Table of contents for Jun-14 in Rod & Custom

Since I began my career as a magazine editor back in 1993, my times spent on various titles seem to have evolved in five-year increments; with four titles, the math is simple. In layman’s terms, my editorship here at R&C has come to an end. Just shy of the half-decade mark, it’s been one helluva run behind the wheel of R&C. Having the pleasure of commandeering the helm through its 60th anniversary alone was an honor. But to cap my career off with this position is without a doubt the highlight of that entire run. As a grunt working under Tom Vogele on STREET RODDER, an older grunt alongside Jerry Weesner on Custom Rodder, to semimatured calling the shots at CLASSIC TRUCKS with Brian Brennan looking over my shoulder, winding…

It never ceases to amaze us how some cars stay in one area, or even the same city, for their entire lives, while others move around the country at seemingly alarming rates. It can certainly make chasing down some old rods and customs an adventure. And let’s not even get into how well-known cars can simply disappear from the scene entirely only to surface decades later! This ’59 Brookwood was originally built some years ago in Michigan by Russ Peterson, who invested two years of his time into the wagon. Somehow it moved cross-country to Northern California, where Joe Schenk heard from a friend while attending the Goodguys show at Pleasanton that a two-door ’59 wagon was for sale. “I had to go see it; after all, he said it…

AARON ACQUAFONDATA’S ’4 6 F LEETMASTER What is it about ’40s Ford customs? Sure, everything from 1935 through 1948 wearing the Blue Oval badge makes for, and has made for, prime custom material. The most memorable pre-and postwar customs are Ford/Mercury, right? Not all of them. While they pale in comparison to the amount of FoMoCo fare, there have been a number of GM-based customs to fill the annals of custom car history. The latter part of the ’40s-era models, most notably ’46-48 Chevrolets, are atop the black sheep popularity list, and for good reason—they’re some of the best looking designs to be penned by General Motors prior to the forthcoming “slab-sided” revolution. The Fleetline/Aerosedan, for instance, is about as close to a factory chop as you’ll ever find; their…

We asked five pioneering land speed racers to go back 65 years and recall an event that changed everything for hot rodders. Just a snippet of five days at a place that was heretofore off-limits. But thanks to some forward thinking, rodders like Hot Rod magazine founder Robert E. Petersen, Marvin Lee, Lee Ryan, George Prussell, George Radnich, and Wally Parks, they were instrumental in breaking down the door—that off-limits mentality that only the very wealthy racers were invited to compete at. The door was Bonneville. There was no other place for the pedal to the metal racers to run except the dry lakes of Mojave Desert. When the word got out about a gigantic salt-type lake bed with a perfect surface, nothing short of a mean girlfriend, wife, or…

People always talk about taking things for granted, and seeing as how each and every one of us knows, comprehends, and understands this world-renowned cliché, why is it we only seem to take it seriously when we’re being immediately effected? Oh, that’s right … we take it for granted! In the hot rod world we come across these conundrums quite often. Take for instance when the realm of the aftermarket isn’t there to lend a helping hand. When you’re dealing with a ’32 Ford passenger car, or really any popular make and model, parts and accessories are just a phone call or Google search away. Anything and everything can be bought in a moment’s notice. Yet, for a ’32’s trunkless cousin, the pickup, things take a different turn. When it…

kevin.elliott@sorc.com Gear Drive, of Minneapolis, has introduced a new cone for use on their line of lakes headers that closely resembles a ’35 Ford-style driveshaft tube. Many early hot rods used this driveshaft tube as the cone, and with the current popularity of traditional hot rods, the company felt it was time to bring it back! Shown here on Gear Drive’s Flathead Ford header, the option is available on all the company’s lakes-style headers. For more information, contact Gear Drive at (641) 485-8075 or www.lakeheaders.com. JUST FAB! The all-new Dynasty 280 and Maxstar 280 TIG welders, introduced by Miller Electric Mfg. Co., deliver more power and provide the ability to weld metal up to 3/8-inch thick, yet are significantly lighter, more portable, and use less energy than machines of similar…

You most likely know that fuel tanks need ventilation in order to allow the fuel to continue to pump without causing a vacuum. This can either be through the gas cap itself, or via some sort of breather tube. The latter is usually routed up higher than the tank, before exiting below it, in order to prevent spillage if the tank is overfilled, or possible siphoning. My lakes-racing Model A roadster pickup uses an Aeromotive 6.2-gallon aluminum fuel tank, with an internal 340-lph Stealth fuel pump. It has four ports: the ORB-8 outlet, an AN-8 return line port, and two AN-8 vents with rollover valves. I’d plumbed the latter two with oversize rubber tubing and hose clamps as a stop-gap measure when I first raced the car, but figured I’d…

Last month I vaguely alluded to the ’33 Tudor’s use of Lincoln drum brakes, intentionally not going into much detail knowing that I’d be devoting a page or two this issue to the installation itself. Had we gone with a standard ’40 Ford–style drum, there’d really be nothing to discuss; but since the “adjustable” (that’s the key word there) Lincoln setup uses a different shape spindle flange than the Fords, there’s a bit of modification required … let’s call it fitting a square peg in a round hole. From the get go, I knew the Lincoln drums were what the sedan was going to get. And instead of having to source a set of originals to start with, I chose the higher path and opted to utilize Speedway Motors’ Bendix-based…

At times manufacturers blessed cars and trucks with instrument panels that rival fine clocks. The trouble is that many of these panels were developed in the automobile’s adolescence when things like an engine’s vital signs hardly factored. The low state of tune at the time meant that oil pressure and water temperature gauges rarely read any more than high or low or hot or cold, and even rarer did they do that very accurately. Modern engines or early ones tuned for more output usually operate in ranges that far exceed those original gauges’ capacity. Nowadays companies specialize in retrofitting old gauges with modern movements and re-screen their faces with modern scales but not even that is without flaws. The inexpensive retrofits pierce the veil of suspended disbelief (they look obvious)…

DICK BENNETT 1927 MODEL T ROADSTER PICKUP MAY 1957 For many of us gearheads all things “old” fascinate us, besides just our “old” cars. A perfect example is architecture. A lot of these “old things” go perfectly together because after all, they are all “old”. The shot on this spread encompasses that statement. A time capsule of cool showcasing Dick Bennett’s bitchin ’27 T roadster pickup in front of a state-of-the-art, atomic-styled house, all perfectly composed by Mr. Rickman. This photo is a slice of life that looks as if it was art directed by the photographer to imitate a Keith Weesner painting of today. Of course it wasn’t, it’s a “real” moment in history captured on film. Although the little T would have been outdated as an old stocker,…

rob.fortier@sorc.com CONTENT COMMENTS Personally, I am happy with the current mix of hot rod/custom car features that you have been running. If you start featuring Camaros, Mustangs, GTXs, and so on you will lose me. You stated it very well in the Apr. ’14 editorial, there is a big difference between customs and muscle cars, pro touring and the like, and they get enough coverage in other magazines … they don’t belong in R&C. I also appreciate the tech features but I sure would like to see a full photo of the ’46 roadster pickup one of these days. I’m getting tired of the teasers! Keep up the good work and stay true to the R&C heritage. P.S. Attached is a photo of my ’29 Tudor that is regularly driven.…

Westworld of Scottsdale is probably known to many people for many different things; after all the venue hosts bull riding events, dog shows, music festivals, and is a renowned equestrian center. But if you’re a gearhead it’s where the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction is held every January, and where the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association holds its Southwest Nationals in November. This past November’s Goodguys event also saw the last of our Rod & Custom/Coker Tire Fab Five awards picks for 2013, and what a great place to cap the Fab Five program! Despite the unusual rain prior to the event, and clouds throughout keeping the event somewhat cooler than normal, the fantastic mountain backdrop makes this show unique in the Goodguys calendar. The ever-increasingly popular autocross, coupled with Goodguys’…

Typically, pastels are reserved for spring/summer dresses and bathroom décor. That manly (loosely interpreted) rule of thumb is completely erased, however, when it comes to custom cars. And no man speaks pastels louder than Richard Zocchi—with his countless customs, that is. A NorCal fixture, Richard’s been messing around with custom cars since he first obtained his driver’s license, and along with another Bay Area namesake or two, can be credited with the revival of customs/kustoms in the ’70s, following the debut of his memorable Merc “Cool 50”. On through the ’90s till pretty much this day, Richard has managed to unveil new rides almost on a yearly basis. With no preference to any one particular marque—he’s owned everything from a ’62 Pontiac to a ’39 Dodge, ’57 Fairlane to a…

As a non-native Californian, I’m still amazed that the rod run season is a year-round affair in the Golden State, but that same status also affords me the ability to say “I never moved to California for rain!” Yeah, once again Mooneyes Christmas Party was hit by the wet stuff, though not until mid morning. What is a regular occurrence in most other states is something of a rarity in SoCal, and the number of roadsters on hand was way down compared to most years—their owners no doubt having paid attention to the previous night’s weather forecasts! Attendance in general, though, wasn’t badly affected, it just meant the partying and barbecuing under E-Z Ups was keeping folks dry rather than out of the sun. Of course the inclement weather put…

kevin.elliott@sorc.com Norris CHreagh MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN 1935 FORD PICKUP Karen Black wrote to tell us about her dad, Norris, and his ’34 pickup. “In 1959 my dad was a 17-year-old entrepreneur. He decided he wanted is own landscape business but had no means to move his lawn mower around. He located a ’35 Ford pickup in Rochester, Michigan, for $175 and never looked back. “Year in, year out, the truck got the job done, with Dad slowly replacing wornout parts. In 1964 Dad married his childhood sweetheart and brought her home in that same truck. Business was good and he continued restoring the pickup, placing Third in his first car show in 1966. When children came along the old Ford was pushed into the background, and used by one son…