Ford How To Articles

How to Heat Shrink Metal - The Incredible Shrinking Bead

A lot of people think sheetmetal work is the hot rodding equivalent of rocket science. And forget about shrinking metal; that's alchemy. A Ph.D. in mechanical engineering or medieval chemistry would come in handy but are not necessary. In fact, heat-shrinking more

Getting Framed - Building Your Own Chassis: Part II

Jim Aust shows us how to build your own chassis in Rod and Custom Magazine. more

1936 Ford Homebuilt Headers

Once upon a time hot rodders worked with the materials readily at hand to build their machines. During those formative days, one of the easiest ways to increase performance was to improve the exhaust flow, and resourceful rodders dicovered that the inner drive more

1929 Model A - Lose The Tube

In between full-on street rodders (who love all the latest modern hardware) and hardcore purists (who staunchly demand 100-percent factory stock) exists a few subgroups of people who enjoy staying somewhere in the middle. One of the many things these "in-betwe more

Independence Day

In the beginning, rodders only wanted two things from their steeds: speed and beauty. While heated leather seats, satellite navigation systems, and Tiptonic transmissions have yet to find their way onto the street rod scene, some modern Detroit-born technology more

Latch Match

Opening and closing doors and hoods on any hot rod or custom should be accomplished with ease and without any compromise to safety. Original equipment is adequate in most cases, but modern technology can improve the operation and safety of these items. Don more

Be a Hero, Save a Grille

While roaming the countryside near Vacaville, California, a friend of mine stumbled over something metallic poking out of the sandy desert soil. Being a hardcore car guy, he had to investigate the mysterious metal object that had tripped him up, since it appea more

How To Build A Budget Roadster

“I’ve never seen a better deal before or since.” We’ve gotta agree. When former Rod & Custom staffer Will Handzel set out to build his first hot rod he got an absolutely gut-wrenching deal on a gennie ’31 roadster, then turned it into more

Aluminum Grille Resto

In the days before plastic trim melted in the sun, stamped aluminum graced the front ends of many American cars, because it was cheaper and easier to manufacture than the chromed pot metal grilles it replaced. It was also more easily damaged. Ham-fisted mechan more

1939 Ford Grille Peak

In the August 1996 issue of R&C, we featured a story on how to peak a 1939 Ford hood, but we never showed how to peak the grille to match. Well, after several requests, here’s the information you have been waiting for. The procedure is actually pretty eas more

Installing A Gearhead Trunk Popper

One of the most popular hot rod and custom styling tricks is to shave the handles off doors and trunks. Rodders and customizers have been doing it for years and generally replace the handles with solenoids to operate the latches electrically. When that is done more