Summer Begins

The family occupied all of my weekend and we had a wonderful time with our grandson. I did manage to show off Pepe to the other side of the family and they loved him. I even started him and let them listen to the healthy sound of the engine. Funny how people react to loud exhaust. Most folks want to see under the hood which always makes me happy since that is where most of my time is spent. In the early days, my main goal was to see how much horsepower I could get out of a SBC and also make it look good with lots of bling. I can remember taking everything I could get off the engine and firewall and having it chromed (cheap in those days) or painted white. The colored braided plastic wrap was also incorporated for the eye candy required with the bling. Nothing was left untouched. Today, I prefer the mundane look of black and some polished stainless lines. Chrome is too expensive and too hard to keep clean. Trends and styles change but one thing remains the same, most hot rodder’s are proud of their engine compartments and keep them in tip top shape. Pepe’s polished EFI stacks are a little ostentatious for my taste but will remain polished for now. Our family soon left the garage and enjoyed the day in the pool. I would sneak back in the garage and wipe off the dust in case someone else wanted a second look or a ride. While most people without the sickness don’t have a clue about the passion that goes into the car, they do appreciate the overall smile on your face as you tell them every little detail about the car.

Syd, my grandson, stole the show but Pepe didn’t mind as this weekend was about family and he was grateful to be included. I missed Forty Ford Day and Woodies on the Wharf but I am sure photos will be forthcoming on both of these events. Back to the 50’s was also this past weekend and I am sure Hot Rod Hot Line will have lots of photos. The summer begins and I look forward to a fabulous Hot Rod summer.

Stay Tooned!

Lynn

Lou had a friend from Canada stop by on his way to Tahoe for the EF meet… Flathead powered and still going strong.

Tim knows a thing or two about building engines for his string of 40 Fords. He likes the 327 as I do and has the installation of his components memorized.

Roadster lovers are also present on the East Coast as shown above by these two laid back windshield examples.

A straight forward Deuce hiboy with whitewalls and tan steelies offers a different look in this popular style Deuce.

Seabright Hot Rods had a visitor who showed them his Henry Hiboy roadster. Looks like the profile for the LA roadster plaque. The entire undercarriage is chrome plated like in the early days. See their site for more photos.

Cory’s 40 sedan with photo by Non Stock photography sure looks good to me. Perhaps his sedan will be an inspiration for many more of this often overlooked model from Ford.

Alan, from Conejo Upholstery, has a neat garage where he does it all, from chassis and body work to final upholstery. A place for everything and everything in place. This is a very nice 48 convertible he built after buying it from me. He has the touch in the building process and does some outstanding upholstery work.

Mike has a substantial garage for his 7 cars. All three of these Fords are flathead powered and beautiful.

Mike’s work area is about clean and well equipped as you could ask for. The 36 isn’t bad either.

Mike has two lifts that store some more of his collection. The garage is about 2000 sq.ft. and is adequate for his needs.

Tom’s shop is always full of cars. He has a fleet of them and provides service to the locals in the Bay area. The creeper is for naps.

 This Weeks Garage Find!

Sometimes garages are just storage places for you dreams. These cars were in this garage for over 30 years and never touched. This is the first 39 convertible sedan I located.

In the same garage was this restored, rust free and complete convertible sedan. Both cars were liquidated upon the owner’s death. $20K purchased both of them and a ton of parts.