f you have stuck with us through parts 1 and 2 you will know that the Veazie Brothers, Evan and Justin, located in the old SO-CAL Speed Shop race shop in Pomona, California, have been hacking away at the top of Bruce Forte’s Brookville-bodied ’32 three-window. For Evan, this was his first chop; he removed a scant 2 inches in what I thought was one of the neatest chops I have ever witnessed.

There are as many ways to chop a top as there are ways to build a rod. No one method is really any better than any other but there are ways it can be executed that cause a minimal amount of grief—this was one of those.

Part 1 covered the building of a tubular-steel structure to hold the body together when the top was separated from the body. You might dismiss this as an unimportant step but believe me, holding it all together like Humpty is paramount when trying to assemble two halves of a broken egg.

By Tommy Lee Byrd Photography by THE AUTHOR

f you’ve ever installed an air conditioning system on your car, you’ve likely installed refrigerant hoses. We’ve tackled this project on several cars through the years. Some kits come with lengths of hoses and an assortment of fittings, which allow you to custom fit your hoses. Vintage Air leads the way in terms of aftermarket heat and air conditioning systems and recently came out with a new way for enthusiasts to build their own refrigerant hoses in the comfort of their own garage. The tools are affordable and the installation process is simple, so we jumped at the opportunity to try out the new E-Z Clip Universal Hose kit (PN 547002) on a Chevy project.

The car already has a Vintage Air system installed and the only item remaining on our to-do list was installing the refrigerant hoses. When the hose kit arrived we were surprised by the small size of the hoses. The typical hoses feature a large outer diameter, but these are much smaller and feature a different texture than the standard refrigerant hoses. Keep in mind that the inner diameter of the hose is still the same, but an added benefit of the E-Z Clip system is a smaller outside hose diameter. Also in the kit is an assortment of clips, cages, fittings, and O-rings to get us to the finish line of this project.

We ordered two tools from Vintage Air to complete the job. A hose cutter (PN 420001-VUR) and a special pair of pliers (PN 420000-VUR) are all that we need to assemble the hoses. (The jaws on the crimping pliers have two different angles. Orienting them one way secures the clip and flipping them over and reversing the orientation will unlock the clip.) We started by mocking up the hoses and fittings to determine the proper routing and then made our cuts and performed the final assembly. Overall, we spent about an hour fitting, measuring, and assembling the E-Z Clip Universal Hose kit. It gave our Vintage Air system a custom touch and a sanitary appearance, while also speeding up the installation process. Now, we can fill it with refrigerant and begin enjoying our climate-controlled surroundings.

hen speaking with any hot rodder you have to like their take on the rodding life when they end the conversation with, “When the current show season is over then it’s game on and hammer down!” Such is how the conversation went with Jason Graham of Jason Graham Hot Rods & Cool Customs (JGHR&CC) out of Portland, Tennessee, when speaking to him about his personal ride, a ’63-1/2 Ford Galaxie two-door Fastback. It rides on a Roadster Shop chassis and is powered by a supercharged Ford Coyote V-8. He, and his wife, Tasha, are no strangers to building rides for their customers. We are pretty sure we couldn’t name all the rods and customs that have come from their shop but it’s a bunch. They drive what they build, as most of you should remember “Babycakes Merc” (Tasha’s personal ride) or maybe Jason’s chopped-and-channeled ’31 Ford Tudor sedan?

While well known for their lowdown hot rods and customs, Jason thought it might be a good idea to build something different, something that would promote what they could do in the “pro touring” direction of our industry. Not just a muscle car or street machine but something that had the looks, build quality, engine performance, and the ride to set it apart and really get people to look. We think he has it down with his ’63-1/2 Ford Galaxie shown before you. (For trivia buffs: The ’63-1/2 Ford was the industry’s first official mid-year introduction.) The selection of the ’63-1/2 Galaxie came about as it is one of his all-time favorite rides. Aside from his shop cranking out many hours on this build Jason would also like to thank a handful of friends as he enlisted their efforts: John Campbell, Micah Thornton, Justin Gannon, Deon Westry, and Chris Ryan.

The Galaxie was nothing more than a discarded shell as Jason began its resurrection based on an idea brought to life through the artwork of Eric Brockmeyer of Eric Brockmeyer Designs. His rendering was used for inspiration. Look at the rendering and then the photos–it’s amazing how faithful to the artwork the final build is. Now it was time to let the sparks fly and the fabrication begin.

AGNETO! The word alone strikes excitement and wonder in hot rodders and racers alike. Magneto ignitions are one of the oldest and possibly least-understood ignition systems by today’s hot rodders. The first magnetos were designed in the late 1800s and in 1899 Daimler was the first known car maker to use magnetos in production. In 1903 the Robert Bosch Co. introduced the first high-voltage magnetos that fired the spark plug directly, which became the standard ignition for cars and airplanes until about 1918 when the Kettering Ignition (the common points system) became more widely accepted. The Swiss magneto company Scintilla (founded in the teens) was purchased and brought to America in 1921 and in 1929 was purchased by Bendix. Scintilla mags were used during World War II in the mighty Allison V-12–powered aircraft as part of the American war effort. By the ’50s, rodders and racers were getting magnetos from performance companies like Joe Hunt, Vertex (made by Scintilla), and Cirillo, among others.

ne great way to make cycle fenders for an open-wheel car is to start with a spare tire cover. For many hot rods with big ’n’ littles, this works to perfection for the smaller front wheels–but there are often fitment issues with the larger rear tires.

Dean Livermore, of Hot Rods by Dean, has a long history of finding great solutions for problems like this. He called on his chief fabricator, Ron McCorkle, to do the fabrication on this job.

Two ’36 Ford spare tire covers were used, and each was cut in half to make two fenders. For the front fenders, the original contour and width was just about perfect for the front tires of the pickup, but some major modifications were needed at the rear to fit the substantial Coker Classic Radial 700R16 tires (PN 62244).