Table of contents for Volume 4, Issue 36 - September 2023 in Modern Rodding

When you see Ross and Beth Myers’ ’57 Ford Ranchero coming down the road toward you the initial response is, “What a good-looking Ford.” And it is, but also at first glance the Ranchero may look like any other ’57 Ford car—but it isn’t. The Ford Ranchero and the Chevy El Camino spark an immediate difference of opinion among hot rodders. “Is it a truck or a car?” And, apparently, the car crowd doesn’t think of it as a car nor does the truck crowd think of it as a truck. But in the world of hot rods there is no denying this ’57 Ford Ranchero is good looking no matter what you may think it is. We’ve often said the years from 1955 to 1957 were the “golden years”…

Work continues at Ironworks Speed and Kustom (ISK) on Danny Schaffer’s ’57 Ford Ranch Wagon. The interior of this car has been completely redesigned—from the custom headliner to the numerous CNC-machined components on the dash, doors, and console that are unique but made to have an OEM character. Rodger Lee, the proprietor of ISK, wanted to model the interior styling after a ’60 Ford Thunderbird, an idea inspired years ago by Fat Jack Robinson. While a few Thunderbird components were used, most of the interior was fabricated from scratch, with Tavis Highlander, from Highlander Concept Rendering, making dozens of sketches for details, large and small, before the fabrication commenced. This design utilizes bucket seats both front and back. ISK makes extensive use of 3-D printing to check the fit and…

This ’32 Ford highboy five-window coupe represents the pulling together of many dreams. It was John Docktor’s, of Bedford, Texas, “dream” to build a hot rod that maybe a returning GI from World War II would have built for himself as his daily driver and weekend racer. John assembled the SO-CAL Speed Shop (SCSS) rolling chassis at home in Texas and then from there he leaned on the Veazie Brothers’ shop in Pomona, California, to bring it to its current finished state. The SCSS chassis’ 107-1/2-inch wheelbase is based on one of its Step-Boxed frames. The custom Deuce ’rails benefit from a flat front crossmember (such as a Model A, adding an additional inch of lower suspension drop), motor mounts, a custom center crossmember that provides for the manual transmission…

David Goodwin and the team at MetalWorks Speed Shop in Eugene, Oregon, are putting together one very tasteful, Pro Touring–style ’55 Chevy hardtop. Like most top-shelf hot rods, this one does a fine job of hiding all the cool fabrication, making it look like the car could have been built this way in 1955. He has had a string of cool cars since the ’60s, so he has learned there is no better money spent than on the original car. Paying a bit more up front for a good example saves you money in the end and leads to a better finished product. Armed with that wisdom, he found a good example of a ’55 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop. While the car was not a 100-point restoration, it was a…

The Triple Crown of Rodding Presents… 1 Shot by PPG Krazy Paint One of America’s most popular Charity Panel Jams will be part of The Triple Crown of Rodding’s inaugural event September 8-9, 2023, at Nashville Superspeedway. The innovative Krazy Paint will bring in some of the best pinstripers and artists to create Hot Rod Art that will be sold and auctioned to raise money for kids. Over 50 artists from across the U.S. and Canada will be donating their time and creativity to the hot rod tradition of helping kids. Items like car parts, panels, cartoons, toilet seats, chairs, toolboxes, mugs, and collectibles will be turned into fine art and auctioned during the Triple Crown of Rodding event. There will be a total of four auctions, two each day…

The stunning ’32 Ford roadster laid out across these pages is owned by Don Brennan, of Albany, New York, and is the perfect example of its breed. Don has been a devout muscle car owner for many decades. It has always provided him with plenty of excitement at the turn of a key but now he has a… game changer. Ever since his early teens frequenting the dragstrip at Englishtown in New Jersey immersed in the hypnotic combination of nitro and burning rubber, he’s been on a performance bender. It wasn’t until recently that he was introduced to the world of driving a drop-top Ford packed with a hot V-8. The car, built by One-Off Rod & Custom in Middletown, Delaware, was a traditional Deuce roadster packing a 6-71 supercharged small-block…

For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, General Motors has never seen fit to use all the letters in the alphabet to identify the various designs of their cars. Take A-bodies as an example. The letter A was used to identify specific chassis platforms as far back as 1926 and continued through 1958. In 1982 GM introduced another round of A-bodies that were front-wheel drive, but the A-bodies that we are interested in are those that were produced from 1964-72. Absent from the scene since 1959, GM revived the A-body designation in 1964 to identify the all-new, intermediate-sized, rear-wheel drive platform lineup that included the Chevrolet Chevelle (including the El Camino), Monte Carlo, Buick Special, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Pontiac Tempest. All these cars used a perimeter frame, conventional front suspension with…

Americans, and I suppose hot rodders, fall into this category of not being fans of ties. We like winners and we like a clear distinction… he (or she) won, he (or she) didn’t. Now, that brings up a whole other category of “participation trophies” to assuage the wounded egos but that too is a story for another story. In going back through history of some of the major shows we find that the preeminent show of all—the Grand National Roadster Show with its nearly 10-foot-tall perpetual trophy for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster—has had two ties in its storied history. Winning twice is cool but tying, as I said earlier, is not cool. Hot rodders do not like ties. It’s possible in professional sports here in America to end up with…

1. FACE-LIFT FOR THE ’62-63 FORD FAIRLANE Dakota Digital now offers the VHX Series of instrumentation to fit the ’62-63 Ford Fairlane. It offers lighted needles, backlit faces, and a full character message center for all displays. The VHX Series utilizes solid state sensors and precision stepper motors for the ultimate accuracy, coupled with a limited-lifetime warranty for complete support both now and in the future. It utilizes either a stock or aftermarket wiring harness, and either a stock, modified, or late-model drivetrain. Systems are available with a red, white, or blue display color and either a satin silver or black alloy–style face. For more info, check out Dakota Digital by calling (800) 852-3228 or visit dakotadigital.com. 2. BRAKING PERFORMANCE Duralast provides consistent, quiet, effective braking performance, with several options…

Growing up during the peak of the muscle car wars, there was plenty of excitement to be found both on the street as well as in the pages of your favorite magazines. The Rally Red ’70 Olds 4-4-2 convertible owned by Bob Johnson of Manchester, New Hampshire, on our pages is a perfect example of a ’70s-era muscle car that’s evolved into a cutting-edge performance car thanks to updated chassis dynamics, big brakes, and LS V-8 power. (Backstory on what the “4-4-2” represents: It derives from the original car’s four-barrel carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, and dual exhausts.) Harkening back to the wild advertising campaigns of the ’60s and ’70s, the Big Three showcased their constantly evolving muscle cars through sharp-edged promotions that were literally on fire. With each brand’s unique…

When it comes to building a traditional A/V-8 highboy roadster, one of the most challenging aspects can be modifying the ’32 Ford’s framerails to fit the body of the ’28-29 Model A. Where the flat Model A frame left a lot to be desired, the Deuce chassis has much more shape, carefully following the bottom of the body with sweeping kickups at both ends. This shape that makes the ’32 frame much more attractive, also contributes to the difficulties one faces when adapting to an early body. Not only does the rear kickup interfere with the flat floor of the Model A, but the shape of the two bodies is quite different in the passenger compartment and cowl area, requiring a rework of the shape of the perimeter framerails in…

There’s nothing more iconic than the family station wagon. For decades it was the dependable household member always ready to take on everything from dropping the kids off at school to handling the grocery runs and regularly visiting your favorite burger joint. Loading up its cavernous interior for family vacations to take on the open road was a snap, as was packing it full of excited movie-goers for nights at the drive-in where you paid by the carload. The immaculate ’50 Chrysler Royal Town and Country station wagon owned by David Gazaway of Bow, New Hampshire, is a perfect example of period style and design when station wagons were a staple on the American landscape. By the time 1950 hit, a decision had been made by Chrysler that the year…