First off, I apologize for the title. It’s not good. But this isn’t a regular column. This is an “extra” that I proffer just to help you, in one small way, get through the current incarceration.
If you’re not familiar with the Jalopy Journal, you should be (and you probably are). It’s an internet site that posts daily with all sorts of stuff about traditional Rods and Customs. But most popular is the Hokey Ass Message Board, more commonly known as the H.A.M.B. Here members can throw up traditional R & C topics of any sort for mutual discussion–and there are zillions to keep the bored occupied. But one of the more interesting and informative types are called Build Threads, showing the construction of a specific car from beginning to (hopefully) end. So for homebound reading I recommend two.
The first build thread, available to read here, was started by Marty Strode up near Portland, OR, showing how he began with this:
And in his one-man shop built just about everything to turn it into a reproduction of the Spalding Brothers’ track roadster for me.
I had the Wayne 12-port Chevy six engine, and Marty built most everything else, taking pictures as he went.
This is how Marty delivered it to me at last year’s GNRS in Pomona. As you can see, it’s still a ways from finished. But Marty’s build blog on it runs 53 pages on the H.A.M.B., showing not only everything he did–and how–but also lots of history and photos of the original car, not to mention my detailed coverage of building the vintage Chevy engine. It will keep you occupied for hours.
Second, after son Bill supplied the late Rod & Custom magazine with a 3-part photo-essay (read part 1, part 2, and part 3) on turning a mostly stock ’33 Fordor into a contemporary “road rod” for Anna and me, delivering it in this to-be-finished condition:
readers on the H.A.M.B. more or less demanded that I start a build thread showing its further steps to completion. Which of course started with its complete disassembly down to a bare frame to begin the paint-and-detail process
Yes, just like that! I wasn’t as good as Marty at stopping to takes pictures, but the Fordor build-blog only runs 7 pages, so far.
It currently looks like this, but I’ll be adding to it in coming days because, as you know, I’ve got nowhere else to go, but thankfully the garage is included in the self-quarantine. Tune in to see more.
Lastly, I am honored to announce that long-time East Coast automotive editor/builder/mover-shaker Marty Schorr contacted me last week asking if he could add some of my past columns to his own highly regarded high-class automotive website, www.CarGuyChronicles.com. His site keys on classics, Corvettes, concours, and race cars, but he has hot rods in his blood, too. Check out his column to see, and to keep you further occupied during this current containment.
Hope this helps a bit. I’ll be back next week, same time, same station, with something more visual from my photo archives to entertain you. Till then…stay home, stay safe.