By Brian Brennan | Photography by Dale Moreau
By Brian Brennan | Photography by John Jackson
By Brian Brennan | Photography by Grant Cox
By Chuck Vranas | Photography & Video by the Author
By Brian Brennan | Photography by Grant Cox
By Gerry Burger
By Brian Brennan | Photography by Brian Woodwick
By Brian Brennan | Photography by the Author
By Tommy Lee Byrd | Photography by the Author
By Brian Brennan | Paintings By Tom Frtiz
By Matt Stone | Photography by the Author and Courtesy of the Ed Iskenderian Collection
BRIAN BRENNAN
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ROB MUNOZ
Rodney Bauman, Tommy Lee Byrd, Ron Ceridono, Michael Christensen, Ron Covell, Grant Cox, Dominic Damato, John Drummond, Eric Geisert, Joe Greeves, John Jackson, Barry Kluczyk, Scotty Lachenauer, Ryan Manson, Josh Mishler, Todd Ryden, Chris Shelton, Tim Sutton, Chuck Vranas – Writers and Photographers
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By Brian Brennan o say all of us have been through the ringer throughout 2020 and into the early days of 2021 may be the all-time understatement. I’m often reminded of a quote by John Wooden. He was nicknamed the “Wizard of Westwood” for his coaching prowess, having brought numerous NCAA basketball titles to the UCLA campus. He was once quoted as saying: “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” There’s no denying he was a masterful coach. I believe, however, his true ability rested in his leading young men through the pitfalls of college life, thus providing a solid footing for them to take after school and “roundball.”
I see a correlation between Coach Wooden’s quote and how each of us handles our ventures with life and our hot rods. I, like all of you, have made it so far through these unsettling times, and when I’m thinking this just can’t get any worse, I’m reminded it can, frankly, and yet through all of this I’ve managed to be fortunate.
Having driven a hot rod across country many times I have had all sorts of mechanical woes beset me. At the time it seemed things couldn’t be worse. In reality it can always be worse, it’s just a matter of how you handle what’s at hand.
By Brian Brennanhis is a new monthly column for Modern Rodding that deals with what’s happening today throughout our hobby. We will take a quick look at professional shops, hometown garages, industry news, event news, anything that would be of interest to all of us rodders.
If you would like to have your latest project featured or show us what’s happening in your shop, be it professional or homebuilt, please contact Brian Brennan at bbrennan@inthegaragemedia.com.
Steve’s Auto Restorations
The Perfect Seal
This two-piece pair is fully molded as driver (left) side and passenger (right) side front door vent window weatherstrips and features the following: Fully molded from top-quality rubber with corrosion-resistant brass metal inserts to ensure durability and proper seal. Reproduction is designed from the original part to fit correctly. It installs into the vent window frame, replacing factory right hand (PN C6VY-5321448-A) and left hand (PN C6VY-5321449-A) weatherstripping. These pieces are made in the USA.
Fresh Off the Press
Not your basic new product photo but our picture is the first pair coming off the press.
Upgrade Your Tri-Five Wagon Gas Tank
Photography by Dale Moreau
aving spent a lifetime enjoying the car hobby from the curb, Jeff High (Shoreline, Washington) thought it was time to drive onto the onramp and have some fun of his own. In the back of his mind he knew there was a way to get involved and all it would take was a friendly family conversation. As it turns out his wife’s uncle had a 1933 Ford five-window coupe tucked away in Grandma’s garage since 1975.
Jeff was able to purchase the neatly stored coupe in 2013 and thus began the journey toward turning this piece of original “Henry’s Tin” into a modern-day street rod. The car was complete and required very little in the way of sheetmetal work to make it pristine. In fact, a few minor patch panels was all it took to make this stocker ready for primetime. We see the removal of the factory rear bumper and then replaced with one from a pickup. The body itself along with the grille, hood, fenders, running boards, headlights, taillights, cowl lamps, and trim are all original. It should also be pointed out that the car’s original wood is still in use and the roof insert material is N.O.S. The exterior is painted in Henry Ford’s favorite color: black. Today’s modern paint comes from the mixing room of House of Kolor. Next up there’s a beltline pinstripe laid down by Mitch Kim.
The fun in this hot rod begins under the sheetmetal (not that there’s anything not cool about a stock-bodied five-window coupe) with Steve’s Auto Restorations (SAR) seizing the stock 1933 frame and boxing the ’rails. Next up SAR hung the front and rear suspension, running brake lines, and sorted out other chores. Following along is the installation of a Super Bell chromed and dropped I-beam fitted with Pete and Jakes Hot Rod Parts (P&J) spindles, transverse leaf spring, chromed tube shocks, and a modified P&J front sway bar. Guiding this street rod down the road is a Vega steering box tied in with a Flaming River column while the braking responsibilities are handled by a Wilwood master cylinder and disc brakes (four-piston Dynalite calipers) located in the front and rear. In back is the traditional Ford 9-inch rearend (packed with 3.89 gears) positioned by coilover shocks, a P&J sway bar, and a pair of 7/8-inch mild steel tube ladder bars with urethane bushings at the front center pivot and adjustable clevises at the rear.
By Gerry Burgerhopping a vintage coupe body is a serious undertaking, one that takes a keen eye and skills to match. The all-important “eyeball” is why no two chops are exactly the same. The angle of the windshield, the radius of the quarter window corners, and the shape of the door glass are all judgment calls in the process we fondly refer to as chopping. Done correctly, the term “chopping” seems a bit too crude for the almost-surgical precision exercised in a fine chop. So, we have established that it takes skill, a critical eye, and pure guts to chop a top. The only thing more challenging than chopping a stock 1934 Ford five-window coupe is chopping a 1934 Ford five-window coupe that has already been chopped. It takes a real man to step up to a second “correction chop” and all the extra special challenges.
Licensed For CoolPaintings by Tom Fritzor hot rodders with any amount of rubber on the road, you will readily remember and favorably recall the artwork of Tom Fritz. A SoCal born-and-raised kid of the ’60s and ’70s, he happily recalls his youth’s memories of all things motorcycle and automotive culture. Fortunately for us Tom is a gifted artist who applies brush to canvas at a level matching the builds of a Triple Crown of Rodding, America’s Most Beautiful Roadster, or a Ridler winner. This allows the rest of us to sit back and recall the great days of bygone rodding. Additionally, should you find yourself having read, or are still reading, car magazines, you might recall that Tom’s artwork has graced the covers of Street Rodder (Aug. ’96) and Hot Rod (July ’14). (Looks like you will have to add Modern Rodding to the growing list of publications that have featured his work!)
For more than two decades, after earning his bachelor’s degree in two-dimensional art from California State University, Northridge, Tom serviced major corporations, including ITT, Litton Industries, Northrop Grumman, Petersen Publishing, and the United States Army and Air Force as a designer and illustrator. Today, he paints out of his studio in Ventura County, California.
PHOTOgraphy BY John Jackson
et’s begin the journey of this amazingly well-done A/V-8 hot rod through its three owners: Jack Stirnemann, Don Albers (who Jack started the car for), and today’s owner Tom Markland. The A/V-8 hot rod is steeped in rodding lore with the likes of John Athan (longtime friend of Ed “Isky” Iskenderian) who is often credited with building what’s possibly the first A/V-8 hot rod (the combining of a Model A body with a 1932 Flathead V-8 or later and chassis).
PHOTOgraphy BY Jack Johnsonet’s begin the journey of this amazingly well-done A/V-8 hot rod through its three owners: Jack Stirnemann, Don Albers (who Jack started the car for), and today’s owner Tom Markland. The A/V-8 hot rod is steeped in rodding lore with the likes of John Athan (longtime friend of Ed “Isky” Iskenderian) who is often credited with building what’s possibly the first A/V-8 hot rod (the combining of a Model A body with a 1932 Flathead V-8 or later and chassis).
The late-Jack Stirnemann spent his 61-year building career fabricating all sorts of cars, from drag race to restorations, even 200-mph Bonneville racers (including record holders), but mostly hot rods as they were his true love. It was back in 2007 that Jack and his brother Harry began building this Model A roadster for upholsterer and friend Don Albers as fill-in work between other projects.
The basis of this A/V-8 was literally the “basis” with an original 1931 Model A roadster body, a pair of original 1932 framerails, a Flathead engine, C4 automatic, and a Halibrand V-8 quick-change rearend. From this point it was find, fabricate, and finish. Over the course of a decade the A/V-8 began to unite, albeit slowly. Initially the original 1931 Model A roadster body and Deuce frame were fit to one another. This was and is no “plug-and-play” effort as any hot rodder with a Model A on a Deuce frame will attest.
Photography By Brian Woodwickur hot rods are full of pretty cool stuff. Some of it is complex and some of it is simple. Here’s a quick look at a downright simple “touch” that virtually every hot rod has, or should have. It’s most frequently foot operated and it’s the headlight dimmer switch with accompanying carpet trim ring. What’s particularly cool about this product is the combination of dimmer switch and the dimmer switch bezel from NotcHead that gives your car’s interior a neatly finished look while maintaining full functionality of the switch. Switch and bezel can be ordered separately if so desired. NotcHead is a line of cool hardware offered by longtime hot rodder (and sometimes rock ’n’ roll bassist) Tim Divers of Divers Street Rods (DSR) in Sultan, Washington.
You go to the trouble of detailing your street rod and in no small way paying for nice carpeting. Yet there’s always something, such as the floor shifter, emergency brake handle, possibly the brake and clutch pedal, the throttle, dimmer switch, and bezel, that in some form and fashion pokes through the carpeting. The dimmer/bezel is typically tucked away in the upper lefthand corner of the floorboard or toeboard of one’s hot rod. Many times I have seen this accessory just poking through the carpeting. A hole is cut, sliced, or once in a while punched so the dimmer switch can work its way into the daylight.
Photography By Grant CoxPhotography By Grant Coxt’s pretty hard not to stop, stare, and then stare some more when looking at DeWayne Spiess’ 1969 Dodge Super Bee out of De Soto, Kansas. DeWayne recalls his younger days when his dad brought home a 1969 Dodge Super Bee after leaving the Navy. For those who remember their history, the original Dodge Super Bee (1968-1970) was based on the Dodge Coronet two-door coupe. It was Dodge’s version of the Plymouth Road Runner. As the story goes, the name “Super Bee” comes from the Chrysler midsized car “B”-body designation. And of course, the “Super” nameplate results from the engine packages offered in 1968. There was the base motor in the 383 Magnum or the optional (and expensive) 426 Hemi engine. Reports say only 125 Hemi cars were made. It was in 1969 that the pillarless hardtop version was introduced and that’s what we see here. All of those great memories never left DeWayne and in time his friend Michael McLin Jr. told DeWayne about a Super Bee that was in a barn that needed a new home.
This mean machine is no stranger to being ogled at as it has won the Goodguys Speedtech Performance Stance Award as well as Best Paint at the Kansas City World of Wheels car show. It’s no wonder as you stare at this brilliant orange Super Bee that one might overlook some of the subtle sheetmetal changes. For instance, the driprails and door handles were shaved while the hood and both bumpers were custom fabricated along with the flush-mounted windshield glass. The well thought out custom bodywork was handled by the staff at The RestoMod Store in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. The Super Bee also features custom striping on the hood, a “bumble bee” horizontal tail stripe, and graphics with all of this handiwork appropriately conducted by The RestoMod Store.
Photography By THE AUTHORhere are any number of reasons why you might want to rebuild the independent front suspension on your 1957-1959 Ford. However, in our street rod world the reasons and means to swap out old and tired independent front suspensions are readily available. And that brings us to the installation of a Fatman Fabrications (FF) Mustang II frame stub.
The 1957 Ford we followed in this story has the FF Mustang II frame stub that was installed at Kugel Komponents (KK) while Kev Elliott of Kev’s Rod & Custom (around the corner from KK) finished up the many sheetmetal projects both inside the engine compartment and elsewhere to make this Ford a driver. Originally the car had other work performed and a Ford Y-block was positioned. About a year later the car came back to KK to have a Kaase Boss Nine installed. Well, that massive engine wasn’t going to fit inside a stock engine compartment. The engine swap mandated that KK install the FF frame stub to gain additional engine compartment space that was required for the Kaase to fit.
Photography & Video By THE AUTHORhere’s nothing finer than loading up the family on a sunny afternoon and heading over to the local dairy for some ice cream. It’s nothing short of an American tradition where the ride there can be almost as much fun as picking out your favorite flavor at the counter. Trouble is that by the time you pack your crew back into the car with all their treats, there’s always worry of messing up your ride. For Monique DeLancey, of Middleborough, Massachusetts, creating the cool 1966 Chevy Impala SS you see before you was an exercise in creative restraint when it came to making it family friendly. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks with you either, as there’s a color shift on the lower quarters that we’ll address as the story unfolds.
The only stipulation that Monique had before undertaking the build was that it would need to encompass the ability to be driven anytime, handle like it was on ’rails, and have plenty of performance packed underhood. Being able to incorporate these values led to many conversations with her husband, Dave, who’s no stranger to fullsize Chevy muscle, as his ferocious big-block urged 1965 Chevy Bel Air has been featured in Modern Rodding. For Monique, the design elements of a 1966 Chevy Impala Super Sport coupe with its flowing body lines and enough room to accommodate the family made it the perfect candidate.
When searching out an original car for Monique, Dave’s main concerns were that the body was straight, rust-free, and possess a perfect patina. The quest lasted a year but finally a mint survivor was found in California by Southwick Motors in Southwick, Massachusetts, who transported it back East. It was obvious the 327ci-powered, unmolested Impala SS had been well cared for with the only body repairs in more than 50 years illustrated by the non-matching paint on the lower quarters, adding to its unique personality. Having worked with Chris Cerce of Chris Cerce Customs (CCC) in nearby Taunton on a number of builds, the Impala was delivered for evaluation where the pair shared many of the same ideas on what it would take to bring the car to the next level.
Photography By THE AUTHOR
uring the ’70s, most auto manufacturers made the switch from points-style ignition systems to electronic ignition. General Motors made the most notable jump in technology when it introduced High Energy Ignition (HEI) in 1974. HEI distributors have been a long-standing go-to ignition system for street rods because it’s an extremely simple one-wire hookup. However, the HEI distributor features a large body, which usually looks out of place on a traditional hot rod or gasser. Luckily, there is a better way to upgrade to electronic ignition. Whether you’re running a General Motors, Ford, or Mopar engine combination, the easiest and most affordable way to electrify your vintage points distributor is with a PerTronix Electronic Ignition Conversion Kit.
Our application is an old-school 283ci small-block Chevy with a Delco Remy dual-point distributor, and PerTronix makes electronic ignition conversion kits for many other applications. In many cases, it’s easiest to perform the ignition upgrade with the distributor removed from the engine. For this particular application, the engine was already out of the car, so the distributor was easily accessible.
Photography By Grant Coxonny Moore is no stranger to hot rods, having grown up in a car family. Add to this the building of a number of his own rides and then throw in many more for clients through his shop, Lonny Moore’s Collision Repair, located in Wichita, Kansas, and there’s a world of experience and passion. His latest build is a 1955 Chevy 210 “post” car, a lifelong favorite being a Tri-Five fan.
The foundation for this 1955 Chevy 210 sedan is an Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) GT Sport chassis (number 117) with a 1-inch sway bar in front and a larger bar in back, an AGR rack-and-pinion steering functioning through an ididit steering column, Strange Engineering rearend and adjustable coilover shocks, and chrome IFS A-arms. By utilizing the GT55 chassis, the Tri-Five will rest approximately 3-4 inches lower than stock. According to AME, to make a Tri-Five sit lower they recommend the Wilwood dropped ProSpindle available through AME. Speaking of Wilwood, the front brakes are based on drilled-and-slotted 15-inch rotors with black anodized calipers pressed into service via a Wilwood master cylinder.
The rear suspension is centered on a triangulated four-bar with Strange Engineering adjustable coilover shocks, a Currie 9-inch centersection, more Wilwood braking with 13-inch drilled-and-slotted rotors in addition to black anodized calipers. The wheel and tire combo is centered on Budnik Illusion wheels with Nitto rubber. Sizing for the front measures 18×9 and 20×11.5 in the rear, cloaked with 225/35R18 and 305/35R20 rubber.
Power comes by way of a Chevrolet Performance LS7 crate motor pumping out 525 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. The OE EFI is supported by an MSD Pro Series electric fuel pump, a K&N air cleaner, Street & Performance headers with exhaust system fabricated by Larry Moore (Lonny’s brother), SpinTech mufflers, and covered in high-performance coatings. Ushering the power rearward is a TREMEC five-speed operated by a B&M shifter, cooled by a Speedway Motors tranny cooler. A Power Drive aluminum driveshaft ties in with the Currie rearend all resting in front of the stainless steel Rock Valley gas tank.
Photography by THE AUTHOR, Mel Stone & Courtesy of the Ed Iskenderian collection
et’s wrap up our look at Isky … the man, the car, and the business in this issue’s closing feature.
“Every time we went out and drove the car or ran it for top speed we learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t—remember we were still teenagers attending the colleges of hard knocks.” Style or styling wasn’t initially important, so he ran the car with no grille, only a radiator mounted up in front of the Flathead V-8, which is what it looked like when he road tripped to Mexico. He finally decided the car needed a face, but didn’t want to go the common routes of either a polished brass model T grille shell or 1932 Ford shell and grille; Isky wanted something totally unique for his car. He recalls, “Back then you could buy nearly any grille shell and insert for $7 to $8.” While trolling a junkyard the nose of a car caught his eye, an early ’30s Pontiac. He liked the shape and detailing of the grille, but didn’t want to run a straight-up Pontiac face on his fabulous little Ford, but his mind’s eye saw the resolution of that problem by combining two top sections of this particular grille, made from two halves from two separate grilles welded together. He bought a pair of the identical Pontiac grilles and shells for $15, cut them each in half horizontally about halfway down, measured, matched, and welded it all together, yielding the unique but appropriate-looking grille and radiator shell the car wears to this day. Which looks great.
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