Table of contents for March - April 2023 in Rodding USA

The recent California Hot Rod Reunion is just that, with many of the legends of drag racing shoulder to shoulder with the fans, history being visited and revisited, as it should be, passing the torch, if you will. The NHRA Museum holds such an event twice a year, the other being the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to aid in funding the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. This is a nostalgic racing event with the Heritage Series classes, no big show cars. However, many current drivers compete, including National Funny Car Champion Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Tony Jurado, Cory Lee, Steven Densham, and Jason Rupert at the controls; no computers here, just good heads-up racing. Two classes not often seen were the fire-breathing Fuel Altereds which…

The 73rd Annual Grand National Roadster Show is in the books, and this had to be one of the “best” shows in its history. The seven buildings were filled with the finest custom cars from across the country. The show took place February 3-5, a week later than in the past, and it worked to perfection with mid-70 temperatures on Saturday. This led to over one thousand custom cars attending the outdoor “Drive-In” portion of the show. The two big prize winners: America's Most Beautiful Roadster Jack Chisenhall / 1932 Ford roadster. Al Slonaker Memorial Award George and Angela Eliacostas / 1960 Buick Invicta.…

Dean Bittick's 1934 Ford three-window DeLuxe Coupe is a time capsule, if there ever was one, and a collection of traditional hot rodding stories rolled into one. Our story begins with St. Louisian, Bob Murray. He was the owner, builder, and driver of the Top Fuel dragster known as The Spirit in the mid-1960s and early 1970s. In 1970, Bob was one of eight drivers to drive faster than 220 mph in the American Hot Rod Association's top fuel class. But, like many other early hot rod builders, Bob chose to get out of drag racing after 12 years and into street rodding. This is where the sweet little old lady, Anna Belle Umberger, enters the story. As you have probably already guessed, she sold the original car to Bob.…

Murray Craddock of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, has a half dozen street rods in his garage with the newest addition being this beautiful 1932 Ford three-window coupe. It wasn't a planned addition to his car stable, and it came about due to the tragic passing of his 36-year-old son Marc in a car accident in 2019 while driving his '32 Ford roadster. Murray decided not to rebuild Marc's roadster but to build the coupe using as many parts from it on the new car. The car's construction began in the fall of 2021, proposing to complete it in time to drive it to the Northwest Deuce Days in Victoria in July 2022. Next, he began the hunt for a Brookville three-window coupe body but was not having any luck. Brookville had…

This 1940 Ford two-door Deluxe Opera Coupe was discovered in Apple Valley, California, around 2007 on eBay by Ray Stewart of Boxford, MA. Already having a few projects under his belt, Ray wanted a rust-free Henry Ford steel car, and this was a reasonably sound foundation that checked most of the boxes. To Ray, it was imperative to have a somewhat original-looking vehicle, but when fired up and idling would make onlookers take a second look, definitely making a statement of not being stock. The Ford sat for fifteen years with just a few modifications, not in the direction he wanted, with a flathead with manual 3-speed and buggy springs. Unfortunately, the vehicle was for sale due to the owner losing his eyesight and wanted the car sold to someone…

The miniature railroad at the Fairplex was established in 1924 for the Los Angeles County Fair and was moved to its present location in 1935. For those familiar with the Fairplex, it is located just north of Building 4. It began as a ½-inch scale but was upgraded to a modern G-gauge track in 1997 and renamed the Fairplex Garden Railroad. Everyone involved in running the system are volunteers. What makes this even more interesting for hot rodders is that one of the leading players is Jim Busch (and his wife Maria), owner of the 1932 Ford roadster pickup gracing our Issue 61 cover. The trains were running on some of the 10,000 feet of operating track is now double the length from 1996 on Saturday of GNRS. Malena and…

Whether you have just finished building or have purchased the street rod of your dreams, it would be a good idea to take it for a test drive. Regardless of your building ability or the seller's honesty, getting stranded by the side of the road is never fun. Especially if it is caused by something that could have quickly been addressed had you found the problem in your garage. BELTS Verify that all engine belts are tightened to the proper tension. The proper tension depends on the length of the span, but you probably have a good idea of what looks correct. When the belts are too tight, they will be prone to breakage or damage to the bearings of the accessory they are driving. When the belts are too…

The coupe was seen in the 1950s by a bulldozer operator on Mount Shasta in California who was part of the crew building the roads to the new dam in 1960. It was upside down in a ravine with no engine, hood, or fenders. The man forgot about it until 1984. He was talking to a buddy about old cars when he suddenly remembered seeing the car on the mountain. So, on a hunch, they returned to where the car had been. Unbelievably, it was still there. They somehow managed to get it into a pickup and haul it home. Later they took the ’35 Ford body to the Turlock, California swap meet and sold it to Mark Phillips from Bend, Oregon, for $500.00. Mark and his dad are car…

The Barrett-Jackson Auction took over WestWorld in Scottsdale from January 21-29, 2023. During those nine days, 1,907 incredible vehicles crossed the auction block, reaching 184.2 million dollars in sales. In addition, the automobilia auction saw 1,100 pieces sell for 6.4 million dollars. Barrett-Jackson also sold five vehicles for charity, with 100 percent of the sales going to designated non-profit organizations. TOP 10 AUCION VEHICLES 1. 1989 Ferrari F40 - $2,750,000 2. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT - $1,595,000 3. 2019 Ford GT Lightweight Carbon Series - $1,320,000 4. 2020 Ford GT Carbon Series - $1,320,000 5. 1966 Shelby Group II Mustang - Built for Ken Miles - $770,000 6. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Custom Convertible - $770,000 7. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 - $770,000 8. 2012 Lexus LFA - $748,000 9. 2021 Ferrari SF90 - $742,500 10. 2019 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ…

rodding garage 1932 Ford Victoria This 1932 Ford Victoria originally came from the Montana/Wyoming area and was given to his nephew in the late 40s by the original owner. His nephew took the car apart, had it chopped, cut the firewall and center cross member, and added a bolt-in Model A front cross member but never put the car back together. It was sold to the next owner, who stored the car in a barn for the next 32 years and was sold again and put into storage, but no work was ever done to the car. The car retained its original frame, but the running gear was lost. The car came to me after a tip from Mark Herz and Rich Stapf from Brett Sukert. Brett intended to build the…

The build-up Jim Busch of Alta Loma, California, is no newcomer to the fabrication of not only his hot rods but also of a garden railroad in their home’s backyard and even a 42-foot Islander Masthead Cutter he built in a small area next to their house that weighed 27,000 pounds when finished. As for the hot rods, he also has a beautiful 1932 Ford 3-window coupe and a 1955 Chevy 210. In 1957 Jim customized his first car, a 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 coupe, followed by a 1951 Ford Shoebox with a full race Flathead, frenched headlights, shaved doors, hood and trunk, and an all-white tuck and roll interior. He and his wife Maria have been married for 57 years, and she has always been his main helper on…