ot rod engine swaps are nothing new, and if you’ve tried one, you’ll agree that there’s no such thing as easy. There’s an art to fitting engines and drivelines into cars and trucks that never came with them from the factory. These projects will undoubtedly challenge your skills as a mechanic, engineer, and fabricator. Each one brings its own set of challenges, but once you finish, there’s no better feeling of accomplishment.

In the case of our Modern Rodding 1965 Mustang Fastback, we’re taking it a step further by adding a Roadster Shop chassis along with the 7.3L Ford Godzilla and the Silver Sport Transmissions (SST) TREMEC TKX swap kit. The Godzilla should significantly motivate our lightweight, manual transmission–equipped 1965 Fastback, and we’ll pair that with the fun only a manual transmission can deliver. The First-Generation Mustang has eye-catching lines, and with a modern powertrain, suspension, and brakes, we expect it to grip and rip.

or those who have been playing with hot rods as long as the editorial staff of Modern Rodding, there are countless tales of woes resulting from youthful ignorance. Take the time a buddy of an unnamed impressionable lad used all-thread to replace two missing main bearing bolts in a Flathead Ford. The results were not pretty. Gary Holzapfel also bore witness to fastener failure; seeing catastrophic failures in various race engines, albeit for far less ridiculous causes than what a clueless kid created. Holzapfel saw a need for quality fasteners and used his aerospace background to create Automotive Racing Products (ARP). Today, ARP’s line of products includes virtually all the fasteners found in an engine or driveline, ranging from high-quality OEM replacement parts to specialty fasteners used in every form of racing on land or water.

One of the reasons for ARP’s success is the complete control of the manufacturing process and the use of the best materials. ARP notes, “The alloys employed in manufacturing fasteners come in various grades; ARP uses only the purest grades, which are superior to commercial and aircraft-quality material. All heat-treating is done in-house (as are all manufacturing operations) to ensure reaching the proper strength level, with special racks used to guarantee precise, even penetration. Threads are rolled (not cut) after the heat-treating process for superior (up to 20 times better) fatigue life.”

n previous articles, we’ve covered many details of this exceptional 1970 Chevelle built by Roadster Shop. This time, we’ll focus on some of the finishing touches that add just the right amount of sparkle. Many exhaust systems end with a polished round tip or a commercially available rectangular profile. These can look good, but the goal was to elevate this detail in a unique way. The team decided to machine custom exhaust tips from solid stainless steel—no small feat.

The exhaust tips were designed in CAD, and a test piece was 3-D–printed in polymer to verify size, shape, and fit. After passing all tests, the final parts were produced in metal. The design’s complexity required that each tip be machined in two parts, allowing the inner section to be hollowed. Holding these thin-wall parts during machining is challenging, so bosses were added on the sides of each piece to securely attach them to a machining fixture. After the shapes were fully machined, the bosses were removed and smoothed.

The parts were welded along the centerline and, after smoothing the joints, they appear as a single solid piece of metal. Once the tips were positioned and mounted, the valence panel under the bumper was scalloped to match the shape, with the edge of the opening flared and radiused. As shown in the photos, this creates a very sleek look for the ends of the exhaust pipes that blends smoothly with the valence panel.

ot rodders “bench race” every year around this time. During winter or indoor car show season, any hot rod fan would love to go to sunny Southern California where they should spend three days at the Fairplex in Pomona, home of the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). Known as the “Grand Daddy of Them All,” this indoor car show is not only impressive but also features a large outdoor event that attracts Southern California’s best hot rods in all makes, models, colors, and styles. Besides being one of the largest indoor car shows worldwide, the event also hosts the Grand Daddy Drive-In. Over 900 additional cars will be displayed inside the buildings and around the event. Many of these cars are award winners from previous years.

ince its inception, hot rodding has been about performance. We modify our cars for various reasons, installing components to make them go faster, stop quicker, or corner more confidently—all to make driving more enjoyable. Of course, another way to achieve that goal is by listening to your favorite tunes on the road. That’s why hot rodders from across the country turn to Alan Hickman at the Audio Shoppe for a custom sound system.

Like any professional engine or chassis builder, Hickman selects the best components for the application when installing stereo components. In the newly built 1932 Ford roadster shown here, the speakers and amplifier are from ARC Audio.

Up front, Hickman installed a pair of ARC Audio coaxial speakers in the highboy’s kick panels. The term coaxial is common in audio terminology for what is essentially two speakers in one unit. This design features a woofer cone with a separate tweeter, providing full-range sound quality and better frequency coverage than single-cone speakers.

ARP West Coast Challenge Series

he Grand National Roadster Show is a huge indoor event, complemented by an outdoor show, making it one of the largest car shows in the country, possibly the world. And if that’s not enough for the diehard hot rod enthusiast, there’s another component called the ARP West Coast Challenge Series (WCCS), creating a show within a show. ARP is also the proud sponsor of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster competition as well as the Slonaker Award.

ARP’s WCCS competitors at the 2026 Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) included six vehicles. In future issues, we’ll share coverage from the next four venues of ARP’s WCCS. Quoting Bob Florine of ARP, “The idea for the WCCS began as a conversation he had with John Buck of Rod Shows in 2022, with the concept debuting at the 2023 GNRS.” The WCCS offers an attractive cash prize for those who compete and do well: $12,500 for First Place, $6,500 for Second, and $3,500 for a Third Place finish.

The three Northwest states welcome all types of modified or restored cars and trucks. To qualify for 2026, participants must attend at least four of the five ARP WCCS events. Starting in Pomona, the field for ARP’s WCCS is limited to 12 competitors. The finale for ARP’s WCCS will be held at the 75th Annual Sacramento Autorama, May 1-3, 2026.

His desk didn’t change much in appearance over the years, nor did the cigar—always in his hand and ready to enjoy life—which was made up of Isky Racing Cams, the business, and a good cigar.

“Isky” Iskenderian, who died on February 3, 2026, at the age 104, was a true hot rod pioneer known for speed, craftsmanship, and endless curiosity. Born in 1921, Isky grew up in Southern California during the early, hungry days after the Depression, when ambitious young people repurposed whatever they could to chase the thrill of speed. He once recalled that Model Ts and As—cheap, plentiful, and slow—started as raw material for ambitious kids who wanted more but had little money. “We were kids in the postwar era,” he said, “and we bought used cars for $5 or $10 and tried to figure out how to make them go faster without spending what we didn’t have.”

If Isky’s legend is anchored in a single car, it is the roadster that bears his name—the Isky roadster. Its evolution began with a car owned by his lifelong friend John Athan, but the real transformation came from Isky’s hands and mind. Built on late 1920s Essex framerails, the car combined a 1923 Model T body with a Ford B Flathead engine, initially tuned and modified in ways that reflected a teenager’s relentless experimentation. The chassis was upgraded with a 1932 Ford front axle and brakes, and the driving experience was electrified by a then-cutting-edge mix of components from around the automotive world. A distinctive Auburn instrument panel and a two-piece Pontiac grille shell—sourced from junkyards and rebuilt into a unique, aerodynamic front end—gave the car its unmistakable look.