Table of contents for September - October 2024 in Rodding USA

New Oxford Dragway - Maine Over the years, well-liked vintage hot rod drags have slowly been closing, with some being very historical. The Tornados CC decided to create one last year based nearby in Maine at the New Oxford Dragway, which also is part of New England's racing history. The event is held Memorial Weekend to accommodate anybody from out of state, given the interest in participants for a few extra days. The drag strip is located right next to the speedway, allowing plenty of parking, vendor, and pit area, yet everything so close could feel the energy and hot rod culture! While just over two hours from nearby major city Boston, most take the well-known scenic routes leading to the 1/8-mile tarmac, providing an excellent atmosphere from the day-to-day…

rodding shop tour MHRA Rod Repair Shop At the NSRA Street Rod Nationals, there is always plenty to see and do. Check out all the hot rods and vendors, and meet up with friends. That is all well and good because that is why we all go to the Nationals. However, a small group of true hot rodders is there every year, parked in the same spot behind the Expo Building loading dock, that largely go unnoticed. This group of guys and gals is the MHRA Rod Repair Shop. If you know who they are, you were most likely glad to have met them because more than likely, they helped you or a buddy get back on the road. The Michigan Hot Rod Association (MHRA) dates to 1951 and founded the…

For many, cars come and go but a few etched a special place in the owner's heart. This was the case with Duane Berndt who purchased a 1939 Chevy Coupe for $75.00 from his grandfather in 1959. While having a conversation with his son Al in 2011, they decided it was time to find another ‘39 Chevy and build it their way. Al and Duane are both car guys and have a great eye for how a street rod should look. You see, the two are co-owners of Rapids Upholstery in Sauk Rapids, MN. Al began working at the shop in 1988 and in 1995, he and his dad purchased it. They've upholstered many cars over the years and new their planned project would be a special one. So the…

DAKOTA DIGITAL UNVEILS THEIR RETROTECH SERIES OF INSTRUMENTATION FITTING EARLY FORD CAR MODELS. The RTX series is the latest from Dakota Digital, focused on retaining that stock look without sacrificing the late-model features you love. Every effort has been made to incorporate OEM design elements regarding the layout, face styling, and indicators. A casual glance may dismiss these gauges as original equipment, but once you hit the switch and the LED backlighting comes on in your favorite color scheme, all doubts will be removed. When opening the vehicle's door, the vintage-looking rolling odometer provides a stock appearance. Turning on the ignition, the TFT message center can be fully configured to display just about any piece of information needed, from the complementary home screen layout to the user-configurable data group screens!…

Most people who followed the car culture and drag racing scene from the ‘50s onward would be familiar with the name Jim Green, especially those from the Pacific Northwest. Most would likely associate Jim with one, if not all four, of the more well-known cars he built, owned, or raced. They would be the B-Boys Auto Parts B/Open Gas dragster built by Jim in 1959 with its funky-looking headers crisscrossing over the top of the engine. Jim raced the B-Boys dragster from 1959 to 1962 and, in 2004, did a complete restoration of it. The Green Elephant Chevy Vega Funny car campaigned up and down the west coast of the USA and parts of Western Canada. A top 10 contender for numerous years in a row with an NHRA Funny…

The second annual Southeastern Hot Rod show kicked off Friday, June 14th at the North Georgia AG Fairgrounds in Dalton, GA. This show is “Putting the Hot back in Hot Rod”. Pre-72 Hot Rod cars and trucks from seven states began rumbling through the gate at 8 AM Friday morning. Saturday brought out even more cars to showcase, along with enthusiastic owners and spectators that enjoyed the show. The participants were competing for the Top 25 and Fab 4 awards along with the “Just to Cool” award presented by Vintage Air and the Joe Smith- Authentic Hot Rod Award presented by legendary Hot Rod builder Gene McKinney. Another focus of the Southeastern Hot Rod Show was to bring awareness to Autism. A donation from the Silent Auction items, and the…

If you are into hot rods and beautiful scenery, Lexington, Kentucky, was the place to be on Sunday, June 29, 2024. Several hot rodders from the surrounding states took the opportunity to support Shelby's Way at the 7th Annual Deuces of the Bluegrass event held at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground. This tribute to the iconic 1932 Ford is the major fundraising event for Shelby's Way each year. While deuces are in the majority, any other pre-49 hot rods are welcome to join in with the fun and camaraderie, as well as helping to end and bring awareness to suicide prevention. As a welcome show of support, Adam Clark presented Shelby's Way with a sizeable donation on behalf of the Road Devils Car Club, which is now based in Ohio.…

I first met Pat Stilger while attending the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in 2014. The Louisville resident attended the show in his chopped 1934 Ford 3/ Window Coupe, which he had recently completed. I photographed it that weekend and it ended up as a feature vehicle and on the cover of Issue 12. In 2016, he purchased the chassis and body of this ‘37 Ford Coupe to begin a new project. He had a vision of what the car would look like when completed but no specific deadline as to when it would be done. Pat retired at the end of 2021, but the project stalled due to a previous battle with cancer, making a return with a vengeance. Pat says, “With the help of great friends and an incredible…

After looking for the right car to hot rod for several months, Joe Lanni was exhausting his search to find that perfect stock running car. The hotrod had to be a ‘30 or ‘31 Model A since ‘32s were way out of his price range at the time. Some of these were parade cars with the little red flags to which Joe couldn't bring himself to hot rod. Eventually he stumbled across one that was stock, right down to the spare tire cover and factory wood floor that was in running condition via Craigslist in Maine. Joe was told the ‘30 Ford Coupe was suspected of having been “poorly restored” in the eighties but was a perfect hot rod candidate with over-spray on windows and chipping paint! Joe wanted to…

I grew up in a racing family; my great-uncle had midget race cars as far back as the 50s, and my dad raced motorcycles for years before getting his own midget when I was 6. He raced for about ten years. A hot rodder friend of my dad's, Rich Michelson, introduced me to Mike Lanning and he said he would help me build a hot rod. So we started building a late 50s, early 60s style ‘31 Model A Sedan hot rod with a Buick Nailhead. When I met Butch Fairchild, who also had a Model A Sedan with a torsion bar chassis. Steve “The Greek” Panerites built his car, and it was like the racecars I grew up around. I immediately knew that was what I wanted, but we…

rodding event Street Rod Nationals It's hard to believe that the Street Rod Nationals were born 55 years ago in a Peoria, Illinois field. A whopping 600 pre-1949 street rods attended what would become an annual event. So here we are in Louisville, Kentucky, the first weekend in August and over 10,000 street rods through 1994 attended. The weather forecast was iffy but managed not to cause any serious issues other than Wednesday, the last day of vendor setup, which saw severe wind topple a few tents and a hard rain filling the grounds. Thursday through Saturday saw a few early morning rain storms which passed quickly. The show was filled with fantastic hot rods, street rods, customs, muscle cars, and trucks. There was indeed something for everyone. The indoor Kentucky…