et’s take a step back to a time when the ’57 Ford Del Rio station wagon shown here rolled off the end of the assembly line. Because it was 1 of 46,105 examples of a Deluxe two-door Ranch Wagon with Fairlane trim that was built that year, it had a base price of around $2,500. To put things in perspective, the average family income that year was $5,000 and the average price for a home was $12,220.

We can only imagine how happy the beautiful, new, shiny station wagon made its original owners. But eventually, the Ford’s useful life was over; the stylish yet practical family hauler lost its luster, eventually becoming what most people considered to be just another old used car. And like most old cars of its age, the ’57 had suffered the ravages of time and needed a fair amount of TLC, but Colin and Sue Radford saw it as a diamond in the rough. A station wagon would be perfect for hauling their grandkids around, going to swap meets, and making the family’s yearly trips to the Bonneville Salt Flats—and just like that a new project was born.

Collaborating with Colin on the wagon from the beginning has been their grandson, Tate. So far, the duo has updated the chassis with suspension components from Art Morrison Enterprises, brakes from Wilwood, and slipped in a Ford Performance Coyote V-8 and Gearstar 4R70W transmission in the space a Y-block and Ford-O-Matic once occupied.

ach year, February is the time to visit the Pomona Fairplex in SoCal for the annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) Presented by Meguiar’s. The 74th annual show this year gave hot rodders all they could wish for, with 450 cars under the roof competing for such awards as the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) trophy and the Al Slonaker Memorial Award, along with many other prizes and awards.

The show focuses on these two significant awards representing the pinnacle of building within our hobby, but there is much more to the tune of 500 individual awards. Both major winners received smaller versions of the perpetual trophies with their names engraved. The iconic 9-foot AMBR trophy has been around since 1950, and the Slonaker Award, which began in 1974, was substantially upgraded in 2020 to a custom billet trophy by its current sponsor, ARP. ARP is also the sponsor of the AMBR, and along with trophies, plaques, jackets, and the like, ARP presents a $12,500 check to each of the winning owners.

he old car experience is often an exercise in nostalgia, causing memories to flood in and take us back to a simpler time. Sometimes, it’s a visual trigger, while many times it’s a particular sound that takes us back. Music certainly creates those nostalgic moments, but one of the most sinful acts in the old car world is hacking out a car’s dash to install a modern head unit for a stereo system. Sure, there are tasteful ways to give your car high-tech audio, and there are even ways to hide it altogether, but in our case, we wanted something that looked close to the original and provided an update in technology.

Our subject is a mostly original ’63 Chevy Impala Super Sport. The car is mechanically sound and has an aged paintjob with a little bit of character. Inside, it is mostly stock, including the original Delco AM radio and underdash speaker, a combination that hasn’t worked in many years. There are options to send the original radio off to be rebuilt or updated, but we wanted a simple bolt-in solution that would completely upgrade the listening experience.

hen it comes to building a traditional-style highboy roadster, picking a time frame to build around sets the stage for what parts will be used and how. Everything from tires and wheels to powerplant decisions can be made once that era is decided upon. A build based on the ’40s will vary from one based on the ’50s. A build based on the ’60s will vary even more. It can create a hard line drawn in the sand or it can serve as a baseline that can be deviated from. When Jason Scudellari started laying out his plans for his ’29 Ford roadster, he knew he had to pick an era that would allow him to build what he had pictured in his head, while still allowing him the freedom to build a car that would be reliable, look good, and perform as he expected.

Not one unfamiliar with performance, Scudellari knew that whatever powerplant he decided on to motorvate his roadster, it would have to make decent power. That took the Flathead out of the running. He also wanted something that he was already familiar with that wouldn’t require a complete education on the goings-on of said engine. That put the venerable small-block Chevy at the forefront. About as simple and common as a V-8 comes, Scudellari was familiar enough with those motors to feel comfortable building one up to meet his performance expectations. But that time frame meant building one in a style that stayed true to the era he picked. So, it was decided that a mid-’60s time frame would serve to fit both the aesthetic of the roadster that he had built in his head as well as the performance aspect that he desired as it meant that he could build a high-powered small-block using a 6-71 blower; something that exudes ’60s hot rodding at its finest.

tremendous amount of work goes into building a car from the ground up. In past installments we followed the Rad Rides by Troy team through the construction of the frame and major body components for this fenderless ’36 Ford roadster being built for Ross Myers. With those components largely completed, it was time to fit the engine and drivetrain and to design and fabricate the suspension system.

A Ford Y-block engine was selected and fitted with vintage-looking components that were cleverly updated to provide the functionality of a modern car. A McCulloch VS57 supercharger was used, but Pat Fleischman from Lubbock, Texas, was called on to equip it with the internal components from a Paxton supercharger. The engine will have fuel injection but the Autotrend EFI throttle bodies look very much like vintage Stromberg carburetors. Rad Rides has a reputation for building cars that perform at the highest level, but on a car like this, maintaining a vintage look is part of the discipline.

ome of you may remember “G-Force One,” which was an active project car that began life in 2010 based on artwork by Thom Taylor. It was an ’87 Pontiac Grand Prix that began its life as the first car to roll off the assembly line in production year 1987, VIN 2G2GJ11Z7H2200001. This ’87 Grand Prix lived in the GM Heritage Collection for several decades and amassed a whopping 63 miles on its odometer.

Next up in 2011, Holley began turning this ’87 Grand Prix into a Pro Touring project. As happens with any of us and our best laid plans things can, and do, go awry. However, not before a great deal was accomplished. Currently, this ride is sitting in a warehouse with a great deal completed and in need of, for the most part, wiring, glass, interior, and so on.

How cool would it be to gather up a project such as this and finish it? It would make for an amazing street ride and one that would be a performer worthy of any hot rodder. The G-Force One features an Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) custom box-style frame then fitted with a Ford 9-inch rearend with a Watts link and an aluminum driveshaft. It also features a tunable Woodward power steering unit. Located at the corners are Strange single-adjustable coilover shocks and Baer 6R calipers along with drilled-and-slotted rotors and AME control arms. Rolling this hot rod down the road is a combination of Forgeline GA3s; 19s in front and 20s in the rear. Next, a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 265/35ZR19 and 335/30ZR20 were used.