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
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The hood of a '55 Chevy somewhat resembles a huge tarmac, so it's not surprising that the design team at GM bolted a gigantic chrome plane to it. Fifty years later, it seems almost sacrilegious to alter a stock-bodied Tri-Five Chevy, but the hood ornament has to go if you want to build a hot rod or
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Installing a GM tilt steering column in a hot rod or custom is not a new concept. New columns and installation kits have been making it easier for years. The ididit kit is easy to install and works quite well, but the lower mount needs a little help if you're
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Jim Aust shows us how to build your own chassis in Rod and Custom Magazine.
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1949-1952 Chevrolet Windsheild Replacement from an Oldsmobile presented by Rod and Custom Online. I wasn't planning to change the windshield in my '52 Chevy. I'd rather not talk about it. All I'll say is that if you take the hood latch to the chrome shop early in the morning, don't try to drive the
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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
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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
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After driving all the way to the L.A. Roadsters' event from Missouri, John Swander had a unfortunate mishap just three miles from the fairgrounds. The upside was that John was not injured and was already gathering pieces to repair his roadster at the swap meet
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"It's the last thing you do to a car, but it's the first thing people see." That's how Roger Ward puts it. He ought to know. He's been painting cars for 50 years. Few things can make or break a street rod or custom car like paint. The right paint color and des
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Car shows are a funny and fickle thing. Sometimes they go off without a hitch and everyone involved has a rockin' good time; other times Murphy's law rears its ugly head and any number of disasters can occur. Very rarely, however, is a show consistently excell
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Last month, we tossed around some ideas about how to build a killer '60s-style custom, and several of the illustrations suggested metalflake paint. Looking to learn a little more about how to spray the stuff, we turned to Donnie Baird at Imperial Customs in Bu
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When Sam Strube built his '23 T roadster--one of the contenders in R&C Asphalt Ego-Rama last year--he decided against running a hood. After kicking up a load of desert dust at El Mirage and across the Mojave, that extra piece of sheetmetal started to make sens
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Installing Hagan's Frenched Headlamp Kit
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Although our compadres over at Hot Rod tend to focus primarily on vehicles produced in the ’60s or later, there are some staffers over there who understand the whole street rodding thing. One of them is Associate Publisher Ed Zinke. Ed’s been into
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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
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It’s the final touch after painting your car and it’s something that can change people’s comments from “nice” to “wow.” Color-sanding doesn’t have to be magic only performed by swamis and genies, though. With some patien
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The recent rise in popularity of early post-war Chevys seems to have spurned growth in the development of new products for these vehicles. Among the organizations that have recognized this escalating interest is Walton Fabrications in Upland, California. Propr
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As post-war Chevys become increasingly popular hot rod projects, engine swaps are also becoming more common. Many rodders prefer to swap the Stovebolt Six for V-8 power, though some opt to trick out the inliner. Either way, updated transmissions are usually pa
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Despite the various concerns over suspension, upholstery, paint, and so on, that we occupy ourselves with when it comes time to build or update a modern street rod, the whole idea for hot rods in the first place was to go faster. Though this concept is sometim
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Building a true custom involves making adjustments to the lines and features of the subject vehicle. It’s not about making changes merely for the sake of changing stuff, but to enhance and refine the line and shape of a stock vehicle. This not only alters
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Door panels can be a real pain to build when you consider the types of materials available in sheet form. Most factory cardboard panels have long since rotted away or are warped beyond recognition—or are nonexistent in the case of a ’30s or ’40s
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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
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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
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Door handles are one of the most often used elements of any vehicle, and how well they work is rarely noticed until they don’t work well. While we were at Wheeler’s Speed Shop in Huntington Beach, California, we witnessed a ’48 Ford COE truck ge
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Are you the only rodder at the show ’n’ shine clumsily fumbling for the correct key to open the door of your hot rod while everybody else nonchalantly pops theirs open from 20 feet away? Get with it and upgrade to power door locks. AutoLoc has a vari
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