“It Never Rains in Southern California”

A sad song about a man who moves to LA to pursue his career in Hollywood and finds hard times rather than fame. Albert Hammond co wrote this famous song many years ago and every time it rains I think about the hardships that rain can bring to each of us. While we desperately need rain, too much at one time can cause all kinds of turmoil. Such was the case this past weekend.

It all started on Saturday morning when I was supposed to go to Coffee and Kix at Don’s place but the pouring rain kept me at the “Office” rather than enjoying some camaraderie of fellow car buffs. This was the first one of the season and only 26 showed and had to eat two donuts each to make sure Don felt like he didn’t have to eat all of them himself. I hope for a better day next month. Upon returning home, my wife informed me that the roof was leaking and the ceiling looked like it was going to collapse (which it did) in our downstairs bathroom. The rain was coming down in buckets and at my age I don’t climb on roofs anymore. We just watched and kept the bucket empty. The rain finally subsided just in time for me to see what was wrong on the roof. I found the culprit and the man can fix it this week. I was feeling pretty good when I glanced at the pool and noticed that it was running over by the waterfall wall. You get the picture, “It never rains in Southern California but when it does… man it pours.” My Mighty Pump solved the problem but over flooded the drains due to the huge volume. I won’t bore you with more of the rain situation but I am thankful it is over. I could make an analogy to the above situation by saying that things can wrong in your Hot Rod when you encounter heavy rains so now is the time to make sure your glass is sealed tightly and your windshield wipers are in working order.

I do feel for all of you who have been burdened by the extreme cold and snowy weather and I know you are ready for spring to hurry up and arrive. I received some photos from some of you who are taking advantage of the garage time (heated I hope) during the off season. Keep pushing as the snow will soon disappear and the SUN will shine. I promise you that much. I know most of you can’t relate to “It never snows in your town.”

The Red Carpet is down and the stars are arriving so I need to sign off!

Stay Tooned!

Lynn

Rolled out on a sunny day in MN this cherry pie is wanting a new home where it’s warm. Ebay has the details if you have a few extra bucks to spare.

Duane is taking advantage of the -28 below weather (no wind chill) in his town to work on his cherry Deuce sedan.

Getting started is the hard part but once started you will be surprised how fast you can have a Deuce down to the chassis. Plans call for a new 383, black paint and some dash work. Looks like a fun project for the winter months.

Dave left CA to enjoy TX in his retirement years. He is busy with his new garage and new dual post hoist. Looks great Dave.

Steve’s 3 window receives a lot of comments on his aluminum fenders which display his expert craftsmanship that comes out of Moal’s in Oakland. He has owned this coupe for many years and finished it a couple of years ago.

Fred’s Hot Rods in Simi Valley built this 48 SUV for John Good. He used a sedan and sedan delivery to complete the project. I don’t have a photo of the real one but it turned out fantastic. The car is a surf wagon without the wood.

Tom thought this would make a great hot rod and I agree. The 35 Ford is seldom seen in rod circles but this one could be a real beauty with some simple upgrades like a dropped axle and not much else.

I did find time to pull the front wheels and sand the rotors to keep them from squeaking. I have tried everything and nothing last for more than a few hundred miles. Maybe switching back to drums would help the problem.

Here is another favorite phaeton of mine. I know WI is under a cold spell also so maybe he has installed a front snow plow and fenders for the winter months.

Larry in Detroit is also snow bound and can’t wait for the summer months to start cruising Woodward Ave. in his super low sedan.

This owner added a little art deco styling to his 33 roadster. I think this is the real deal but I have never seen the car.

The Deuce Frame Co. offers this center crossmember which works really well and helps to hold the frame in position while you weld in the boxing plates. The cost is around $600 but is well worth the price. We are going to use one of these for Mr. Bill’s project if we can obtain one from Carl.

Besides stopping leaks, I did finish the welding and fitting the front crossmember modification for Mr. Bill.

I need to fit the sides to the original piece and do final welding but I will wait for installation to ensure a perfect fit in the repo rails. The engine mounts will remain for front mounting of the SBC or Flathead. More work is required to add material between the mounts. Lots of work to save an old cross member but I like to do that. Old Ford parts are fun to save.

Oscar Pick for the Week!

I need to give a little credit to the 3 window builders and this one certainly is deserving of the “Oscar”. Bare metal is in for this old dude.