By Brian Brennan

his 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.

There are numerous projects going on at Steve’s Auto Restorations (SAR) in Portland, Oregon, and here are a few. SAR has several Corvettes in the works. There’s a 1962 custom Corvette nearly complete that’s maroon and pewter in color, features an LS motor with a TREMEC, and a handful of custom items. There’s a 1957 Corvette that’s a ground-up custom build on an Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) chassis, with one-off wheels and more LS power with TREMEC manual trans. There’s also a 1960 Chevy Impala that’s a Ridler build that’s being kept under wraps and finally a 1967 Corvette L71 Corvette ground-up restoration with the intent to be in competition for the Duntov Award.

Here’s something we thought everyone would like to see, a 1956 Chevy Nomad that’s been a family owned car since it was brand new. It’s a body-off build that Steve Frisbie tells us is about 50 percent completed. Look for a reformulated House of Kolor Blue Blood Red color to be liberally applied to the Nomad.

It rests on an AME chassis, utilizes one-off 17-inch wheels, although tire selection is yet to be made. There are a handful of other one-off parts, such as the engine cover for the LS3 bolted to a TREMEC manual trans. The body will feature one-piece front and rear bumpers tucked in for a snug fit while the grille is a chromed stock unit. Inside the tan interior will feature 1959 Cadillac door panel components, original bench seats recovered, square-weave carpet, and A/C … gauges have not yet been chosen.

We look forward to a completion date of mid summer of 2021 to seeing this Bowtie on the road.

A quick look to the South and we see what’s happening at Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alloway always has plenty going on, whether it be Corvettes, El Caminos, Tri-Fives, or early hot rods. Remember, his shop builds the Shades of the Past–hosted Hot Rod Roundup giveaway roadster every year.

After a quick look around we found a 1966 Chevelle getting ready for paint, a 1961 Chevy Impala with LS power for Diane Rowe receiving some mechanical attention, a 1970 El Camino for Jerry Rice in the body shop, and a 1959 Chevy El Camino belonging to Brian Kilgore, also in the body shop.

Two of our favorites are the 1934 Ford five-window coupe belonging to Larry Olson with the “MacDaddy” himself, Alloway, performing sheetmetal repair to the driver side door. Now, if you are a fan of Tri-Fives and big-block massive hyperpower and torque then check out George Lange’s bad boy 1956 post car with Josh Bailey working on the frontend (core support area) and the trademark Alloway wheels. We can also guess the PPG Alloway black will be sprayed in due time.

You may think you are drawn to SoCal for the weather—but who wants sun all the time—but really it has to be for the hot rods. Your travels should include a visit to see Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods (HHR) in Burbank. When it comes to putting 100 pounds of hot rods into a 50-pound building you can rest assured that Ladd will figure out a way. His shop has to have the coolest early hot rod “stuff” per square foot as any shop in the country and that’s why we go by and visit.

Our jaws bounced off our bellies and shutters began to click when we gazed upon the 1933 Ford three-window coupe belonging to Darren Houck that’s a homage to vintage lakes racers. The body is highly modified with a La Salle grille, a handmade shell, and hood all from the workbench of HHR. More metalwork comes in the form of a chopped top, channeled body, louvered roof insert, and roll pan.

The original chassis was modified and reinforced and then equipped with a dropped axle, spring mounted behind the axle, split wishbones, quick-change, steelies wrapped with Dunlop rubber, and, the pièce de résistance, a blown Flathead.

If a 1932 Ford five-window chopped-and-channeled coupe makes you lose sleep at night then the Simon Gluckman–owned traditional hot rod is everything you have ever wanted. Right down to the blown early Olds V-8. Also packaged neatly is the dropped, drilled, and chrome I-beam axle reposing on split wishbones all packaged between bias-ply rubber on black steelies with spider caps.