wo of the most recognizable names on the contemporary hot rod scene are Mike Finnegan, host of Finnegan’s Garage and co-host of the Road Kill television series, and “Blasphemi,” his supercharged Hemi-powered 1955 Chevrolet gasser. Recently, Finnegan became involved with another well-known name, Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs, when he decided to convert his Chevy from a straight axle to an independent front suspension.

Of course, there were those who were quick to criticize the decision to remove the straight axle from a traditional gasser, but there were a number of reasons for making this suspension swap. Blasphemi was known for pulling amazing wheelies, but when the Chevy did come back to the earth, the suspension would compress enough that a variety of frontend components would hit the Hemi’s oil pan hard enough to do damage.

hile only in its second year, the Triple Crown of Rodding (TCR) presented by PPG Refinish event has proven it is made of the “right stuff.” The car and truck count (3,224) and spectator gate (over 20,000) doubled from last year, while the automotive exhibitor list jumped to 162 of the industry’s finest, an increase of 30 from last year. The “good vibe” was clearly in the air, and everyone breathed it in. The TCR consisted of various activities, such as judging, vendor/exhibitor booths, a Show and Shine, a Celebrity Meet and Greet, a Nitro Dragsters Exhibition, a Pinstriper Charity Auction, an awards presentation, and a concert.

Oh, did we mention the weather? It was warm on Friday but couldn’t have been any better on Saturday. The Nashville Superspeedway was packed with every imaginable make, model, and build style. The Superspeedway is now the home of the TCR, and is proving to be a worthwhile home—although it is bursting at the seams.

he 1959 Impala built by BBT Fabrications is exceptional in many ways. Some of the most sensitive work was perfecting the fit and finish of the car’s dozens of pieces of stainless trim. If you have ever worked with stainless trim, you can appreciate the difficulty of this task. Most trim is only about 0.025-inch thick, and thin stainless distorts a lot when it’s heated. The work done on the trim is a real testament to the crew’s talent at BBT, and we all can learn something from examining the steps they took to perfect the trim on this car.

A decision was made to angle the joint at the rear of the doors to help mask the gap. The door trim needed to be extended, and an extra piece of door trim was sourced from a donor car. A short section of this was carefully added to the end of the door trim, and the joint was smoothed. Then, with the trim installed on the door, the location of the 45-degree cut was plotted, then the cut was made, and a filler piece was tack welded into place. The part was checked on the car again, and once satisfied with the fit the weld was finished and smoothed. A small reinforcement was added to the inside surface, and a threaded standoff was attached, providing a mounting point for the rear of the trim.

very builder in the customizing business has a knack. Whether they’re known or unknown, they’ll add their unique touch to set a car apart from the crowd. Somewhere along the way, identifiable styling cues will give away whose hand touched it.

In the example of Harold’s Hot Rod Shop, based in Enid, Oklahoma, all one must do is lift the hood and look for a shaved firewall where ordinarily a bulky factory air conditioner would be. For components like brakes, frames, or powertrain options, Harold’s Hot Rod Shop looks to a few select suppliers, but when it comes to air conditioning, Harold’s singular choice is always Vintage Air.

To equip a custom-installed air conditioning system, Harold’s begins at the engine with a Vintage Air Front Runner serpentine belt accessory drive. The Front Runner tucks all the ancillary components, including the power steering pump, alternator, and A/C compressor, tight and neatly adjacent to the engine.

ur project 1936 phaeton is making steady progress. Like most things in hot rodding, the dashboard project has taken on a life of its own. We could have installed gauges in the existing factory holes, but that would have been way too easy, or as one hot rod sage once told me, “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” So, the dashboard modification involved shortening the glovebox (Modern Rodding Aug. ’22), modifying the 1935 Ford hood trim, and, finally, building an entirely new center panel.

We bought an N.O.S. 1947 Ford speedometer and clock at a swap meet. From there we hit speedwaymotors.com to order some traditional-style, black S-W gauges to go with our non-winged 1961 S-W tachometer. We had the clock converted to a 12V and serviced by The Clock Works (clockwks.com).

We enlarged the original speedometer opening and added 3/8 inch to the bottom of the dash to facilitate the larger 1947 speedo. That extra depth was added using a piece of 1×3/16-inch flat stock to form a new bottom profile on the dashboard. This process eliminated the original lower notch in the dashboard. This piece of flat stock defined the new bottom profile and connected the two ends of the dash, allowing us to remove the original center sheetmetal from the dash.

remember the first time I encountered the name Dean Jeffries. It was on the glossy pages of car magazines, especially the revered Rod & Custom. At the time, I was just a kid with a heart full of dreams, captivated by the world of custom cars. Then, there was the “Mantaray,” a creation that seemed to leap right off these glossy pages and into my imagination. I recall how the Mantaray became a holy grail among us young enthusiasts during my slot car days. Ah, those were the days of wooden carrying boxes filled with chassis and speed-calculated gear combinations, each piece an essential part of the “kool” aura you needed to carry onto the neighborhood racetrack.

The Mantaray’s debut at the 1963 Grand National Roadster Show was monumental. There it was, standing alongside the imposing Tex Smith’s “XR-6,” a hot rod that went on to snatch the coveted America’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy that same year. But while the XR-6 dazzled with its presence, the Mantaray, with its smooth lines and innovative design, captured my heart. The era’s excitement was palpable; every ride to the track was filled with hope and adrenaline.

As a kid, I was glued to the television, swept away by the adventures of the characters in 77 Sunset Strip. Here, I first saw the Kookie T come to life, another kool hot rod that received detailed attention from Dean. Dean, the man behind these legendary cars, was my idol. He worked on some of the coolest hot rods, and I admired each one, dreaming of someday owning a custom ride.