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The Rodder's Journal Issue #37
Artists Lee Pratt and Jimmie Vaughan have each produced subtle, yet extensively modified Customs. Lee's '49 Ford and Jimmie's '54 Victoria were heavily influenced by Spence Murray's early Hop Up writings. Jimmie's Victoria is what he calls a "factory custom." This is due to the '54 Victoria looking great unchopped, and we would have to agree.
"Tradition lives on" is the theme for Kirby Kennedy's 1931 Model A Hiboy. Kirby began building this chopped coupe when he was only 16 years old. He finished the traditional home built coupe just in time to earn better than a passing grade for his high school senior project. Tom Madigan talked with Kirby about building the coupe, and discusses how Hot Rodding will live on with a new generation of eager car builders.
The bare metal feature and cover car in this issue displays Nacho Gonzalez' 1935 Ford Pickup. The story discusses a trend sweeping San Jose, CA, of radically low rods, which display impressive metal fabrication skills. Nacho's truck sums up this trend perfectly, with the frame Z'd 18 inches. The top has a 7 inch chop, the body is sectioned 6 inches, and channeled 5.
Rock musician James Hetfield of Metallica considers the '53 Buick Skylark to be one of the Holy Grails of automotive styling. Turning his rare Skylark into the "Skyscraper" Custom that is found on the "B" cover, took extensive planning, and some help from Rick Dore, of Rick Dore Kustoms. In this article, James explains how he and Rick improved on the already elegant lines of his Buick. He also explains how his 9 year old daughter named his newest show winning Custom. It's a Skylark and it scrapes the ground. Skyscraper. Get it?
What would TRJ be without some Bonneville history? The Colorado based team of Kenz & Leslie had the first American Hot Rod to exceed 200 MPH. This is their saga battling the best of the Rodders from California. Also, Gearhead publisher Mike Lavella dives into the world of independent Hot Rod magazines, past and present.
Parts Is Parts features Stewart Warner gauges written by Jay Fitzhuigh. Jay also presents us with the history of Algon Fuel Injection. TRJ examines the Monster Art of Ed Newton, and discusses his affiliations with legends such as Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, in an excerpt of Newton and Thom Taylor's new book, entitled, "How To Draw Crazy Cars & Mad Monsters Like A Pro."
There is still even more in this issue of TRJ #37. We cover Tom Kowalski's 1941 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe Custom, and touch on a few other rarities in his collection, such as his 1933 Caddy V-16 Convertible. John Robinson's '57 Ford Wagon and '37 Ford pickup get some well deserved recognition, and Tim Thompson's "Hop Up" Caddy powered Deuce 3-Window is compared with his "Lo-Lucky" Corvette powered Deuce Roadster.
The TRJ Staff
