Norm Grabowski T Bucket

It has been a sad weekend in the hot rod world as several have recently discovered that hot rod pioneer and legend Norm Grabowski has passed away. The news that he had died was received by Norm’s  web site Normsnews on yesterday morning October 12, 2012, he was seventy nine years old.

I had initial heard of Norm several years ago, once I was just a kid. He had appeared on an episode of Jesse James’ Monster Garage, were he and a cluster of hot rod legends (including the late Dick Dean) built a sectioned and lowered yellow fifty four Chevy. Little did I apprehend at the time that Norm Grabowski was a hot rod legend who is legendary for building the terribly initial T-Bucket!

Norm Grabowski is referred to as the Father of the T-Bucket, he  invented the T-Bucket hot rod after he left Military service in 1952.His invention came regarding when moved to Southern California and started attending native automotive shows. Whereas attending this car shows he became fascinated with the hot rods that he saw at these shows, he determined that he was going to make one amongst his own.

He soon purchased a Model A truck for $one hundred but the truck wasn’t in good condition, so he then purchased a 192a pair of Model T touring and placed it on the Model A frame. The next he did was he connected the bed from the Model A to the Model T’s body. The solely thing he required was an engine, he set to borrow a 1952 Cadillac engine from his oldsters recent automotive and he put a GMC three-71 blower on high of it!

The automotive was soon fired up for the primary time, with the turn of the key it roared to life and also the T-Bucket was born! The automobile was able to run be Norm revealed that he had to make some adjustments on the automotive.  There was a problem with the steering, steering that was from an old milk truck was backwords! The automobile would go the opposite direction of that manner the wheel was turned!

The fifty two supercharged Cadillac engine was eventually replaced with a 1956 Dodge engine that was equipped with a Horne intake manifold that held four Stromberg double-barrel carbs. The automotive was then giving it’s famous blue paintjob with the flames on the facet and therefore the pinstriping on the grill! The last detail of the automobile was the shifter, Norm loved to carve and produce things out of wood. He wanted to make one thing that was unique and would stand out therefore he carved a skull to be used as a shift knob on the automobile!

The automotive become such a success within the native Thus-Cal scene that it ended obtaining it’s own half in the hit 1950?s TV show  77 Sunset Strip! The T-Bucket was driven by a character named Kookie, which is why his T-Bucket is nicknamed the Kookie Kar.

The car wasn't only known for it’s smart looks however Norm use to pull raced the automobile yet! This cause the automotive being featured on the cover of Hot Rod in 195five as well as being featured in an exceedingly story in Life magazine in 1957!

The automotive was therefore influential that Norm came home in the future to search out then hot rodder/actor and later NHRA Drag racer TV Tommy Ivo in his garage getting the measurements of his T-Bucket. Tommy asked Norm many times if he could live his automotive however Norm refused. Therefore Tommy snuck in Norm’s, got the measurements himself and went on to build a T-Bucket of his own..The 2 of them would drag race their Hot Rods frequently, this was covered in life magazine.

Within the late 1950?s one of the actors crashed Norms hot rod whereas film on set, this led to Norm eager to drive his own car for appearances TV and films, so he became a stunt driver. Norm additionally later became an actor where he made appearances in movies like High School Confidential, Darby’s Rangers, Hooper, The Cannonball Run, and several others.

Norm would continue to build custom Hot Rods, remaining a well-known hot rod builder for the rest of his life. He would also continue his second passion of wood carving in addition, carving many skull shift knobs, cars and alternative pieces of art all out of wood.

Norm Grabowski can be missed in the recent rod world however it's time for him to create Hot Rods for the great lord currently.

Bill Grumpy Jenkins Grumpy's Toy

As most of you know Drag Racing Legend Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins’ died back in March of this Year. Grumpy Jenkins was in all probability by way the most Innovative Professional Stock Drag Racer of all time! Even additional Innovative than the Professor himself; Warren Johnson! He helped pioneer several innovations within the motorsport creating things such as the kick oil pan, strut front suspension, cool cans, electrical water pump fans, slick shift manual transmissions and his biggest innovation of all was most likely his Gas Ported Pistons.

He was nicknamed Grumpy for his “no nonsense” attitude at the strip and his Mannerisms of perpetually keeping a straight face, invariably wearing shades and Puffing a Cigar whereas creating every single pass.

Jenkins was also known for having quite a hive of cars and every one of them were appropriately  nicknamed “Grumpy’s Toy” though these machines were something but toys. They were the foremost innovative and well engineered machines to stage on the drag strip. The initial Grumpy’s Toy was a 196half dozen Chevy II L-seventy nine that was painted Regal Red and powered by a 327 SBC.

Jenkins raced the Chevy II within the A/Stock class, a class that was dominated by the mighty Mopar HEMI’s back in 1966. Jenkins strongly believe that although he had a smaller engine thanks to his Innovations and his light-weight weight he would have the faster automotive.

Jenkins managed to squeeze out 420 horsepower out of the limited 327 and he used each ounce of it, along along with his lighter automobile to beat the mighty Mopars.The 327 had solid pistons which were gas ported and fitted with Dyke’s Piston rings.

The heads on the little block were milled to allow minimum chamber volume that brought the compression up to 11.6:1. The cylinder heads that Jenkins originally used 461 numbered castings. Grumpy’s Toy used a 550 flat- tappet camshaft with a 108-degree center-line and Crane Rockers.

Fuel and air delivery was inhaled by an Edelbrock high-rise intake manifold and a modified Holley 585-CFM Carb. The exhaust originally was exhaled through a group of Doug Thorley’s Tri-Y headers however  Da Grump later switched to Hooker when they became his first paying sponsor.

All of this power was connected to the famous Muncie M21 four speed transmission. Jenkins shifted the 4 gears using custom Hurst three speed shifter that he had modified himself. Grumpy was known for being excellent at drag racing with a manual that he once made 250 straight passes with out missing a gear! The Chevy II raced with 4.88:1 rear gears.

Jenkins had lots of success with Grumpy’s Toy I he set a record in 196vi by creating a pass of 11.66 that was the fastest pass in Super Stock at the time. Grumpy’s Toy was ready to consecutively flip times within the eleven second vary.

Sadly Grumpy’s Toy I was short when finishing 2nd at the NHRA Nationals in the ultimate round against Jere Stahl where Jenkins lost as a result of he Red Lighted at the beginning, the Chevy II was destroyed in an exceedingly toying accident on the means home from the Nationals.

Crew Member Bruce Tucker passed out while driving the tow rig and caused the Chevy II to crash. The car apart from the drivetrain was totaled (that was salvaged) and Grumpy’s Toy was sent to its final resting place at a Junkyark where it had been recycled once twenty years.

Hank Young's Flying Pan

The Flying Pan has to be one among my favorite Choppers of all time! The bike is built by Hank Young of Young Choppers and it is one of the nicest bikes I have ever seen! When I initial saw the Flying Pan a few years ago on Biker Build Off and i feel in love with the bike at first site.The main reason I feel in love with the bike is its retro look rang a bell in my memory of a vintage aircraft.

When I look at the Flying Pan it makes me think of  the Golden Age of Aviation of the 1920?s and 1930?s. Looking at the bike gives me pictures of the daring barnstormers who lived on the edge simply for the joys and thrills of flying. It makes me suppose of all of the pioneers like Charles Lindbergh, Howard Hughes,Amelia Earhart, and Jimmy Doolittle who pushed the envelope in aircraft innovation and by creating daring flights through out the globe. It makes me suppose of a aircraft that was build to be edgy and daring, nevertheless full of class!

Hank Young's Flying Pan was engineered back in 2003 within the Young Choppers search. Hank likes to create elements from his bikes out of recent automotive elements and therefore the Pan is not any exception to his building style. The Front Frametube is constructed from a Superbell dropped axle from an previous Hot Rod. The rear wheel of the bike is made from a 1932 Ford wheel, Hank extended the wheel size by two inches to fit the motorcycle tire.

The rest of the frame was hand created at Young Choppers and is distinctive as a result of the gastank is secured in side the frame, rather than being on top of it. The front end is a hand made reproduction of a 1930?s Indian Chief Front Finish. The gas tank was hand created by molding the metal around a wood cut out, then the wood was hammered into shape before being welded into a Gas Tank.

What makes this bike, is its tiny details from using a Superbell axle to help give the bike an recent look, using tiny brass elements to help to provide the bike a Retro look and Giving the Bike an Art Deco look with its streamlined shape and Red and Gold paint job.

The Flying Pan looks prefer it ought to be shown off at a 1930?s World Expo. The Flying Pan ought to be shown off on an enormous display at the center stage because the custom bike of the future and be rewarded for its Innovation!

Road Rage Performance’s the Dark Ride

What can I say about Road Rage Performance’s Chopper the Dark Ride? She is a bike that's all vacant bones and chrome free. A bike that was built to be powerful, rugged, however look clean with smooth lines and curves! The Dark Ride was engineered by Road Rage Performance and it's owned by Mike Thornton of Fesno, California. What gives the bike its clean nonetheless rugged look is its Road Rage Performance’s custom Handle bars and gas tank together with the West Coast Choppers CFL frame. As well as its black magic paint job done by Frank.

The Dark Ride is built on a West Coast Choppers CFL Frame, with a 1 of a form hand made Road Rage Performance slope black gas tank, and hand made Road Rage W14 handle bars. The Grips and also the Pegs are each custom designed by Road Rage Performance. The Front end could be a custom engineered Road Rage Springer Front end.

The Dark Ride is powered by a strong Ultima Black a hundred motor, that is connected to a vi speed transmission with a 3 open road rage exp primary to deliver all of the power to the ground. The exhaust is distributed out of the motor by custom West Coast Choppers pipes.

All of this sits on eighteen inch and 21 in. spoke wheels which rolls on Metzeler tires.

The Dark Ride is everything you could want in a very bike, it’s clean, has nice lines, and it is sinister yet easy. It's one of these Bikes that when you first look at it, you know it is a great custom bikes. Its options are nice, I very love the sleek form of the gas tank and therefore the darker additional sinister shape of the handle bars they very blend together well. The Bike extremely could be a peace of design on wheels.

Don Prudhomme's Pepsi Challenger

Thirty Years Ago on May 29, 1982 at the NHRA Cajun Nationals Don “The Snake” Prudhomme in his Pepsi Challenger Funny Automobile set a new NHRA record throughout qualifying by being the primary Funny Car to succeed in 250 MPH in the Quarter Mile! This historic qualifying pass was created against Raymond Beadle who was in the opposite lane in his Blue Max funny automobile.

Later that year on September four, 1982 at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis Don Prudhomme ran the Challenger in what has been considered by fans and therefore the NHRA the greatest Funny Car Pass in History! Don Prudhomme pushed his Funny Car to the boundaries and ran an E/T of 5.63 which was a pair of/10 of a second quicker than any alternative pass at the time! However throughout this run as a result of Don pushed his automotive to the limit the engine’s internals suffered huge harm. After this pass he said on TV “If I hadn’t of been there myself to work out it, done it myself. I don’t know if I would of believed it!”

Through it’s years of racing the Pepsi Challenger remained very dominate, but like several different funny automotive it wasn't with out its issues. Break downs happened, engines had there issues however overall the Funny Automotive was terribly dominate especially in its early years.

What created the car therefore Dominate? Well per “The Snake” himself reason was because the funny car’s body was based off of the 1982 Pontiac Trans Am. The Trans Am had a terribly sleek body vogue, it was a very Aerodynamic style which helped the car run quicker and fast times in the quarter mile.

While developing the body of the automobile Prudhomme and his team where factory backed by Pontiac, so that they had access to Pontiac’s Wind tunnel that really helped them out.Due to the testing in the wind tunnel Prudhomme and his team got all of the bumps out of the front finish and made certain the Automobile was sleek all around. According to Don “Aero wise, the automobile was the best package out in drag racing at the time.”

The other major factor that contributed to the Pepsi Challenger’s dominance was it’s monster power plant. The funny automotive was powered by 484 Cubic Inch, All-Aluminum Hemi Engine one amongst the first All Aluminum engines drag racing. The engine was engineered by the legendary and famed engine builder Keith Black. The Hemi was connected to 2 speed drag racing transmission. The engine, transmission and body are all mounted on to a Hand Made chrome-molly tubular chassis.

On May 19, 2012 nearly 30 years to day of Don Prudhomme’s historic pass at the Cajun Nationals the Pepsi Challenger sold for $250,00zero to a lucky drag racing fan at the Mecum Auction. Hopefully this piece of drag racing history remains in smart hands, thus generations of drag racing fans to come back can see an incredible part of its past.

1963 Nova Surf Rod

This may be a 1963 Nova Surf Rod owned by Dennis Marshall and Jonna Marshall in Xenia,OH.

I bought the automobile at a swap meet back in Might of 201one, whereas looking I was told that the automobile had been sitting in a old barn for the past 12 years. I ended buying the automotive because I loved the wagon look and thought it would be neat to try to to a wagon in the rat rod vogue.

Once I started tearing into the automotive I had to put in all of the new floor pans. The Nova was originally a 3 speed on the column however I moved it and bought a replacement Mr.Gasket floor shifter. The founded is now 3 on the ground! The motor powering the Nova is the first factory 194 Inline half-dozen that has been overhauled.

When I initial got the wagon there was hardly any interior left in within! Since then I have had all of the seats re-padded and recovered. I am still working on some things in the interior like the door panels and obtaining the carpet but I am getting to them slowly however surely.

For paint I invariably wished to try and do a flat paint job on the automobile to grant the automotive that rat rod look. What I did was use Hot Rod Flats-Aqua with a white shiny high.The automobile was painted by my father Gary Stollings. The wheels are sandblasted and painted to match that automobile. The Nova has thirteen inch tires that are wide white walls.I needed to administer the car a unique surf rod look, so I found a surfboard to set it off,(that I would possibly add surfboards are terribly arduous to find in Ohio).

The Nova has been lowered 3 inches and every one the chrome has been powder coated to a chrome end. All the work has been done by my father Gary Stollings, my son Ty Marshall and myself.  This has been one of many cars i've got restored/engineered. There’s nothing sort of a previous Hot Rod!!!!

Mickey Thompson's Big Red

In honor of  the 2012 Baja five hundred I am going to travel a very little off topic by doing an article concerning Mickey Thompson’s legendary Baja truck Big Red! Mickey Thompson Chevy C20 Big Red  could be a kind of a special automobile for Mickey since it was the truck he had his best finish in the Baja 500 (2nd place) and was the sole truck that he raced for additional than one season!

Originally Mickey’s 1st truck was a 1972 Chevy C10 that he used for Off Road racing.  However, the C10 couldn’t take the punishment that M/T put it through so he set on a bigger truck for next season. The truck he selected: a 1973 Chevy C20 Truck which became Huge Red.

Huge Red is powered by a 454 Massive Block Chevy which was estimated to have over 60zero horsepower! The 454 was attached to a changed Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission which was changed by B&M. The transmission was fitted with two transmission coolers, which was done do to the extra weight and the high power to stay the transmission from overheating in the desert.

Huge Red encompasses a fifty five Gallon fuel cell that is mounted in the bed (One amongst the first off road trucks to do this I believe). The fifty five gallon tank had a fill on each sides to make in-race refilling a lot of faster. For further strength within the desert M/T created the roll cage and the front bumper of the truck out of titanium. However this did increase the weight of the truck that ended up being 5600 pounds!

Throughout his past few racing Experiences in the desert Mickey encountered many issues. This included ignition not working, alternators breaking, and a few other issues. With the help of his son Danny, Mickey fixed this issues by creating the positive the truck had two of everything! 2 alternators, two separate and independent brake master cylinders and a dual ignition system that would be switched by the motive force and therefore the co driver whereas the truck was driving!

The suspension and rear end of the truck was completely customized and fabricated similarly. All of the brakes on the truck were converted to disc brakes, there have been also three shocks for every wheel on the truck.  The rear end had a custom designed full-floating rear axle, the rear finish itself was designed to carry additional fluid and had a replacement innovative system to help keep the fluid cool throughout an extended race.

Another plan M/T came up with was to use aircraft hoses for all of the hoses on the truck. This was done to stop oil from leaking in case of a roll over.

Using its 60zero and horsepower Massive Red had a prime speed of around 165 MPH whereas Off Road. During the Baja 500 and therefore the Mexican 1000 Mickey averaged a race speed of 109 MPH!

Mickey’s first race using Big Red was in November of 1972, he raced in the Mexican a thousand. During the Mexican one thousand Huge Red was robust for the primary few legs of the race, sadly M/T had some problems together with losing the hood and Huge Red broke down and needed to be towed a manner. Mickey ended up with a DNF for the Mexican a thousand. He later went on to race the Baja 500 where Mickey earned his best end in the five hundred with a  Second place! The truck would race Baja yet one more time in 1974 that once more would result in a DNF.

I have to mention I am really impressed with Massive Red. I have continuously been a friend of Mickey Thompson and his innovative hot rods and trucks but I have to say Big Red is one among the simplest. It very shows off the innovative talent Mickey had. Coming up with a number of the systems that I mentioned above that are still utilized in the Trophy Trucks today! Massive Red could be a one of a form truck that's currently sitting in an exceedingly look in Eugene, Oregon fully untouched since it’s last race.

Redneck Engineering Choppers Reps Ride

Redneck Choppers, you probably have heard of them or a minimum of seen one of those choppers at a show.  They are a complete known for their cheap costs, duct-tape engineering and a brand with a lot of humor! This Chopper is owned by Mike Marquart of South Dakota as Reps Ride and is constructed using Redneck Engineering’s GettinHigh frame.
The famous or not therefore Famous GettinHigh Chopper from Redneck Engineering. THis GettinHigh frames are well-liked frames for the past few years currently, they're affordable, durable and most importantly they look bad as hell!

Reps Ride is constructed on a Standard Gettinhigh Frame with a 48 degree Rake, eight? up and 5? out stretch. The Front Finish may be a Redneck Mid Duece (not sure if that is a mistake or intentional) Front end with ten over. The Handle Bars are Redneck Billy handle bars.
Reps Ride encompasses a Redneck King gas tank, and a custom built Redneck fender on the rear. This is sitting on a Weld Smoothie 18?8.5 rear wheel with a 250 tire and a CCI/West Coast a pair of?a pair of.5 front wheel. The wheels have HHI 4 front and rear brakes for stopping power.

All of this hardware is powered by a one hundred Revtec motor with a Andrews EV38 Cam and for delivery Mikuni HSR 42 Carb. The power is connected to a Revtec half dozen speed transmission with a BDL 3 inch primary. The exhaust may be a Grumpys One Off.
The Flame and Silver Paint is finished by Billy Hudson.

Mike’s Reps Ride is just a classic trying chopper, it really demonstrates what can be done with the Redneck Engineering Frame. Its High, its long and its overall a great looker!

Phony Pony Mustang Funny Car

The Phony Pony Funny Ford Mustang was each a true funny car and a true “phony” automotive! The car was engineered by drag racer Junior Brogdon back within the late 1960?s.  It was a Ford and was primarily based off of the Mustang, hence the “pony” in its name. Bordgon engineered the car to induce into funny automotive racing when he had great success racing Super Stock within the AHRA. However when he built Phony Pony the automobile ended up being funny in an exceedingly different way. A completely different approach than simply being a haul car with an altered wheel primarily based and a flip high. It had been funny because it absolutely was additional like a dragster with a automobile body on prime of it!

The Phony Pony was a slingshot dragster with a Mustang body on top of it (currently you recognize why it’s phony) with it Brogdon would run a few totally different set ups, the most common founded was 2 Ford 289 HIPO motors. The 289s would sometimes be carbureted alternative times each would Injected. Other set ups he would run would just be one injected 289, a single blown 289 or just one 289.

When the Phony Pony debuted the NHRA would not consider it a real funny automobile thus Brodgon continuously had to run it at Match races only. Even at Match Races most of the fans and spectators didn’t want to determine it, they weren’t huge fans of the faux funny cars and didn’t need to work out a dragster with a car body. (Weird because I think its cool as hell!)

The best time Phony Pony ever ran was eight.thirty six seconds @ one hundred sixty five.

Drag Boat Racing

All folks here love hot rods, we tend to see them cruising down the streets of Modesto, drag racing on the back roads of America, tearing up the drag strips of Southern California, hitting the oval tracks, and crowding the parking lots of the native Mel’s. Currently a place were you usually don’t see hot rods or a minimum of an area you wouldn’t assume you'd see a hot rod is on the water! That is right there are a bunch guys who build hot rods to on the water known as drag boats!

Drag Boats started method back in the 1500s when Christoper Columbus raced the Mayflower against the Argo and set the then record for the lowest ET.

Seriously now drag boat racing started not too long after drag racing on land did. It possibly started when one guy claimed his boat was faster than his friends boat. The next issue you know they were drag racing their boats on the lake! By the 1960s Drag Boat racing grew and drag boats became their own type of boat. Most of them run the same motors as their pavement cousins, but use their own boat styles and that they their own launching and staging formats similar yet different from their land cousins!

How drag boats are run is very kind of like that of the land lovers, 2 boats are paired to race, they line up, when the sunshine turns green on the tree they go! (Yeah they have floating trees for drag boat racing). Their are some differences though , due to the very fact they have to race on water.

Drag Boats use a moving start after they race. This beginning system was implemented as a security precaution as a result of it is tough for a ship driver to see if the boat can launch straight from a standing begin because of there being a scarcity of traction on water.

As 2 boats are paired up with the drivers holding on the rope, a countdown clock begins before the boats get the green light-weight to go. During competition, if either boat crosses the beginning line before the inexperienced light is illuminated, it is disqualified. When the light turns inexperienced both drivers quickly abandoning of the rope, shut the cockpit door and hit the throttle to launch!

When the boats launch (particularly when the Prime Fuel and Prime Alcohol classes launch) walls of water get shot up over 30ft within the air and also the boats themselves literally get airborne for some seconds! Then the boats Jump forward into the air before landing to complete the race!

Another issue regarding drag boats is like the cars they come in all completely different shapes and sizes. You have everything from speed boats with little block motors to flatbottom boats with Hemis, and to even hydroplane boats running High Fuel Keith Black motors!

Categories in Drag Boat racing vary from personal watercraft (jet skis, little boats) to outboard motor boats, to eleven.0zero Second flat bottom boats, to Professional Mods on water (just about anything goes) to High Alcohol Flat Bottom and High Fuel Hydro boats that run nearly as quick as there land cousins. High Fuel Drag Boats will finish the liquid quarter mile in 4.five seconds!

The Lucas Oil Drag Boat series is the most important Sanctioning Body for drag boat racing, other sanctioning bodies embody the IHBA (International Hot Boat Association) and the SDBA (Southern Drag Boat Association).

What makes drag boat racing exciting? Well there are a number of totally different reasons it is exciting, the loud sound of the motors, the laborious launches that send walls of water thirty feet into the air, the quickness of the boats and a lot of.

Thus what are you looking ahead to land lovers? You recognize what drag boat racing is currently get your hot rod out there to the nearest lake and race!

Mike Ness' 54 Chevy

This fifty four Chevy is that I need to take for a cruise up the coast and then on to Highway 101! It is owned by the original Sick Boy himself Mike Ness! For my readers that will not understand Mike Ness is the lead singer and guitarist of the Punk/Rock N Roll band Social Distortion!  A band that has long had an outlaw, rock n roll sound.  You'll describe their sound as Johnny Cash meets the Clash with a hint of the Rolling Stones and a little bit of Dillinger (yes the 1930s Bank Robber) and Mike Ness and Social Distortion’s outlaw image has perpetually gone hand in hand with Hot Rods and customs!
Mike Ness’ fifty four Chevy was designed by Cole Foster and the Salinas Boys. Mike Ness  would conjointly stop by and facilitate work on the automotive himself while it had been in the Salinas Boys look.
“Ness slept at my search, for weeks at a time, we tortured him Bob Seger , created him do the worst BS, he got dirty, cut, and was one in all the blokes, bought lunch, and he has a smart eye and a way of humor. He has been a good friend for a very long time.”- Cole Foster
The fifty four Chevy top is chopped four inches, the rear glass and window is from a 1950 Plymouth coupe, and also the hubcaps are from a 1951 Desoto. The interior has custom leopard print upholstery and Ness’ fifty four Chevy is powered by a Small Block Chevy that is connected to TH350 transmission.
Mike Ness had the 54 Chevy engineered for nights when he gets those cold feelings and he simply needs to cruise or when he has the Machine Gun blues and desires to cross the state line to flee the police. (If he gets caught, its too the outskirts of town by the railroad tracks, where the country moon shines).

Bruce Larson's Mr. Clean Chevy

Have you ever checked out a hot rod and thought “now that is what a hot rod is suppose to seem like!”? I grasp I have and the foremost recent time I even have is after I saw for Funny Automotive champion Bruce Larson’s Mr. Clean 32 Chevy Olds powered coupe!
Bruce Larson’s Mr. Clean thirty two Chevy may be a recreation of Bruce’s initial true drag automobile! Actually the initial Mr. Clean Chevy that Bruce raced back within the 60s his first automobile that he built for drag strip use solely. He use to tow the automotive to the track with his daily driver and he would compete within the Gasser (yes this Chevy is a gasser) A/Gas category at the strips in New Jersey and New York.
Mr. Clean may be a 32 Chevy coupe with a Ford grill, it's powered by a 1957 Olds J-2 Rocket motor (Olds 371) connected to a Hydro-Matic transmission. The automotive was built by EJ Kowalski from Reading Pennsylvania.
Bruce has raced the automobile for the past few years at many events such as the Funny Automobile Reunion @ Englishtown New Jersey, and at the Nostalgia Nationals.

For those that don’t know Bruce Larson has been a life long drag racer and one the NHRA Funny Automobile National Championship in 1989.

the 57 Chevy an American Icon

The fifty seven Chevy, an American Icon. I am certain that  several of you guys have heard that many times, through the years. Why is the 57 Chevy an American Icon you will ask? Think about this for a moment, the fifty seven Chevy is featured in songs by Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon and maybe Don Mclean (well atleast it had been a 57 Chevy truck). You see 57 Chevy's in movies like the Hollywood Knights, American Graffiti (not Fafla's automotive however one within the background), you see them in logos, on T-shirts, in paintings on the walls of diners, you see and listen to about fifty seven Chevy's just concerning anywhere that relates to cars or Americana itself however what made this automotive an Icon in the primary place?

Well we tend to know that the fifty seven Chevy is one in all the nicest looking , or even the nicest car ever created. We have a tendency to know that since it has came out in 1957 the 57 Chevy has made a name for its self in NASCAR, Drag Racing, and as a terribly standard hot rod and show automotive. It commonly takes best in show, and it's one among the foremost widespread classic cars scene besides the sixty seven-69 Camaro and also the Mustang. But this still brings us to the question of why it's the most effective? I already said its the nicest trying production automotive ever created however could that basically be the sole reason?

I believe the explanation the fifty seven Chevy is well loved and thought of an Icon is for a much deeper reason than simply being a pleasant automobile. A reason most of us in all probability know deep down but just haven't realized it. The reason is the 57 Chevy represents what America is and what America is suppose to be. It represents a price tag or a path to freedom, it will take you anywhere, take you coast to coast, to the beach to surf, to work, to play, to race.

Recognize a number of you who have come to the belief yet are probably thinking "wait. doesn't each hot rod try this?" Well you are right however there is a lot of, the fifty seven Chevy additionally represents onerous work and dreams. It represents the dream of a great designer who wanted to work out his laborious work come to live and he did everything to make that dream potential simply like many Americans such as Lou Gehrig, Howard Hughes, the Wright Brothers, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Cash and many additional have done moreover.

The different reason is that the 57 Chevy represents the American Tradition, the tradition of playing catch within the backyard while hearing Vin Scully decision the Dodgers game on the radio, the tradition of bark yard grills, spending Saturday operating on a Hot Rod so you can race it on Sunday. A tradition of obtaining up at 6Am to Surf the large waves before college or work. A tradition of taking a road trip in American automobile with family across the beautiful landscape.

This is what subconsciously attracts most people to the fifty seven Chevy, just most never notice it. But maybe now deep down within of you, you've got perpetually known this.

Now some of you are in all probability thinking however the fifty seven Chevy is dead just like all the things I mentioned higher than are, they all are gone. That is a few what true however suppose about this there is a man out there that lives down the road who plays catch, listens to the Dodgers games, listens to Johnny Cash, works arduous and takes road trips who found that one smart condition junkyard 57 Chevy or maybe he went with the reproduction (even if he did therefore what).

With that Junkyard or reproduction 57  he is going to spend his Saturday Mornings operating on the car instead of sleeping in. Folks can tell him he's crazy and that he's wasting his time working on the car. But sooner or later he goes to fireplace up that Supercharged Big Block 496 Stroke in the fifty seven and it is visiting roar to life! It can be heard for miles, it will shake the bottom around it and it will be the sickest wanting, loudest, fastest street legal hot rod known to man! All engineered by a mans hard work and dreams.

Street Legal Dragsters

Regarding per week ago I was wondering what would create a extremely cool and terribly distinctive Hot Rod. What did my wondering return up with? A Street Legal Dragsters! I realized this was a cool idea but I  additionally thought someone had to have designed one before right?There needs to be one that has been engineered, is driven and makes weekend passes at the drag strip. Thus I embarked on looking for a street legal dragster and here is the story and what I even have found.

One factor I did find out is that street legal dragsters are rare and VERY VERY HARD TO REALIZE! I figured they were visiting be rare but their extremely may only be five or vi rear dragsters in  existence and one street legal funny automobile and one street legal sprint car which’s it!

So here are a number of the street legal dragsters (they'll be the sole street legal dragsters) that I have found.

The Stragster
The Stragster is owned by Vince Spretnjak of Calumet Collision Hot Rod Shop. The idea behind the Stragster was meant to be a Hot Rod that was part Pro Street and part Slingshot Dragster (if you raise me, I say they got both components down extremely well). The Stragster is powered by a Blown Mopar 354 Hemi, with old school vogue Hillborn Fuel Injection, aluminum heads, and Vertex Magneto for ignition. All of this is often hooked up to a Tremec five speed transmission.

The engine and five speed are hooked up to a 9? Ford rear with a coil over suspension. 4 disc brakes are used to prevent this monster in a hurry (you know for once you racing driving in the street). The great issue regarding the stragster though is it is truly driven on the road!

 The Super Mustang

Drag Racer Tom McEwen is more known for being Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s drag racing rival in there famous Snake vs Moongoose races in the early 70s racing in there Mopar Funny Cars. Before this but Tom McEwen was a Ford guy and with Fords help, he designed a street legal dragster in 1967 named the Super Mustang.

The Super Mustang could not seem like the opposite Mustangs however I guess you can say its what the Mustang would look like if the Mustang was a slingshot. The automotive is said to possess been a publicity stunt between Ford and McEwen to attract additional attention to Fords drag racing and Fords cars.

The Super Mustang is powered by the famous Ford 427 SOHC “Cammer” engine, the body is a Fiberglass/Plexiglass body designed to look like a Slingshot Dragster (technically it's a Slingshot Dragster).

The Super Mustang has solely ever made a few Appearances, the foremost famous one at the 1967 NHRA Winternationals where Tom McEwen got it to run 8.sixty @ 180 MPH that was an incredible time and speed for the era. The automotive was conjointly featured on the cover of a 1967 Issue of Automotive Craft. The Super Mustang disappeared (expect as a Hot Wheels car) largely as a result of it remained in Mickey Thompsons Private Collection till his death in 1988. It wouldn’t be seen once more until the late 2000s when it absolutely was spotted at a few automotive shows and later sold for $154,00zero at Gooding & Company Monterey Auction in 2009.

Here are some of the opposite Street Legal Dragsters I have found. Sadly these don’t have as giant of a Back Ground story like the Stragster and also the Super Mustang but they're cool.

I Found this one on the HAMB, its done during a late 50s, early 60s vogue T-Bucket Slingshot

I believe this is the road Legal Slingshot that was featured in the 1968 Issue of Automotive Craft

The Moody Blues

The Moody Blues isn’t a Street Legal Dragster but a Street Legal Funny Automotive. The Moody Blues could be a 1970 Opel Street Legal Funny Automobile.

I am not positive the present standing of the Moody Blues however back in 2010 the car kept introduction for sale on ebay, as a Street Legal Funny Automotive. The Moody Blues is powered by a blown 392 Hemi connected to a 2 speed transmission. The Moody Blues was also featured many years ago in Hot Rod Magazine.

Even though they were a Hard Realize, there are Street Legal Dragsters out there. Street Legal Dragster has to be one among the best hot rods a man might own, they're unique, look cool and build nice head turners for when you're driving on the road.

Jesse James Outlaw Garage

A few months ago I did my review on the American Chopper Biker Build Off which featured Jesse James. Last week Jesse James' new show Jesse James Outlaw Garage premiered, I forgot it had been on till it came out but I did get a probability to determine it over the weekend and while Jesse James has engineered cool bikes in the past, none of his shows besides Motorcycle Mania and History of the Chopper have very been that sensible (Monster Garage was ok, had a few smart episodes and the rest of the things wasn't that great).

Once seeing the American Chopper biker build off when I heard regarding Jesse James' new show, I was expecting a show with Jesse James trash talking and bitching about one thing left and right. I wasn't expecting a high quality show. However what we tend to got from Jesse James and Austin Speed Shop could be a Motorcycle Mania like show except for Ancient Hot Rodders!

The Show is regarding Jesse and therefore the Austin Speed Look doing different Hot Rod builds done in an exceedingly Traditional (1964 and older) vogue. The premier episode Jesse James had to create a Hot Rod for  The Bonnie & Clyde Reliability Run. They chose do build a 32 Ford but do it in a Prewar Hot Rod style meets Gangster car.

During the episode, most of the show focused on the build from the planning, to finding and salvaging parts, making parts and putting the rod together. (For all you traditional guys the engine on the Ford may be a Flathead)! The show also spent a heap of your time focusing not on just Jesse but the builders at the Austin Speed Search such as the Co Owner of the speed search Bob, the mechanic Luke, the welder Patrick and the full crew of Austin Speed Search.

Now in fact there have been a few things I did not like concerning the show, that I hope gets neglected of future episodes. One of the items was some Drama in an exceedingly subplot (for lack of a better word) where the welder Patrick didn't show up to work because he had a tattoo appointment. Now whether or not this very did happen and it was reality tv moment will we tend to as fans not have it within the show it interrupts the flow of the show and it does not add something simply wastes two mins. The alternative criticism I had was in the start of the show Jesse claims to not have faith in in his builders and is not positive if they might be ready to induce the build done in a very month. That extremely doesn't do anything for the show either, it just wasted five minutes that might of been shown on welding, or the build. Therefore lets simply leave this drama out of future episodes.

Besides the minor drama movements most of the shows time is spent centered on the builds and the hot rods themselves like how a show should be done. The solely things I think the show is missing is Social Distortion playing (Machine Gun Blues ought to of been played) and perhaps some the way to's like in Motorcycle Mania where we tend to learned how to form a gas tank.

Overall though I gotta say if you're an admirer of Jesse James, cars, and especially if you're an exponent of Ancient Hot Rods you will love this show.

Top Ten Choppers

For the past few years now I actually have sought for the top ten choppers and that i am surprised no one has made a list like this before. I couldn’t realize any lists of the simplest choppers the least bit I started to wonder why that was. I determined I was going to create my own then since no one else has and whereas I was deciding and looking for bikes to include I realized why no one has done this however! Its therefore damn onerous simply to choose 10 Choppers as a result of there are such a lot of totally different styles and varieties of bikes its like finding the hay in the needle stack!

As for the 10 I even have chosen, I can just say these 10 are the ten best choppers, this is the list of how I felt at the time and that i in all probability can do additional lists with 10 fully different choppers later on, since there are such a lot of choppers.

Ten. Kevin Alsop and Big Bear Choppers- The Athena- The Athena was  built for Discovery Channels Biker Build Off, and it's one hell of a bike! Its an all American biker designed by an Aussie! The bike has an mean and aggressive look to it, that it achieves from its fire orange paintjob, devil galvanized frames and handle bars that seem like devils horns this is one badass bike!

9. Jesse James-West Coast Choppers- Gold Digger- I swear Jesse James and West Coast Choppers are the sole people who don't have a gallery that list the names and specs of there bikes! I had to youtube History of the Chopper for the name of it! Anyway this bike is one in every of my favorites from WCC, Jesse designed this bike in History of the Chopper. The Front finish of the Bike is constructed by John Harman and therefore the Frame is a Frame Jesse Found at a swap meet years ago.

8. Billy Lane and Choppers Inc- Money Shot- Currently this bike has something very unique regarding it, and that is that its rimless! Yes the rear wheel has no rim! Different nice things about the bike are the distinctive handle bars that go downward, the mirror is the silhouette of a hot woman, there is pin striping on the forks and sink knobs for gauge covers. Impressive tiny detail is what created this bike!

7. Chica and Chica Custom Cycles- Ace- I gotta say I love this bike! The Bike has that classic 50s and 60s look to it. With its black paint job with red white and yellow strips, its low, with short custom forks, encompasses a swish fuel tank, and it conjointly options a cool bend within the frame that Chica is understood for. Making this a nice one in all a sort chopper!

half dozen. Ian Barry and Falcon Motorcycles- The Black- Half of Falcon Motorcycles Concept 10 series, the Bullet was engineered around a 1952 Vincent Black Shadow engine. What makes this bike great is all of the  little details of each half on the bike. Just concerning each part is custom created and almost they all are painted! The Black overall has a bit of a retro future style to it, The Bike is an antique art piece that's rideable!

five. Chopper by Denver Mullins Engineered by the founder of the Chopper himself back in the first 70s. Denver Mullins was the godfather of the chopper, he started building Choppers back in the 60s, opened his initial search in Therefore-Cal in the late 60s and created the Long Fork, smooth paint, Diamond Gas tank look that is still widespread among choppers nowadays! Little Known reality, while Denver built Harley Choppers his favorite Motor by way was Honda! He loved Honda do to their cheap price, sturdiness and power!

4. Hank Young and Young Choppers and Hot Rods- The Flying Pan- What I very love about the Flying Pan is that it looks like an aircraft! (that explains the name). I love aircraft and aviation therefore this I really like this bike.The colours and the paint create me think of a WWI or a 20s barnstorming aircraft. The means the Fender and therefore the Tank are shaped conjointly look aircraft inspired. What stands out regarding this bike is that the fuel tank hangs from the frame and it's under it rather then being on prime of the frame. The pegs like like they are created from an previous machine gun that ads a cool effect to the bike, I truly have heard a rumor somewhere that Hank builds his parts out of previous aircraft and automotive parts! (Which I think is cool)!

3. Indian Larry and Gasoline Alley- Grease Monkey- Designed in the 90s by the late nice Indian Larry. The bike looks just like a 60s Hot Rod or Gasser, with its candy red paint job, white flames, the text have that 60s vogue fonts, the short front forks, and small vogue gas tank all build this bike look like its right out of the 60s!  Grease Monkey may be a true tribute to Hot Rodders and Bike Builders! It even features Indian Larry’s Iconic paint on the transmission belt! Grease Monkey may be a True Master Piece!

2. Cole Foster and Salinas Boys Customs- The Beautiful Loser- It’s a Beautiful Winner in my book. It's one in every of the simplest motorcycles ever built! Its paintjob offers it a 60s Hot Rod look, that the ribbed fender and fuel tank boost. The “burnt orange” paintjob is flawless, together with the white. Another I really love is that the rear fender is not simply chopped but its also rounded and swish giving the whole bike a pleasant clean look. Overall the Bike could be a true Hot Rod.

1. Indian Larry and Gasoline Alley-Daddy O-  If I had to chose one bike in the globe that represented what a Chopper is, I have to mention it would be Daddy-O by Indian Larry! Daddy is the instance of the right chopper! Well done, sleek paint, perfect lines and a custom engine! Everything regarding this bike is superb, from the custom gas tank that flows perfectly with the bike, to the rear fender that helps with the lines, to the custom designed frame that has perfect balance  to the even an engine that's a Panhead and a Shovelhead in one! The Paintjob and the bike was engineered as a tribute to hot rodder Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Larry used Big Daddys character Rat Fink on the bike and metal flake paint like an Ed Roth Hot Rod.  Daddy-O extremely is the amount 1 chopper!

53 Panhead Chopper

This 1953 Panhead Chopper comes from Pinellas Florida (in the Tampa Bay Area) and it appearance like one thing right out of the past! The Chopper is supposed to seem like a chopper from the late 60?s to early 70?s. It has an extend rigid frame, The mustang gas tank with a hidden cap, the not too long but not too short rake and also the extend pipes.
Specs:

Engine: 1953 HD Panhead Motor, with Mallory Electric Ignition, Super E Carb, S&S Oil Pump.
Transmission: 5 speed HD trans, one one/two? belt drive.

Body: Rigid Frame extend, Custom Gas Tank designed in the early 70s, Original HD Springer Front end extend 6?, twin square headlights.

The Bike is original, nothing industry changing about it however its one of those cool trying choppers, that produces me simply wanna kick begin it, hop on and make merry riding! No worries, No Politics, No Competition just riding on the back roads! (With Iron Maiden taking part in as background music).

David Wells Chopper

The 1998 Yankees, Jeter was making a name for himself as a rookie shortstop, Jorge and Joe Girardi were catching, Tino Martinez was playing first base, Paul O’Neil was hitting hom runs, Joe Torre was manager and a crazy pitcher named David Wells Chopper was making Torre’s life miserable (he did things such as blast metal music in the locker room to annoy Torre, wore Babe Ruth’s hat on the field, showed up to practice drunk, showed up late, the list goes on and on)! In 1998 David “Boomer” Wells was a starter pitcher for the New York Yankees and he had the best season of his life! Pitched 18-4 record, had an ERA of 3.49 and pitched a Perfect Game “half drunk”.

What does this have to do with Choppers? Well other than the fact that todays Chopper is owned by the above mentioned former pitcher. Nothing! Boomer actually brought this chopper in 2003 in San Diego when he went to pitch for the San Diego Padres! I am just mentioning it since today is the New York Yankees Home Opener and I am a Yankee Fan.

So here is  Boomer’s Chopper:

It looks like David Wells got himself a nice gift for going to the Padres after the 2003 season. Boomer was known for his wild, rock n roll aggressive personality both on and off the mound and I think this chopper really represents that! Its big, full of dark detail and its probably loud but its still well done and has some class.

Drag Boats

All of us here love hot rods (if you don’t then why are you reading this magazine?) we see them cruising down the streets of Modesto, racing on the back roads, tearing up the drag strips, hitting the oval tracks, and crowding the parking lots of Bob’s and Mel’s. Now a place were you usually don’t see hot rods (or at least a place you wouldn’t think you would see a hot rod) is on the water! That is right there are a bunch guys who run hot rods on the water known as drag boats!

Drag Boats started way back in the 1500s when Christoper Columbus raced the Mayflower against the Argo and set a record for lowest ET.
Seriously now drag boat racing started not too long after land drag racing did. It all started when one guy claimed his boat was faster than the other guys next thing you know they were drag racing! By the 60s Drag Boat racing grew and drag boats became their own type of boat. Running the same motors as their pavement cousins, creating their own designs for drag boat racing and coming up with their own launching and staging formats!
How drag boats run is very similar to drag racing of land lovers, two boats are paired to race, they line up, when the light turns green on the tree they go! (Yeah they have floating trees for drag boat racing). Their are some differences how drag boat racing is done, due to the fact they have to race on water.

Drag Boats use a moving start when they race. This starting system was implemented as a safety precaution because it is difficult for a boat driver to determine if the boat will launch straight from a standing start.
As two boats are “paired up” on the holding rope, a countdown clock begins before the boats get the green light. During competition, if either boat crosses the starting line before the green light is illuminated, it is disqualified.

When the boats launch (especially when the Top Fuel and Top Alcohol classes launch) walls of water get shot up over 30ft in the air and the boats themselves literally get airborne for a few seconds! Then Jump forward into the air before landing to finish the race!
Another thing about drag boats is like drag cars they come in all shapes and sizes. You have everything from speed boats with small block motors to flatbottom boats with Hemis, to hydroplane boats running Top Fuel Keith Black motors!

Classes in Drag Boat racing range from personal watercraft (jet skis, small boats) to outboard motor boats, to 11.00 Second flat bottom boats, to Pro Mods on water (just about anything goes) to Top Alcohol Flat Bottom and Top Fuel Hydro boats which run almost as fast as there land cousins. Top Fuel Drag Boats can finish the liquid quarter mile in 4.5 seconds!
The Lucas Oil Drag Boat series is the largest Sanctioning Body for drag boating, other sanctioning bodies include the IHBA (International Hot Boat Association) and the SDBA (Southern Drag Boat Association).

What makes drag boat racing exciting? Well there are many different reason it could be exciting, the loud sound of the motors, the hard launches that send walls of water 30 feet into the air, the quickness of the boats and more.

So what are you waiting for land lovers? You know what drag boat racing is get out there to the nearest lake and race!

The Digger

I have been getting a lot of emails lately of people asking me what is a Digger. As we all know if you read chopper magazines, look at chopper websites and go to shows you hear the term digger being used to describe some choppers.
The Digger first started to appear in the early 70s in the chopper world and it is often credited to be first built by Arlen Ness (back then Ness built cool bikes). The style that makes a chopper a digger is typically a long and low look. Other common this you will see are diamond and hexagon shaped gas tanks (which are usually long and long gas tanks as well), drag pipe exhaust, and large old school style drag wheels.
To get the long and low look for the digger, they were usually built with low gooseneck frames and would have a big rake to the front fork. The frames usually have backbones that have been chopped so they can be lengthend for the long look.
Some people say the style was influenced by the drag bikes of era and they were meant to resemble drag bikes.  The main story of it is Arlen Ness attended a drag bike event in the early 70?s where he saw a bunch of Harley sportsters. This give Arlen Ness an Idea, take a sportster, chop the backbone to lengthen the frame, put a longer rake on, add a diamond shape tank and add a 70s style drag tire.
The origin of why its named the digger has its own story as well. My guess of why it’s called the digger is because it’s based of a drag bike and back then dragsters were known as diggers so it is a digger style bike. The other story I have heard is because of how low they are (though not as low as a lowrider) they looked like they were digging into the ground so they name digger was given.

Thanks to Arlen Ness diggers grow in popularity through out the 70s and become some of the best choppers ever built.  Diggers still seem to have a strong influence on modern choppers today! They may have been on of the two influences for pro street choppers (the other was pro street hot rods).

29 Ford Rat Rod

Being the owner of a Hot Rod Magazine and being a fan of unique and crazy hot rods sometimes I have to go digging for these unique and crazy rods but ever once in awhile a unique and crazy rod finds me. I give you ladies and gentlemen Scott Wiley’s 29 Ford “God’s Rods” Rat Rod! When it comes to rat rods, I am usually very picky about them some a great others I think are just money spent on junk, but with Scott’s rat rod he put in a lot of his own blood, sweet, tears and personality into the car so I ended up loving it at first site. (Plus its a flathead and I love flatheads).
The story of the 29 Ford Rat Rod by Scott himself

Here is the story of this car from an abandoned body left in a field for over 75 years to the “best of show” winning creation in the following photos.

“After having collected classic and muscle cars for over 35 years they all began to look the same to me and I was bored with the hobby.   Then in June of 2011 I went to an event called the Road Rocket Rumble in Indianapolis, Indiana that changed my perspective and ignited my passion for the car hobby again.

What I saw were these creative, one-of-a-kind, crazy, cartoonish, totally personal vehicles called Rat Rods.  Not one of them were the same and they all reflected the builder’s personality.
Instead of rows and rows of the typical Camaros, 57 Chevys and Mustangs, that to me became “white noise”, I saw these vehicles that were raw with unique powerplants, weird wheel and tire combinations, bizarre interiors and fabricating techniques and materials.

These were individual works of art and moving sculpture that used raw, rusty metal as their clay.  I immediately put up for sale old our beautiful, restored 1966 Shelby Cobra and set out to create the rolling tribute to my life you see before you in this article.

I found just the right canvas for my project not far from my home in Northern, Indiana.

A gentleman named Ed saw an abandoned 1929 Model A Tudor body in a field near his home and built that base car.  It was chopped 7? inches and channeled 6? on a new 2 x 4 boxed frame.  It was Z’d front and back.  For even more uniqueness it was converted to be driven from the right side of the car.
The rear suspension is a ladder bar set up with a panhard bar and a 1940 Ford buggy spring.  The front is a 4” dropped axle.

The engine is a 1953 Ford Flathead V8 with a Fenton intake and dual Holley 94’s.  Resting on the Holley’s are a pair of functional Model T horns acting as air filters.  It uses a Chrysler starter and the exhaust is handled by a set of  Lakester headers complete with removable motorcycle baffles.
The transmission is a Turbo 350 with a manual Hurst 4 speed shifter powering the 10 bolt Chevy rear end.

Stopping the beast are finned Buick brake drums with 1940 Ford brakes inside.

It has chrome reverse wheels with rare Coker inner and outer whitewall tires.

To make it truly personalized and one of a kind I added these personal touches from my lifetime.

The Radiator cap is a 1940’s Boys’ Club Bumper clamp. I’ve been a member since 1966.

Roof is an actual sign from my Mom’s 1960’s Warsaw Dance Hall.

Transmission boot is my very first baseball mitt.

Baseball shifter knob my brothers 60?s.

Golf head cover on the transmission dipstick was deceased father-in-law’s.

Bullet casings on the door openers are from my brother’s and father’s 21 gun salute at their military funerals.

Third brake light is from an old Schwinn.

License plate light is an old Rayovac flashlight.

Tail light lenses are modified Margarita glasses with blue dots added.

Oil drain plug is a Pabst Blue Ribbon Draft Taper.

Periscope is functional and came out of necessity so I can see stoplights.

Coil cover is one of the very first Diet Pepsi cans.

Oil dipstick is a horse syringe.

Radiator grill is from a house fan.

Screwdriver sticking through radiator is an old one of my Dads.

Seats are school seats from a 5th grade class.

Steering wheel (yes it is right hand drive) is from an old bumper car ride from the county

fair, held on by an allen wrench.

Steering wheel spinner is from a water faucet.

Brake pedal is an acrylic encased scorpion.

Gas pedal is an old motorcycle license plate.

Primitive alligator clip kill switch on steering column.

Boat bilge pump switch on steering column just for fun.

Flashlight dash light mounted on passenger side

Dome light is a modified ceramic house light fixture

Dome light pull is an antique plumbing  tag

Pass through between the seats is an old meter cap

Rear view mirror is an old lady’s compact with my wife and daughters photo.

Louvered interior door panels are from an old furnace.

Trunk in back is an old ammo box.

Blower behind the seats is an old air conditioner unit.

The pair of Vise grips on the driver side frame holds the ground wire on.

Large Safety pins hold the wheels on.

The Odometer in the passenger side rear wheel and is from an old semi.

Meat Thermometer through the top radiator hose is the temperature gauge.  (Ham and

pork seem to be the best temps)

Antique pliers mounted on the front were found in the gas tank.

The front turn signals are old drinking fountain spigots bored out and mounted on the

headlights.

Headlight mounts are Ford Flathead connecting rods

Look for the ball bearings in the fuel bowls

Door hinge pins are old nails and a couple of old screwdrivers

It has been signed by George Barris and Dennis Gage

The sides are painted with “God’s Rods: Where Car AND Driver are works in Progress” to share my faith.

Antique repo Route 66 signs on sides with nail crosses, again to share my faith.

Actual 1929 license plate.

Biohazard sticker on voltage regulator on interior passenger side firewall

Old wrench welded as a handle for the electric access panel.

Old barn wooden floorboard

In back are an antique gas can, battery charger, and voltage meter.

Interior door panels are the louvered access panels from an old furnace.

I get a real kick out of seeing the look on peoples faces when this “beast” wins “best of show” at the car shows.  I know what they are thinking.  They are thinking that their car has a $10,000 paint job on it with a $20,000 engine so how is it possible that this contraption without paint and a rusty flathead beat my car???  It has 5th grade seats for an interior for crying out loud.

I just smile.” – Scott Wiley

Johnny Cash's Psychobilly Cadillac

I know for a fact that over the years many of my readers have been brought great joy when the heard the line “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” then the opening riff to Folsom Prison Blues.
Since this is a Hot Rod magazine who can forget Johnny Cashes humorous song One Piece at a Time about Johnny Cash “stealing” a one of a kind Psychobilly Cadillac. In honor of today being his 80th Birthday Todays article will be about the Psychobilly Cadillac.
 The Cadillac was built by a mechanic friend of Johnny’s named Bill Patch. Bill and his friends built the car by searching through scrapyards and trying to get the car as close to the one discribed in the song as they could.
Sadly I can’t find much info other than a few pictures and what the song says about the Cadillac but here are the specs. (Most of them are guessed by the songs lyrics).
As for the Psychobilly Caddillac here are the specs
Engine: Cadillac 500 Ci
Transmissioon: Hydra-Matic transmission
Exhaust: Cadillac (or GM) Exhaust between 49 and 73
Body: Well the body is a fortynine, fifty, fifty one, fifty two, fifty three, fifty four, fifty five, fifty six, fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty, sixty one, sixty two, sixty three, sixty four, sixty five, sixty six, sixty seven, sixty eight, sixty nine, seventy body.

Hot Rod Surf's 1928 Ford Silver Bullet Roadster

I have always been a fan of Hot Rod Surf and MWMs work, I love the traditional style rods they build. One of my favorite Rods by Hot Rod Surf is their 1928 Ford Special Silver Bullet roadster. Why do I like this Hot Rod you may ask? Why don’t I like this Hot Rod is the better question! The Silver Bullet roadster is a perfect example of a traditional style hot rod that is built to be driven and to have fun. Its low, simple silver paint job with detailed pinstriping, small block motor with zoomies, and its a roadster! Its everything a good simple hot rod should be!
The Silver Bullet features an original 1928 steel Ford body, and a Kustom hot rod surf z’ed A bone frame. Also has a kustom chopped grill.
Engine/Drivetrain: 1968 327 Small Block Chevy topped with a 650 cfm Edelbrock Carb which is hooked up to a GM TH400 transmission is hooked up to a Ford 9′ rear end. The engine is a high compression motor with double camel hump heads, so the motor needs 91 or better octain gas.
Tires/Suspension: 15 soild steel rims with new bias ply BFG tires, Ford disc break conversion was done, and a 1940 Ford front axle with reverse eye spring and split wishbones.
Interior: The interior has Kustom seats, mustang side steering wheel which has a quick release hub so it can be taken off for security reasons.
When I see a car like Hot Rod Surf’s 28 Ford Special Silver Bullet, it just makes me want to jump in it, do a burnout, drive recklessly through the streets of So-Cal while blasting Fu Manchu, then drag race other hot rods all night to get up at 6 am in the morning to go surfing! If it doesn’t make you want to do atleast half of those things, then you are either deaf, dumb and blind or not a true hot rodder!

Tommy Ivo's Wagon Master

As Many of know here at Kustoms and Choppers Magazine I love really unique Hot Rods like Street Legal Dragsters, the Purple People Eater and many more. I love doing articles and featuring any rare one of a Kind Hot Rod. My latest one of a kind hot rod is one that some of you old (I mean older) guys may remember growing up; Tommy Ivo's Wagon Master!
Tommy Ivo had already become known in the Hot Rod and Drag Racing world for his one of a kind 4 engined, 4 wheel drive Dragster Showboat which he raced for a number of years in the early 60s first competing but after the NHRA banned Tommy from racing it, it became an Expedition only car which was alright with Tommy since he enjoyed running it and it was a real crowd pleaser.
Tommy eventually sold Showboat to his friend and crew member Tom McCourry when he got the desire to race Top Fuel and Funny Car. So in 1965 Tom McCourry decided to rebuild Showboat as a Station Wagon based Dragster which became known as Wagon Master!
To built the car Tom McCourry hired master metal shaper Tom Hanna (OK whats with all the Toms?) to make a Buick Rivera Station Wagon body. The body was hand shaped out of Sheet Aluminum, this was done by shaping it around blocks of wood. The car kept some of its station wagon like features such as the hatch back design and it even had a roof rack! It is said to be the first funny car with an escape hatch.
The Wagon Master was first debuted in 1966 with its four Buick Nailhead 425 motors! One of the things the crowd loved about the car was since it was 4 wheel drive, the tires would smoke all the way down the Quarter Mile that it was like a could of smoke going by! When driving Wagon Master, Tommy couldn't even see where he was going he said when driving it  "It was all you could do to point and stab the thing, hang on and hope it went straight."
The Wagon Master eventual became probably the most popular Drag Racing Expedition Car of all time! With its reconizable black and red paint job, its all glass race trailer and the fact that it throw a ton of smoke into the crowd every pass it became a huge favorite!
Now some of you may be wondering, how does a four engined car work? Well I let Tommy Explain it to you with an old quote he us to tell the publications.
"With the tire improvements brought on by M&H, we could use more horsepower, and using two motors was one of the ways to get it. I saw Howard's 'Twin Bear' at Bakersfield in '59 and decided that a side-by-side combination would transfer more of the car's static weight on the rear tires rather than a tandem design. But I did it differently. Howard had simply turned one engine around. I reversed the engine's rotation and ran it backwards. We simply meshed double-wide starter gears on the flywheels together and use a multi-disc clutch to directly drive the car through an offset third member. The engines would torque 'outside-in' so the car would go up and down when I cracked the throttle and not torque steer when I lifted. Better yet, it ran nine-flat the first time out and then became the first gas-burning dragster to run in the eights-and the first to run 170, then 180 on gas. Best of all it handled great and was nearly bulletproof."
The Car was acquired in 2005 by America's Car Collection Museum in Nevada. Originally the Museum wanted to take Master Wagon apart and turn it back into Showboat but Tommy Convinced the museum to leave Master Wagon and build a replica of Showboat to show both cars.
You can see both cars at America's Car Collection still today.

She's Real Fine that 409!

You’ve heard the famous song by the Beach Boys, which you probably have heard a thousand times on classic rock radio stations. To some hearing this song is just a nostalgic listen of a classic rock tune, and to others it brings back a whole lot of hot rod memoires! For those who fall in the latter of bring back memoires, you know what I am talking about. The old days of spending a week putting a 409 Chevy Big Block into your hot rod or gasser then going out cruising during the  weeknights, while picking up girls and street racing, then blowing up your 409 at the drag strip on the weekend. Even though the memories are mostly good memories with the 409, you may also have some bad memories and some times of frustration with the mill. Enough of a trip down memory lane lets get right to the point!

Some of you hot rodders may have noticed in the last 3 to 5 years the 409 has made a bit of a comeback. It’s becoming a commonly used mill for people that are in nostalgia drag racing, people building era correct hot rods and gassers and it’s even used as an engine for street rods again!

We learned that these engines have made a recent comeback but why did they fade in the first place?  One reason for this is Gm stopped producing the 409 in 1965 and started producing the 396 (a different song entirely, we aren’t their yet so you can still talk about your HEMIs and GTOs). The other big reason was the number of maintenance problems with the 409, which a lot of you older guys will remember such as engines constantly blowing up at the dragstrips or on the strip.

The main reasons behind the frequent blow ups was power quality connecting rods couldn’t hand the power a lot of hot rodders were trying to make so they would break most of the time. Another problem was the unusual layout of the combustion chambers, the combustion chambers where located at the top of the cylinder bores instead of in the cylinder heads, which lead the deck of the engine to be only 74 degrees and lead to wedge shaped combustion chambers.

Because of this wedge shaped combustion chambers, heaver pistons were needed. These heaver pistons caused another problem because they were heaver on one side so they rock around in the bore and when hot rodders tired to go faster the weak connecting rods (as mentioned earlier) couldn’t handle the power so they would blow.

Despite this problems and issues hot rodders still had a lot of fun with their 409s and of course the Beach Boys did too and today, guys can have fun with the 409 motors again using newer modern parts! Everything from 4-Bolt main conversion kits, to new pistons, new cam, aluminum heads and one new part that will make all you 409 fans really happy new connecting rods! Hot Rod magazine built a 421 stroker to have 466 horsepower!

Now if some of you guys are having trouble looking for a 409 motor to use, look in old Chevy Heavy Duty trucks from 1962 to 1966. Most of them came with a 409 that produced 252 Horsepower and 390lbs of Torque. Another place to look for the 409s is, instead of looking in the Coupes from the early 60s look in the passenger cars and the sedans. In junkyards these cars are more likely to be left alone and more likely to have an untouched 409!