Rodding USA January/February 2020

Welcome to 2020 and Happy New Year to all of our subscribers, readers, and advertisers. As we jump into the new decade, we have plenty to look forward to as a new year of events and shows are just around the corner, and we will be there to cover many of them. The last decade ended with a big bang in the publishing world as TEN announced the end of printed editions of 19 of their publications, which included Car Craft, Hot Rod Deluxe, Street Rodder, Super Chevy, Truckin’ and 14 others. This is indeed sad news considering that five years ago, Source Interlink (renamed as TEN) shuttered 12 other titles including Rod and Custom and Popular Hot Rodding. In a mere 5 years, they’ve managed to eliminate 31 print…

Everyone knows that hot rodding is not a poor man’s hobby and that some hot rods are labeled as “budget builds.” The fact is, however, that all hot rods are built within a budget…some of those budgets are more significant than others. Nothing is wrong with that, as guys and gals building hot rods help to keep the economy going. Not everyone fits into that category of being able to throw money in the right direction until you have the hot rod of your dreams. In some situations, being talented can make up for not being wealthy. Vince Baker fits into that category. He grew up in his late dad’s machine shop and spent a lot of time hanging out with St. Louis’ hot rodding elite, learning what looked good…

OWNER: Vince Baker - Troy, Missouri CHASSIS: 1/4” x 2” x 5” Alcoa aluminum, pinched in front, tapered 5” to 3” fabricated by the owner. FRONT SUSPENSION: Aluminum torsion bar and hairpins fabricated by the owner. Pete & Jake’s front axle, brakes, spindles, and steering arms, with Saginaw 525 steering box. REAR SUSPENSION: Winters magnesium quick-change rear end with owner fabricated tubes and Mittler Brothers ends. Quarter elliptical springs with friction shocks and aluminum hairpins fabricated from 1” x 0.125” wall tubing by the owner. TIRES/WHEELS: Tires – Front/185/85–15 Hankook, Rear/285/70-15 BF Goodrich T/A Radials. Wheels – Front/15 x 6 Swapmeet Specials, Rear/15 x 10 Swapmeet Specials. ENGINE: 1974 Ford 2.0 liter, TRW pistons, Sig Erson cam, stock aluminum water pump, heads and valve covers, Offenhauser intake manifold, Holley 600…

Bernie Couch of Fullerton, California, spotted a 1932 Ford roadster in the used car lot of McCoy & Mills Ford in 1940. The price was $285.00. He was 16 and thanks to his brother cosigning with him, he purchased the Deuce, which included a chopped windshield and top. He was the fourth owner and would keep it for the next 79 years. He drove the ’32 for a couple of years but then decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was assigned to the USS Coral Sea aircraft carrier in the Pacific from 1943-45. Upon his return to Southern California, he retrieved the roadster from his parent’s garage and joined the California Roadsters car club. Soon after, the fenders were removed and many weekends would…

The Outriders car club is the oldest continuous running club in the U.S.A., which was established in 1932. For the last 38 years, they have held a club picnic which is not open to the public and entry is by “invitation only.” There are 1000 invites with each club member receiving 15 tickets to share with their car friends. The event was held at Oak Canyon Park in Irvine, California on September 15, 2019. Approximately 400 cars were on the field, and there are NO awards given out. 5,000 raffle tickets are sold in two hours at the beginning of the event with numerous prizes, including one cash prize of $3,500. This year’s menu included 54 gallons of beans and 300 pounds of tri-tip, and there were no left-overs at…

Scottsdale’s West World played host to the 23rd Annual Southwest Nationals, and it was a perfect weekend for a car show. Friday’s high temp was 83 degrees, followed by 79 and 85 on Saturday and Sunday. In turn, the spectators turned out in droves to see nearly 4,000 1972 and earlier rods and customs of every make, model, shape and color. As is customary at the last Goodguys show of the year, all major award winners from throughout the year were on display, and the National AutoCross winner was also crowned. The swap meet had a record number of vendors along with a vast array of vehicles in the “Cars 4 Sale Corral.” Malena and I staffed the Rodding USA vendor space, which featured our Project RPU along with our…