Table of contents for Volume 5, Issue 40 - January 2024 in Modern Rodding

It’s always a very cool feeling when a hot rod “speaks” to you. It doesn’t take one long after giving this four-wheel beauty the once-over that you immediately identify the custom car touch as well as the true hot rod appeal. Scott and Bonnie Pearson, along with their son, Scott Jr., found their heart’s content one day while perusing on eBay. Scott Jr. and his wife, Kim, now own the car and as is said, “The rest is history.” The Pearsons are a generational hot rod family, having enjoyed the hobby for over three generations. Coupling this heritage along with their membership in the Road Kings of Florida keeps the “juices” flowing for the love of all things hot rods. The Deuce five-window you see before you features the work…

You see enough ’32 Fords, Tri-Five Chevys, and so on and you begin to think there is a familiarity. We would be willing to bet that while all of us are familiar with the looks of late-’30s Lincoln Zephyrs, it’s one hot rod or custom we don’t see every weekend. Such is the case with Pete Gulick of Virginia and his ’38 Lincoln Zephyr. Yet, there is “something” about this custom that makes us stop and think. That may be because back in 2002 this very Zephyr won a BASF Most Beautiful award while attending a Goodguys event. At the time it was owned by Mike Shiflett who joined efforts with Tim’s Hot Rods to build the award-winning coupe. Roughly two decades later Pete had his own vision. Working together…

Unless you’re new to the hobby, you should recognize the name Troy Trepanier and his company Rad Rides By Troy. He has been building highly innovative, tastefully styled, and performance-oriented cars since 1995, winning a multitude of awards, including the Ridler award at the Detroit Autorama and the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award at the Grand National Roadster Show in California. Trepanier built a Ridler-winning ’36 Ford coupe for Ross Myers in 2007. The idea to build a fenderless ’36 was hatched a few years later. This is a body style you rarely see presented with no fenders, since the fat fender body style can look awkward when shorn of its fenders. Myers presented Trepanier with the challenge to see what he could do with this design brief, and he…

There is lots to see and figure out about this ’55 Ford Thunderbird convertible with its removable hardtop. The ’55 ’Bird was passed down from Rick Brandt’s father-in-law; since he already had one vintage Thunderbird he had a good idea on who to enlist in helping him build this one. Having worked on a previous project with Dave Timm of Timm Built Customs, Rick was comfortable with saying, “Do whatever you would do if it was yours.” So that’s what the Timms, Dave and Andrea, did, and here are the results. When going about building any hot rod there are several approaches that one can take. The result can be based on a performance (engine and trans combo), look, the stance (rake, lowered, or gasser style), or the color. All…

The inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Truck Show (GNTS), presented by LMC Truck and Classic Truck Performance magazine, hosted more than 400 trucks, vans, and SUVs of every make, model, and style at the Fairplex in Pomona back in September. Rod Shows, known for producing the West Coast’s largest and longest-running hot rod shows, closed out the weekend by presenting awards in more than 65 judged classes. Classic Truck Performance staff found itself all over familiar grounds … the Pomona Fairplex is the home of the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). It is here that the very first World’s Most Beautiful Truck Award was presented. Taking home the $12,500 check and the one-off custom trophy, supplied by ARP, was Greg Tidwell. He brought out his ’40 Ford pickup that we…

Millions of Mopars left the factory with the ubiquitous 8-3/4-inch rear axle. It was Chrysler’s midrange muscle car axle, offering greater torque capacity than the pedestrian 8-1/4-inch rearend used on most Slant-6–powered and other lower-end, V-8 vehicles, but not quite the bomb-proof strength of the Dana 60 used with Hemis and other top-shelf V-8s. Introduced in 1957 and employed through about 1974, Chrysler produced three basic versions of the axle, which varied by the size of pinion bearing and corresponding pinion stem diameter. There was a 1-3/8-inch pinion stem diameter, a 1-3/4-inch pinion stem, and the later style with a 1-7/8-inch tapered pinion stem. Each variant is generally known by its ’64-and-later casting number. The 2070741, or “741,” axle used the smaller pinion bearing and is consequently the least desirable…

Without mentioning anyone by name (mostly to keep from hurting Brennan’s feelings), there are those on the Modern Rodding staff who are old enough to remember when 1 hp/ci was a big deal. Chrysler did it in 1956 with the 355hp 354ci Hemi. Chevrolet’s ’57 Ramjet-injected 283 made 283 hp in 1957 and horsepower numbers kept growing from there. But back then no one would have believed it would be possible to produce the horsepower numbers that are common today, and do it reliably. To prove that very point a team at AMSOIL, made up of Len Groom, senior product marketing manager of powersports/power equipment; Chris Orr, mechanical lab manager; and Garret Gibeau, product development engineer, set about building an engine that would make 1,000 hp with readily available parts.…

Before we get too deep, let’s go over the title of this month’s story on Terry Medders’, of Houston, ’57 Chevy Bel Air “post” coupe. Clearly, it’s not about the color but rather about what happens when you buy a hot rod and want to make a “few” minor changes. Once the hood is open there is no questioning there will be other changes, and once you start they seem to come one after another. Terry originally bought the ’57 post with Bel Air trim in Pro Street build style, unpainted and with a small-block Chevy. From here the Tri-Five was built with the help of Charles Swindoll of Swindoll Paint and Body back in 2013. It was painted black and outfitted with a big-block Chevy. No question it was…

It’s just around the corner, well within a month or so, the 2024 Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS), the 74th presentation, will be upon us. The GNRS is known for many things but the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award, you know the perpetual nearly 10-foot trophy itself, is older than many of us (although not all) and represents more than a “car show” trophy. The list of and the accomplishments that these roadsters represent to the history of hot rodding cannot be underestimated. Winning the AMBR is indeed a “big deal” but often these cars represent trends in design and style, stance, color, and accessorizing. These hot rods represent where our hobby was, is, and where it is going. This year should present a great look as to what’s…

1. CRUISING TUNES Custom Autosound’s USA-630 is designed to provide the best in audio technology wrapped in a classic car stereo look. It will fit your car or truck’s stock dash without any modifications required. It has been designed with a bezel containing your car’s manufacturer logo as well as large OEM-style push buttons to complement your dash. When it comes to electronics the USA-630 boasts modern features like a USB input for flash drives to play back MP3/WMA song files and a dock for your iPod. When connected to these devices the radio’s digital display will show artist, song, album titles, and allow song navigation through the radio itself. The USA-630 is compatible with Custom Autosound’s optional BLUKIT, which enables Bluetooth music streaming from your enabled phone as well…

If you’ve been around the hobby for a while, you know what it was like when rod runs had energy. The type of energy that would motivate you to load up in a hot rod and head across country just so you could say you were there. That’s the kind of energy that radiates at the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals. In its eighth rendition, the event drew more than 2,500 Tri-Five Chevys into Bowling Green, Kentucky, from every corner of the United States and some from abroad. The event takes place at the historic Beech Bend Raceway Park, a venue that offers lots of shade, a quarter-mile dragstrip, and plenty of room to continue growing. The event is open to all ’55, ’56, and ’57 Chevrolet vehicles. Obviously, that includes all…

The early trucks of 1947-55 were known as the Advance Design series. The war was over and GM felt the need to redesign the truck models into a bolder, stronger, up-to-date look with bigger platforms compared to the previous AK Series trucks. Postwar demand fueled the changes to keep up with businesses that were booming and wanted more room with a bigger payload capability. Fast-forward to 2023 and to Tom Taxon’s beautiful ’50 Chevrolet 3100 series pickup. No stranger to building his own cars, as he owns a cool ’56 Olds Rocket 88, a ’32 Ford roadster, and ’40 Ford coupe. By trade he is a fabricator/tool and die maker and loves building and working on his own rides. Tom did almost all the work on the pickup, some chassis…

Back in the old days, no one had a second thought about driving a car with unassisted drum brakes and a single pot master cylinder. But as age creeps up on any car, the brake system can deteriorate. That means a simple leak can cause major driving concerns in a vehicle with a single pot master cylinder, as the car’s entire supply of brake fluid can be evacuated quickly. The government mandated dual circuit master cylinders for automobiles starting in 1967 to prevent these brake failures. If you’re restoring a ’66 or earlier vehicle for points-style judging, then the single reservoir is a must-have item to be factory correct. If you’re planning to drive your car, a dual-reservoir master cylinder provides peace of mind that if you spring a leak…