Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2019 i Rodding USA

In the early 1980s, Al Rossback, and his son Matt started going to swap meets (flea markets for you guys on the east coast). The idea was to buy low, sell high and have some fun in the process. Well, it seems which they bought more and sold less as the photos in this story tell. They found such cool stuff. But, they just could not part with all of it. What they kept has turned out to be many rare items which at the time were deemed just paperweights. Al now rebuilds some of those finds which include ’39 Ford transmissions and Stromberg carburetors. However, Al’s obsession with old tin started much earlier, in high school. The cars driven in those times were ’39 and ’40 Fords, dropped in…

Joe Mapes and Bill Ewing are longtime residents of Tucson, Arizona and have been hot rodding since their teens. Both have built and owned many rods and happened to be building Deuce roadsters at the same time. Living only one mile apart, they spent many hours bench racing and sharing ideas as to what was going on in their personal shops. It just happened that they both arrived at the bodywork and paint stage of their builds at the same time and decided that it might be fun to turn the tedious and dirty work into a fun project. Bill offered space in a commercial building he owns in South Tucson and both Brookville bodies were moved and the work began. As they worked and sanded, a couple of helpers…

BOLT-ON C4 CORVETTE IRS KITS FLAT Out Engineering offers several kits to install a 1984-96 Corvette rear suspension in most early Ford and Chevy pickups and panels. Many are entirely bolt-on with no welding or cutting of the frame required. They are designed to be easy to install for the average DIY home enthusiast. The kit pictured is part #001 for 1955-59 Chevy and GMC pickups and panels. Also shown is part #6602 “Free Spirit” strut rod kit, which eliminates the bind encountered with the stock Corvette rubber bushings. Premium 5/8” rod ends with Nylafiber races free up the suspension travel, provide a much smoother ride, and improved cornering ability. www.flatout-engineering.com OPTIMA YELLOWTOP® WITH DIN FITMENT THE OPTIMA YELLOWTOP chemistry is perfect for the high-energy demands and cranking power needed…

This stunning 1940 Ford sedan delivery began its life as a plumber’s work truck and eventually found its way to a wrecking yard. The well-worn commercial vehicle was salvaged in the ’80s and was brought back to life as a smoothie street rod and was driven over 70,000 in just over 10 years. Due to divorce, the original owner was forced to sell, and Charley Ogden of Carefree, Arizona happened to be in the right place at the right time to purchase it in 1998. The car was still in great shape, and Charley continued to drive it on many road tours until one trip to California ended with an errant driver slamming into the rear of the delivery, causing severe damage to the rear door, left quarter and fender.…

One of the most highly anticipated events in New Mexico every year is the SuperNationals Custom Car Show, which took place January 25-27, 2019 at Expo New Mexico. This year marked the 28th year of this top-quality automotive extravaganza, produced by Reggie & Margaret Tibbetts and Matt & Annette Torres, collectively known as TNT Promotions. The SuperNationals attracted 200 top-notch rods, customs, and race cars from across the country, as well as several big-name feature vehicles. Three large buildings at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds were filled to capacity with entries and vendors. The title sponsor is the Route 66 Casino Hotel, which is a popular destination on Interstate 40 west of Albuquerque. Musical entertainment by Steve’s Cruzin’ with the Oldies rocked the house all weekend with vintage tunes. Celebrity…

United Pacific Industries, headquartered in Long Beach, California is well known to rodders around the world for their immense inventory of reproduction parts for the rodding hobby. In the late ’70s, Major Lin, a Taiwanese engineer moved to California and founded United Pacific Industries with a focus on manufacturing lighting and bolt-on accessories for semi-trucks. Major is an avid old-car enthusiast, and with the trucking parts business flourishing, he decided to jump into the reproduction of car parts in the early 1980s. He started with Model A hubcaps, lights, door handles and has grown into thousands of items. In 2010, he formulated a plan to manufacture a complete 1932 Ford 5-window coupe body which would be licensed by Ford Motor Company. The project began with the purchase of two stock…

Classic Instruments started providing instruments for hot rod enthusiasts in Oregon in 1977. In 2001, under new ownership, it moved to its current location in Boyne City, Michigan. Not long after, the company required more space and a new building was purchased followed by an 8,000 sq. foot addition; all while the product offering followed suit in the rapid growth. Today Classic Instruments offers over 20 different model-specific clusters, many individual gauges and universal sets across 22 different design styles, and a complete lineup of full-sweep performance gauges; an instrument to cover most monitoring needs. With an extensive product offering and over 40 years in business, Classic Instruments has earned an extensive resume of projects and achievements. Many products have been recognized by industry organizations with “Best New Product” awards,…

Bill Ewing’s Deuces have graced the pages of Rodding USA from Issue #1, which featured two roadsters and a coupe to his 5/window coupe, which graced the cover of Issue #6. In fact, the roadster featured here was shown in its early stages in an Issue #15 Garage Scene. Bill is known out west for his extensive collection of old Ford speed equipment, driveline parts, rare engines, and speed equipment. Besides his Deuce collection, he also has several historical sprint cars, which he restored for himself. Ewing is also an expert welder, machinist, and fabricator and has a well-equipped home shop. This roadster project came about to use up some of those old parts and build an old traditional hot rod. He used many original Deuce parts including the frame,…

The 1988 General Motors four-cylinder motor was computer controlled, it had a distributor but no points or condenser. In this application, there will be no computer so we will need to find a distributor which can “stand alone” and run our engine. We could not find a direct replacement distributor so we’ll have to make it. The quest for a four-cylinder distributor with points, condenser, and vacuum advance took us through many catalogs and to several junkyards. It turns out the best candidate came from a 1972-1974 Pinto. The Pinto distributor has points, condenser, four-lobe cam, and vacuum advance. But the most important thing is the Pinto main shaft has three different diameters: .489-inches, .468-inches, and .450-inches. All three diameters are larger than the .426-inch diameter General Motors shaft. The…

By the first weekend of December, most hot rods and custom cars are tucked away in their heated garages awaiting the warmer days of spring to cruise the streets across America once again. This is not the case in Tucson, Arizona where Shrine member, Tucson Street Rod Association President and hot rodder Van Elrod has produced his Shriner Car Show for the past fifteen years. This man works tirelessly throughout the year for the Shriners and in his spare time prepares for the show with the help of Les Jarvis and other hot rodders. The beauty of the show is that all of the monies raised go directly to the Tucson Shrine Transportation Department to shuttle children and their parents from Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico to the Shriners Hospitals…

2019 rolled in on January 1st, and 12 days later the beginning of a record-setting Barrett-Jackson Auction opened for business at West World in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 48th edition of the “largest automotive & memorabilia auction in the world” saw over 1,800 vehicles cross the auction block. The 1,800 vehicles brought in sales exceeding 118 million dollars while over 1,500 pieces of automobilia sold for over 4 million dollars. 13 lots sold for 9.6 million dollars with 100% of the proceeds benefiting various charities across the country. For information on the 2020 Scottsdale event: www.Barrett-Jackson.com…

January 25 – 27, 2019 and the 70th edition of the Grand National Roadster Show were held at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. An incredible array of cars and trucks were displayed for the thousands of spectators to see up close and personal along with 14 contenders for the coveted America’s Most Beautiful Roadster competition. George Poteet and his Pinkee’s Rod Shop built 1936 Ford roadster took the “big trophy” home to Holly Springs, Mississippi. The stunning work of art had an endless array of one-off pieces that it would be difficult to describe them all. A special treat was the incredible display of over 100 Ford Model A’s which have had an impact on the hot rodding hobby. Karpo Murkijanian and Brian Bauer assembled the exhibition to celebrate the…

Joe Mapes and his son Ryan had finished a ’32 Ford sedan several years back and hadn’t given much thought to building another car when a flathead engine was offered for sale locally. Joe decided to buy it “just in case” another project happened upon them. Word got out that Mapes was going to build a traditional hot rod and the late Garth Bowie dropped off a ’39 transmission, Matt Kaiser soon offered a ’40 rear end and then a front end made its way to the home shop. On his 65th birthday Ryan gave him a pair of ’32 frame rails and not long after came back from the L.A. Roadster swap meet with a Deuce firewall. Joe had always wanted to attend the L.A. Roadster Show with a…

My adventure all began unknowingly, last July at the Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals in Puyallup WA. I flew into Seattle with my pal, John Sticha and his lovely wife Martine to meet up with a group of great friends from Port Townsend, Washington and the Vancouver, B.C. area for a weekend of friends and hot rods. In the course of the weekend, I met up with Jim Shelton. Jim and I talked at length about the Model A roadster pick up our Swillco team had recently completed. Jim told me about the special display honoring the 90th anniversary of the ’28-’31 Model A that was being organized for the 70th annual Grand National Roadster Show and asked if I was going to bring one of my builds to the show.…

This gorgeous 1941 Chevy Master Deluxe is proudly owned by Tammy Arroyo and is a stunning example of a traditional-style mild custom, boasting many subtle, pleasing and unusual touches. The main feature of the car is that it is a “phantom,” a model which looks original but was never actually produced by the factory. From the cowl back, the car is a 1948 Chevy Aerosedan, a precursor to the fastback models of the next generation. The car was built in Los Lunas, New Mexico by Tammy’s dad, Jimmy Arroyo. Jimmy was a prolific vintage car restorer and hot rod builder for many years in southern California. He worked as a fabricator for such notables as racing legend Dan Gurney, followed by a 20-year stint at Chuck Lombardo’s California Street Rods.…