Rodding USA November/December 2020

We are quickly closing in on what has to be the strangest year any of us have endured in our lifetime. The “double twenty” year began with Malena and I celebrating New Year’s Eve at a local casino as we have many times in the past. We then take one of our hot rods for a drive on New Year’s Day and stop for a nice lunch along the way. With a high of 70 on Day 1, we chose to drive the Roadster Pickup. January continued as expected with my usual trip to Scottsdale for the Barrett-Jackson auction. We ended the month in Pomona at Grand National Roadster Show, and little did we know what was on the horizon for the world. My next trip was in early March, with…

I am going to get personal now. I have a serious question for all of you. How many of you are in a long-term relationship? Don’t Dodge the question. You need to Ford ahead with the answer. You can’t Chevy out of this one. You do realize that I’m talking about your RODDING RELATIONSHIP. We all know a guy that builds a car and sells that car almost every year. They enjoy the build, the challenge, and can create and work with their hands. It’s their peaceful time. The soothing sound of a grinder or spark of the welder can calm us rodders every time. For many years I bought and sold some great cars. I would get a car I wanted and then fix and repair what someone else gave up on. I…

Like most rodders, the attraction to modified rides typically begins at an early age, and George Jezek, who was born and still lives in Waco, Texas, caught the bug in 1955. He was only 14 years old and had the great fortune of inheriting a 1935 Chevrolet pickup truck. It wasn’t his dream ‘32 Ford, but at 14, you can’t be too picky. He enjoyed art and photography classes in school and eventually became very talented with a brush, a pinstripe brush. All of this happened while George was in high school and soon he was striping cars in front of his dad’s market. The striping talent then grew to flames and scallops and then to commercial lettering of signs and vehicles. After serving in the Army, George was hired by a…

OWNER: George Jezek – Waco, Texas CHASSIS: Pete and Jake’s Hot Rod Parts with Chassis Engineering cross member. FRONT SUSPENSION: Aluminum Super Bell dropped I-beam axle, Wilwood disc brakes, hairpins. REAR SUSPENSION: John’s 9-inch with Positraction and 4.11 gears. Coil-over shocks and 11-inch Ford drum brakes. TIRES/WHEELS: SoCal kidney bean aluminum knock-off wheels, front – 16 x 5-1/2, rear – 16 x 6. Excelsior tires, front – 5.00 R16, rear 7.50 R16. ENGINE: 443 horsepower 383 Chevy “stroker” built by Smeding Performance in Boerne, TX. Aluminum heads, Holley intake manifold with three, 2-barrel carburetors, Sanderson headers, 2-1/2” x 2-1/4” exhaust with Jet Hot coating, FlowMaster mufflers. Custom air cleaner and distributor cover to match Corvette valve covers by owner. Custom fabricated radiator fan bracket. TRANSMISSION: Tremec 5-speed. BODY: Original body painted gloss black and red underfloor by…

We all get involved in the car hobby for various reasons, not the least the ability to socialize with like-minded enthusiasts. They could be longtime friends or perfect strangers eager to strike a conversation while we wait at a traffic light. Sure, some gearheads feel content having their vehicle locked in the garage most of the time and only putting around the block on occasion; yet, most of us rely on car events for our “social fix,” so to speak. This year’s pandemic meant we had to adapt to a new reality – gone are the majority of the annual car shows. After a few months spent at home wrenching on our project cars, many of us felt antsy to get out and about to rev those engines with our buddies.…

Don Ferguson is the proprietor of Ardun Enterprises, manufacturers of reproduction Ardun cylinder heads and equipment. As outlined in Part 1 of this series Don Sr. and Don Jr.’s use of and interest in the Ardun head is woven into the fabric of the Ferguson family’s racing history. Don Ferguson Sr. and Jr. were among the lucky few who raced the dry lakes, and the Bonneville Salt Flats with Ardun equipped engines. Fatefully, this interest and desire to race led Don Ferguson Jr. to purchase the tools, drawings and dies from Don Orosco for creating new heat-treated Ardun aluminum heads from High-Grade Alcoa 356 aluminum. That’s the short story. Behind that is history and passion, which runs a mile deep and is fascinating reading. The beginning of a lifetime relationship with…