(Editor's Note: If there's one thing that is constant around here it seems to be change. Just five months ago I had Damon Lee re-introduce himself here as he rejoined R&C after the demise of Custom Rodder. It only took us a couple months to not only drive him away from the magazine but completely out of the state. Damon has decided to get back to his roots and move back east to be closer to both his and his wife's families and take a position with Speedway Motors. Our loss is Speedy Bill's gain and we all wish Damon and his family the best of luck. He can now take all that California real estate equity and buy the car compound he's always dreamed of. So once again I'm allowing the new guy a chance to introduce himself and do a little of my work. Kev Elliott has joined the staff as our tech editor and has already proven himself to be an asset that we look forward to putting to the test. If you've got some ideas for some tech articles you'd like to see, send Kev or me an e-mail and let us know what it is.)
What Does An Englishman Know About Rods And Customs?Seems it's been a year of changes here at R&C, and this month is no exception, as there's another new staffer on board. Though I don't share a last name with our editor as did my predecessor, we do share our first name, though I go by the abbreviated form of Kev, which hopefully should avoid some confusion. (Editor's note: It hasn't!)
I guess I should mention right off the bat that I'm English, though I've lived here in the United States for the past two years with my wife and two young sons. For those of you who will no doubt be asking, "What does an Englishman know about rods and customs?" I'll state the case for my defense. For almost 10 years before my big move halfway 'round the planet, I was editor of the UK's premier hot rod magazine, Custom Car, and for almost the same period before that, operated my own bodyshop, leaning heavily toward work on rods and customs, drag cars, and VWs.
I was a member of the Low Flyers (the British version) back in the mid- to late-'80s, a club that only built and drove traditional hot rods-Ts, As, Bs, and '34s on steel wheels, split 'bones, and mainly Flathead-powered-even before the Choppers or Shifters were doing similar here. I have continued to build traditionally styled cars ever since. My Flathead-equipped Model A roadster stayed with me until the late '90s, while my current stable includes a '49 Chevy coupe that I chopped for my wife a few years back, a '28 Model A coupe that will go together just as soon as there's space in the garage (sound familiar?!), and a '47 Ford Fordor that is now a two-door roadster pickup, which is nearly finished, but has been on the back burner for too many years now.
It's a sign of my madness, or deep affliction with this hobby, that I shipped all these cars, plus two motorcycles, with my possessions from England. Since I've been here I've also gotten halfway through the build of a '28 Model A closed cab pickup and just bought a '56 Chevy four-door wagon, as our boys are getting too big to cram into the back of the chopped coupe. I just can't decide whether the wagon should go gasser style, or slammed on the ground, though as the front bumper and grille are already missing, I'm gravitating toward the former. So although I have a ways to go to amass a collection as large as editor Kevin, I'm more than knee deep into this stuff.
It sounds corny, I know, but I've been an avid R&C reader since it returned to the newsstands in 1988, and the opportunity to now work on the magazine that features my favorite style of cars is extremely exciting. I'm looking forward to working with Kevin and Tim, while working alongside Aaron is just plain strange, in a good kind of way, as up to now he's been a long-distance friend ever since he used to pen a column for Custom Car some 10 years ago. Here's hoping I can bring something fresh to what is already a pretty fine mix between the covers of R&C every month.