Innholdsfortegnelse for No 16 i Rodding USA

The 16th Annual Syracuse Nationals presented by the Right Coast was held on July 17-19 at the NY State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY. Billed as the largest car show in the Northeast, it is open to custom cars 1980 and older with over 8,000 attending this year’s event along with 80,000 spectators. The event included three days of family fun including indoor/outdoor vendors, a large swapmeet, autocross, tech seminars, women’s world, model car contest, entertainment and more. It was another great show with so much to see and so many cars most would leave smiling. Dates for the 2016 event are July 15-17. For more information on the event contact the Right Coast Association: www.RightCoastCars.com…

One of the most recognized names in automotive/hot rod art is Darrell Mayabb (and his alias C. Cruz). Darrell works out of his custom built studio/barn located in Arvada, Colorado and affords him a daily view of the majestic Rocky Mountains. The man who has created art for many publications (including Rodding USA), corporations and individuals has owned many hot rods and street rods over the years. He has just finished his 1948 Anglia Thames panel which turned out to be a thirteen year project and his plan is to “drive the wheels off” his new ride. We know firsthand Darrell is standing by his words when we caught up with him in Louisville, KY to shoot his car after his break-in drive of 1,100 miles one-way. He took every…

Rick Steffl of Columbus, OH dreamed of owning a Deuce roadster and it only took him 3 years to convince the owner to sell it to him. The Lobeck-built hot rod had the look he was after, but it would take several more years for it to get to the point where Rick could say “it’s finished”. During the “several more years” the car was disassembled and reassembled three times for various “major” changes which included three engines, three sets of wheels/tires and more. The car’s bobbed frame was manufactured by Downs and features a 4-inch dropped aluminum Super Bell axle, hairpins and imitation finned Buick brakes with internal discs. The standout rear end is a polished Currie aluminum 9-inch with 3.00 gears, a triangulated 4-bar and Pete and Jake’s…

Have you ever bought a car which really looked good only to find out later it hid a multitude of sins? In 1992 Marv Shetler did just that with a rare 1939 Ford convertible coupe. It was an older build with the usual Chevy drivetrain and a ‘vette rear end. For the next fourteen years the Shetler family traveled in the car making the speedo spin to over 25,000 miles. Needless to say by 2006 the poor old hot rod was getting a little long in the tooth and needed some serious help. Taking the car to Bowers Race & Rod Shop right there in Almsville was the obvious step to do a few updates. Upon a very closer inspection the truth came out that the bodywork previously completed was…

Many owners of classic cars have interesting stories as to how they acquired their pride and joy, and L.A. Roadster club member Lynn Houchin is no different. Lynn, who is the Commercial Exhibitor Chairman for the annual Southern California show, installed a couple of hundred feet of 2-inch gas line for a guy and received a 1951 Ford Tudor Deluxe as partial payment…not a bad deal. The oxidized light yellow paint which was on the car when Lynn took delivery was only the second paint job which had graced the 64-year-old sheet metal after the original dark blue. The car was complete minus the engine and transmission and was last licensed in 1996. Shortly after getting the Ford home it was loaded on a trailer and headed to Scotts Hot…

Here’s another case of a child being influenced at an early age by an event which would help guide his lifelong passion for hot rods. At the age of two, in the early 1950s Wally Jablonski of Elkton, Maryland was visiting his aunt in Indianapolis and she took him to see the Indy 500 race and the excitement and events of that day were forever embedded in his blood. At 12-years-old he started building model cars and along with three of his friends started “The Majestic Emeralds” model car club. The group had meetings, collected dues and built cars, lots of cars. They’d also buy all of the current hot rod magazines which were being published across the country from California and discuss what they read. Soon “The Majestic Emeralds”…

As I travel across our vast and diverse country it never ceases to amaze me at what you find behind the doors and walls occupied by car folks. On my recent trip to Kansas I was told a farmer had a nice assortment of cars and trucks and tractors and that they were all in running condition, being restored or awaiting their turn for the owner to start working on them. I had no idea what to expect when we drove down the long driveway to Warren Fox’s shop in Plains, KS. As I walked in to the recently completed 5,700 square foot “finished vehicle” addition I was amazed at the diversity of the machinery which sat in front of me. Stock and modified trucks, tractors, 3 Dodge Sweptside pickups…

The Frontier Ghost Town in Durham, is a dusty, well-worn and put away wet kind of place and was the location for this year’s Jalopy Jam Up was held August 14-15. The two-day event featured pre-1965 hot rods and customs, with live bands, garage tours, camping, and some BBQ’d grub just to name a few of the things happening. It was an old school, no frills kind of event with a kick-back atmosphere. As you drive along the windy dirt road up to the entrance you begin to leave the modern day behind. Old bunk houses (which are available for rent) line the small dirt roads of the ghost town, leaving one to wonder what those walls would say if they could talk. The venue also has a campground which…

United Pacific Industries, manufacturer of the 1932 Ford 5-window coupe body and hundreds of parts for classic vehicles held their 1st Annual car show on July 18, 2015 at their Long Beach, CA facility. The event was open to pre-1976 vehicles and drew several hundred cars on a partly sunny/partly raining Saturday afternoon. The show also included vendors, food and music throughout the day.…

Hot rods/street rods are normally much smaller than your daily drivers which don’t leave you much room for emergency accessories and tools. One of the items most of us try to carry when going on road trips is the emergency jump starter, “just-in-case” the battery decides to not start your car. Up until recently most of those jump starters were almost as big as your car battery and weigh a ton which is where POWERALL comes in to save the day. One look at the sleek, new lithium jump starters from POWERALL and you’ll be adding this new accessory to your tool bag. We tested the Supreme model which provides 600 Peak Amps of starting power. When fully charged you can jump start multiple vehicles up to 20 times. The…

In 1957 Dodge decided to introduce a limited edition pickup truck call the Sweptside in an effort to respond to the Chevy Cameo and the Ford Ranchero. This three year run of trucks was the brainchild of Joel Berr, special equipment sales manager at the Dodge Truck division. The limited edition run included 180 in 1957, 975 in 1958 and a mere 100 in 1959. The trucks were not built on the assembly line, they were individually hand assembled. Records state that Joel Berr, special equipment sales manager at Dodge Truck, was responsible for designing and building these models. Warren’s dad owned a 1957 turquoise and white Sweptside, which Warren drove to high school. The customizing started with a set of new quarter panels for a 1957 Dodge two-door station…

If it were possible to step back it time seventy-five years, the streets and Ford dealership lots would be filled with cars just like Gilberto and Leticia Porras’ stunning 1940 Ford. Of course there wouldn’t be any in this stunning Pepsi blue color and there would be a slightly less potent V8 under the hood. After years of work Gilberto’s ’40 finally hit the road and he’s taking advantage of every minute putting many miles on its odometer from its home base in El Paso, TX. Every part of the car was in rough shape so rather than spend time on the original chassis he decided to order one from Total Cost Involved. It included an independent Mustang front end with 11-inch disc brakes and power rack and pinion steering.…

Just over one year ago in Issue #9 (July/August, 2014) we featured a rendering by artist Darrell Mayabb of the plans for the Rodding USA/1932 Ford roadster pickup project. Time flies all too quickly with deadlines, traveling and producing the magazine but the RPU is finally under way. Over the next year-plus I will document the progress of the build along with highlighting parts from the manufacturers who’ve partnered with us in the building of the ‘32. Back in April while attending the Roundup in Austin I sat down with Kenny Gollahon, owner of Brookville Roadster and ordered the chassis for delivery at the L.A. Roadster Show in June. Kenny suggested we have the Currie rear end housing, Industrial Metal Crafts split wishbones, Pete & Jake’s ladder bars/Panhard bar and…

Situated in the quaint little town of San Dimas, CA is the Early Ford Store of California which is the mecca of early Ford enthusiasts worldwide. Bill McGrath and his son Michael opened their Southern California business in 2002 and have been helping rodders and restorers locate their early Ford and vintage hot rod parts ever since. The EFS stocks parts for 1928-1959 cars and 1928-72 trucks including used original, new old stock and new reproduction. The inventory includes over 20,000 reproduction parts and thousands of used parts. The McGrath’s pride themselves in helping customers find the correct parts whether it’s a hard-to-find original piece or getting the correct reproduction part. Give them a call or stop by the store for a hands-on look at the inventory or visit their…

SHELBY’S SPEED & KUSTOM MERCHANDISE SHELBY’S Hot Rod Apparel line continues to bring the newest merchandise available which benefits Shelby’s Way. For 2015 they’ve taken their famous V8 shop logo designed by Kirby Stafford and created a simple Deco design that is easily recognizable from their son Shelby’s original idea and love of the famous V8, but with the crown which symbolizes a “Crown of Life” we may all earn one day in heaven. Hats are available for $25 in S/M and L/XL made by Flex Fit. The keychain is manufactured by Dennis O’Brien at O’Brien Truckers and is priced at $10. As with all their merchandise they sell, all profits go back to Shelby’s Way...and their Shelby’s Hot Roundup “Bringing Awareness to Suicide Prevention” you see advertised in each…