Table of contents for Volume 3, Issue 27 - December 2022 in Modern Rodding

1. W.I.D.E. CONTACT BAND JOINS DAKOTA DIGITAL TEAM Dakota Digital has been a distributor of W.I.D.E. door contacts since its inception in 1995 using the trade name Magnum Shooters, but has since purchased the product line completely. The W.I.D.E. Contact models are offered in a range of a number of contacts, both with and without pin switches for dome light activation. Dakota Digital was built around the idea of adding modern and convenient features to a custom vehicle. For more info, check out Dakota Digital by calling (800) 852-3228 or visit dakotadigital.com. 2. BEAUTIFUL CURVES Engineered Components (ECI) offers versatile tubing benders with their 4 in 1 tubing bender, capable of bending 3/16-, 1/4-, 5/16-, and ⅜-inch tubing up to 180 degrees at a 1-inch centerline radius. The 2 in…

We must all take a moment to be thankful for all the talented hot rodders who appreciate our youths’ “dream cars” and use their talents to make sure they don’t vanish. The number of restorations and tribute cars we’ve all seen over the past few decades should allow all of us to enjoy the cars of our dreams or allow us to see cars we would have never otherwise seen. One more to add to the collection of history brought back to life is the Dick Williams ’27 Ford channeled roadster originally built in 1951-52. Winner of the title America’s Most Beautiful Roadster from the 1953 National Roadster Show is back once again and in all its former glory. (The first show was held on January 19, 1950, at the…

Hot rodding continues to evolve, and it opens the door for many more build options. It’s becoming way more common to order a complete rolling chassis instead of piecemealing a frame and suspension system in your home shop. Back in the day, hot rodders would find a Camaro or Nova front subframe and rearend housing to bring their car into the modern age. While it’s still possible to achieve a smooth ride with the old-school approach, there are obvious advantages to the modern method of using a complete chassis. Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs, based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, is one of the leading suppliers of custom frame and suspension systems for hot rods, customs, classic trucks, and more. We recently had the opportunity to follow along with the process of…

This month’s Parting Shot is looking at “TV Tommy” Ivo’s iconic T-bucket. We are fortunate to have hot rod historian extraordinaire Greg Sharp writing the historic look. It will appear in a rapidly approaching issue of Modern Rodding. To finish off the T-bucket story we have historical photos from Tommy himself. Now, we are also going to give you a sneak peek from Dave Rocha showing his build. It’s a tribute T-bucket that he is building that is as “correct” to the original as possible. We have been following this build for several years and Rocha is making progress, but it does take time. Let’s take a preview of how Sharp opens the Ivo story: “Anyone who’s been around hot rodding more than a minute knows the name ‘TV Tommy’…

Before the SUV and the minivan there was the station wagon. One can arguably state that when it comes to the station wagon America has done it bigger and better than anyone else. Originally conceived as a doorless people and cargo mover on a truck platform in the early 1900s, by the middle of the 1920s Ford had added some civility to it with the introduction of the Woodie. That refinement continued after World War II as wooden bodies gave way to steel panels and a foundation based on passenger car chassis. By virtue of their passenger car underpinnings, by the mid ’60s many of these wagons shared the front clips with the muscle car offerings of that era. If you’re into muscle cars and have a soft spot for…

The “backstory” on just about every hot rod is where the real story lies. Frankie Klepadlo of SoCal is no different, as the real story on his ’30 Ford five-window coupe began years ago. Frankie’s ’30 Ford chopped-and-channeled coupe has finally made the road after six years of painstaking effort. But the backstory tells us it began a long time before that. It’s best to hear this story from Frankie himself. “This is the story of my ’30 Ford chopped-and-channeled five-window coupe. The car is named ‘The Six Year Coupe’ for the obvious reason that it took six years to complete the build. But this Model A really started back in 1993. I was 5 years old and an avid car collector—Hot Wheels car collector, that is. My dad would…

In our last installment on Doug Melson’s ’47 Dodge, we delved into the coupe’s history and the somewhat bumpy road it’s traveled en route to becoming a nicely restyled hot rod. Without recounting every gory detail, the old Dodge was shuffled between several shops (bearing the brunt of at least one less-than-skilled bodyman along the way) before finally getting back on track at Cody Walls’ Delaware shop, Traditional MetalCraft. Based on a subtle but complete design overhaul by Eric Black at e. Black Design Co., every panel of the coupe is being nipped and tucked to create a profile that’s significantly racier and more aggressive than anything Dodge produced at the time. After tackling the tail end (the rear fender and decklid work we showed previously), Walls moved forward on…

The idea of stuffing a big engine into a small car isn’t a new concept, but it has certainly been refined through the years. Dodge experimented with Hemi-powered Dodge Darts in 1968 but the freakish cars were never produced with street driving in mind. Although Mark and Donna Stewart didn’t intend on building a drag racing tribute with their ’65 Dodge, the general idea of a Hemi Dart pays homage to those crafty engineers who threw caution to the wind back in the day. Mark’s modern-day approach is a well-sorted machine that combines distinct styling, reliable horsepower, and creature comforts, a far cry from the origins of this economic two-door sedan. Mark’s journey with this car started in 2016 when he found the clean California survivor and shipped it home…

Goodguys is Texas Motor Speedway Bound Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, the world’s largest hot rod association and producer of car shows, has moved its office headquarters from Pleasanton, California, to inside the 10-story Lone Star Tower overlooking Turn Two of Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The move marks the end of a two-decade-long residency in the Bay Area, during which the company experienced the most significant period of growth in its 39-year history. Nicknamed “The Great American Speedway,” the facility in Fort Worth provides a more synergistic location for the expanding association, which began its event series in 1983 as a one-day get-together for Bay Area builders. While new tenants to the speedway, 2022 is the 25th year Goodguys has hosted a show at the venue. The…

https://youtu.be/HabZs_LGL74 It’s been 40 years that the Shades of the Past Car Club has presented the Hot Rod Roundup. This year was its 39th (lost a year due to COVID-19) and the last one. It was one of the premier events in the South—many would say the country. While the Hot Rod Roundup was hosted this year and for the past dozen years at Dollywood’s Splash Country in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, this “roundup” has seen various locations as its home, always growing and always getting better. The needs of Dollywood for expansion and the needs of the club having changed led to a match of “needs” and the Shades of the Past Car Club has opted to bring to a close a well-documented and experienced chapter of American hot rodding.…

Have you ever seen an Acadian Canso Sport Deluxe before? If you answered “no” don’t feel too badly, as most folks cannot attest to knowing much about it either, especially anywhere outside of Canada. The Acadian was essentially the Northern version of the Chevy Nova, and back in 1965 when this Acadian model was manufactured, it was only one of just under 400 other Canso Sport Deluxe badged cars to be made that year. That’s a limited number to start with, which is why you may not have heard too much about these cars now that they’re 57 years old and scarcer than ever. Well, it takes a fanatic to track an Acadian down, but it helps if you just happen to be Canadian citizens like Richard and Penny Hammer…

It’s a very rare occurrence when such a unique group of hot rods get together like they recently did at the Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana, California. For hot rodders who understand their history, the name “Santa Ana” should mean something, as the inland Orange County town is where the historic ’50s-era Santa Ana Dragstrip was located—the first organized dragstrip in the country. The land the dragstrip occupied sat on the southern section of Orange County Airport, renamed John Wayne Airport (SNA) in 1979. Currently, on the west side of the facility is the Lyon Air Museum, named for its founder Major General Michael Lyon, and its contents includes a special collection of World War II airplanes and war machinery. So, it is perhaps fitting that a once-in-a-lifetime gathering…