Southern California. He has drag raced for many years while also being involved in custom car…

OWNER: Smitty Smith - Mar Vista, CA FRONT SUSPENSION: From the back of the cab forward is all 1987 Dodge Dakota Truck, IFS front clip, Dakota power disc brakes, Dakota power rack & pinion, Edelbrock IAS Shocks, Russell brake lines. REAR SUSPENSION: From the back of the cab rearward is a 1967 Chevy Corvette rear clip, complete Corvette IRS, 4.11 Posi, 5-leaf spring, Corvette power disc brakes, Edelbrock IAS shocks, Russell brake lines, Lokar HT emergency-brake cables. CHASSIS: Dodge Dakota front half, Chevy Corvette rear, grafted together, boxed all around and reinforced where they meet and intersect with each other by Bill & Jerry Kruger of Kruger Kustom, Jefferson, OR BODY: Original and the first year of the 4-inch longer bed & split windshield. Solid Oak Bed Floor custom rear…

On Sunday, April 28, 2019, Shelby’s Way hosted the inaugural version of their Deuces of the Bluegrass event. The Club at UK’s Spindletop Hall, located north of Lexington, Kentucky provided a scenic location for an intimate gathering of hot rods from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. This 2000-acre farm is the former home of Pansy Yount, wife of Miles Franklin Yount of the Yount-Lee Oil Company. It is currently the home of the University of Kentucky’s staff, faculty, and alumni club, which was founded in 1962. Mark Cain, President/Founder of Shelby’s Way, organizes multiple events throughout the year to raise suicide and depression awareness. These include the Hot Rod Hullabaloo, Shelby’s Hot Rod Roundup, and now Deuces of the Bluegrass. It was at this location in May 2018…

Pebble Beach has presented historic hot rods, beginning in 1997, usually in alternate years. The first class winner was Bruce Meyer’s Doane Spencer ’32 Ford Roadster. This year, the class will be comprised of eight Historic Hot Rod “Cover Cars.” The earliest is from the 1940’s; the latest from the 1990s. We’ll be reuniting the Tommy Ivo T and the ex-Norm Grabowski “Kookie Car,” for the first time in over 50 years. The Kookie Car was owned by Jim “Street,” Skonzakes. Ross Myers bought it at a Mecum Auctions sale last year, and Roy Brizio is restoring it to its original configuration. Jack Rosen has owned the Tommy Ivo T for many years. It was on display most recently at the NHRA Museum in Pomona. Ivo famously snuck into Norm’s…

New Zealand has long been a repository of American cars, and Kiwi hot rodding was born long ago from the seeds sewn by USA hot rod mags and old cars and parts sitting in wrecking yards. Jump forward 50 years to a renewed interest and growth spurt thanks to the internet and ease of shipping. Dave’s interest in collector cars has always been keen and was rekindled following a chance meeting in 2012. From there the collection grew quickly from just one car (a 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe) to four with another on the way. This presented a problem because there were more cars to house than there was space available in the home garage. An exhaustive search on Auckland’s North Shore failed to provide a suitable commercial building but…