Tabla de contenidos para July/August 2022 en Rodding USA

rodding event York, Pennsylvania, may be best known for Harley Davidson, but if you're a Hot Rodder, you know York for something different, the Street Rod Nationals East, more commonly referred to as Nats East. I would venture to say that over the years, we've all read hundreds of articles in car magazines, and let's be honest, they all start to sound the same. This time, I will tie in a personal connection to spark some nostalgia. The Nats East and I have a personal connection. I grew up in a family with a father who wasn't into sports. We tried the little league thing, and my dad even coached, but it didn’t really work out well for either of us. However, that didn't stop my father from bonding with…

Hot rodding was in its infancy in 1947 when a group of guys who enjoyed modifying, driving, and racing their old cars decided to start a car club in San Diego. Frank Wilkinson (member #7) suggested Prowlers for the name, and the group and future members would forever be known as the San Diego Prowlers. During the first year, they decided to hold an annual picnic, and here we are in 2022, celebrating 75 years of the club's existence. On June 4th, the event was held at the beautiful El Monte Park, which is in the mountains 26 miles east of San Diego. The weather couldn't have been any better, with early morning clouds clearing to stunning blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. The park opens at 9:30, and…

1934 FORD 3-WINDOW COUPE In 1973 I was driving what I thought was my dream car, a 1940 Ford coupe hot rod that I’d been working on for a year. Then I found an old ’34 Ford 3-window coupe with a chopped top, and the ’40 was soon up for sale. The ’34 was a well-used old race car, a refugee from the Southern California dry lakes and drag strips of the ’50s and ’60s. The coupe had an old 331ci Cadillac engine and 4-speed Hydro transmission when I bought it. I learned from a previous owner that the car had been chopped in 1951 and run with everything from a flathead Ford to blown Olds and Cadillac V8s. The 10-inch engine set back, roll bar, ’56 Olds rear axle,…

1939 FORD COUPE When Lance Stevens of Molina, Oregon, saw this ‘39 Ford coupe on social media, he knew it was a match made in heaven. Lance knew what he liked and, taking the trip a little north to Mike Bach’s place, put the proof in the pudding. Nineteen thirty-nine was the year that Henry Ford gave up the battle against hydraulic brakes. It was also one of the last years of a historic run of beautiful cars designed by Edsel Ford and E.T. “Bob” Gregorie. That duo penned the lines of the early Lincolns, including the ’37 Lincoln Zephyr and the ’41 Lincoln Continental. This coupe, built by Mike Bach in Ellensburg, Washington, checks all the boxes. From the powder blue paint, matching blue and white tuck n roll…

There is a deep love and special place in my heart for classic cars, and my mind is full of fond memories from my childhood and the times I Would travel to, various car shoves with my dad, Mike DeVriendt. Fast forward to 2019, and little did I know what a special moment it would also be when this puppy entered my life, At the time, we Were not anticipating getting a dog, but when my husband James met this puppy at ten weeks of age, he could not help but notice how his coloring and appearance gave a resemblance that was very similar to my dad’s classic ford Woodie. So right there, his name was chosen (Woody), and the damage wasdone; as they say, the rest history! The Bernese…

One of my major street rod aggravations is that I see a pedestal-style third brake light every time I look in the rearview mirror. The third brake light reminds me of a mushroom growing in the back window. I would not drive a street rod without one, so what is an economic solution that could easily retrofit to almost any car. How do we keep the light highly visible from the outside and out of sight from the inside? Instead of mounting the light on the top of the inside window molding, can we mount the light inside the molding? By adding a piece of sheet metal, we can extend the lower lip of the window molding high enough to cover and hide a thin Light Emitting Diode third brake…

1938 NOVELTY CARRIAGE WORKS SCHOOL BUS You may remember many a mile in a rambling, noisy and uncomfortable school bus as a child. The seats were hard, and the overhead bookracks were murderous. The saving grace in some instances was that the long exhaust pipe, unfettered by much of a muffler, would sound cooler than most hot rods. Butch Busse remembered such rides. So when it came to getting some transportation for him and his buddies to local sports events, he wanted to make some changes. Starting with an original 1938 School Bus by Novelty Carriage Works, Spokane, Washington, Steve's Auto Restorations in Portland, Oregon, had their work cut out. They widened the front fenders, and the rear fenders were shop built, as were the Art Deco front and rear…

1934 FORD ROADSTER Patti (Houge) has loved cars since I met her in 1969. She loved driving my 1965 Corvette; her first car was a 1966 Mustang with a stick shift. Before we were married, she helped me build my first hot rod, a ’40 Ford coupe, including stripping off all the old paint. When I found Rosie, my ’34 coupe, she was very involved in its restoration. After I finished Rosie, Patti asked me to build her a real hot rod, a hi-boy roadster. So in the late ’70s, I built Jezebel, a ’30 Ford Roadster on ’32 rails. It was the nicest car I had ever built, and she loved it. Unfortunately, it was a little too nice and required a lot of cleaning to keep it up.…

We all have different reasons for building or owning a hot rod. Some people enjoy the building process, some are more into the social aspect of attending car shows, rod runs, and other events. Whatever your real reason may be, there is probably no denying that actually getting behind the wheel and putting some miles on the odometer and some smiles on your face is a fun part of it. As with any motorized form of pleasure, that requires providing fuel to the engine, and therefore keeping track of how much fuel is in the tank. Nothing spoils a nice drive quicker than running out of fuel. Unless of course you are in the beer commercial where the guy runs out of gas in front of the farmers house and…

Dennis Groundwater has owned this '47 Ford Convertible since 1978. He found it through a small advertisement in Hemmings Motor News that said, "Rust-free 1947 Ford convertible body and frame located in Boise, Idaho, $750." After contacting the owner, he discovered the car was located at a wrecker's yard in the sleepy city of Emmett, just northwest of Boise. The car's last year of registration was 1955, and for the following 23 years had sat on its side on two 45-gallon drums. It had been picked clean of parts; however, the body and chassis were in pretty good shape and mostly rust-free. Sounding like it was just what he wanted, he was soon heading to Boise with two friends to trailer the body and chassis back home. He already had…

1934 FORD SEDAN Leap back in time to 1957, and we find a San Diego teenager/hot rodder named Andy Smith who has just run across a “cherry” 1934 Ford Sedan for sale. It has no engine, but his dad had a 1946 59-A Ford V8 in the workshop that he had purchased out of a wrecked car. Andy had been working on a ’33 Ford pickup, but the sedan was the car he wanted. He purchased it and had only one week to install the new engine before the college semester began. With the help of fellow Road Rambler (club member) Bob Ellery, they managed to fabricate new engine mounts and get the ’34 on the road. Over the next four years, Andy would continue to modify and improve the…

Most rodders continue to make changes and upgrades to their cars, so even a finished car is never done. The Rodding USA 1934 Ford Coupe was first completed in 1976 and has undergone three rebuilds. The last was a frame-off, ground-up redo of the old car, which took place from 1998-2000. The car never had air conditioning, so a generic in-dash unit was installed during the rebuild. The drawback to the installation location was the loss of the cowl vent and the glove box. I never had much luck with the unit keeping the car cool. We installed a Vintage Air Heritage ac/heat system in the Rodding USA Roadster Pickup, and like all products from Vintage Air, it has worked exceptionally well. A call to Vintage Air and a Heritage…

90 Years of the Deuce was the theme for the 2022 Yellow Brick Road Show in Liberal, Kansas, held on May 13 & 14,2022. Hot rodder Billy Hill and his family, owners of Billy's Ayr Lanes, hosted the event for the 17th time. The event kicks off on Friday with registration all day and a free BBQ dinner for all the participants. The evening included entertainment by Elton Dan and the Rocket Band along with Robb Steward and GDD Stevie. Bright and early on Saturday morning, the cars began filing into Light Park for the big show. In fact, at the final count, the total reached 302. As for the 90 Year of the Deuce celebration, the final count was 46, with stunning rods from Kansas and several surrounding states.…