Think Pink
If you're a regular R&C reader you may remember when we ran a feature on the Model A coupe in bare metal built by Pinkee's Rod Shop with their sectioned '32 chassis rails back in September 2007. If so, the 'Spring-over' front crossmember may have caught your eye. Well, Pinkee's Rod Shop is now offering this crossmember for sale individually, as well as a flat front crossmember and a cool rear crossmember, the latter two both drilled for appearance. All are fabricated from cold finished 1018 steel, water-jetted, and jog-welded.
The 'Spring-over' crossmember allows, as its name suggests, the transverse leaf spring to mount above the crossmember for an ultra-low ride height, incorporating a CNC-machined clamp with high-strength ARP bolts. That clamp, by the way, is also available on its own if you want to incorporate it into your own crossmember design. The flat front crossmember is made from 1/4-inch-thick steel and designed to accept a 1 3/4-inch leaf spring, and is the crossmember Pinkee's fits to their sectioned framerails, while the stylish rear crossmember is made from 1/4-inch steel with a 1/8-inch top surface, and is designed to clear a quick-change center section. It's supplied slightly wider than required for the builder to cut it to suit their chassis rails, though it's not designed to accept a spring, Pinkee's using it in conjunction with quarter-elliptics or coilovers. For more information contact Pinkee's Rod Shop at (970) 203-1932 or www.pinkeesrodshop.com.
Painting summit?
You'd have to have been living under a rock for a very long time to not have heard of Summit Racing Equipment, the direct mail and Internet supplier of high-performance automotive parts. In addition to providing everything needed to make your car perform better, they can now help you make it look better with the Summit Racing Paint and Auto Refinishing System, providing everything required to spray a professional-looking paintjob for just a few hundred bucks. The system includes everything from prep solvents (Wax & Grease Remover and Surface Wash) and primers to single-stage topcoats, clearcoats, and activator. There's even a fish-eye eliminator available. The urethane topcoat is available in 20 colors including candy apple red, metallics and pearls, as well as solid colors, and mixes 4:1 with the fast, medium, and slow activators, the choice of which depends on the temperature in which you'll be spraying. Reducers are also available in three versions.
Summit Racing has made every effort to make the Refinishing System as simple as possible for non-professional do-it-yourself painters, though you should check your local regulations as some areas have pretty restrictive limitations concerning solvent-based paints and release of toxins. Summit has thought of this too, and offers a special zero-VOC medium reducer for use in areas with strict environment compliance regulations, such as California. For more information contact Summit Racing Equipment at (800) 230-3030 or www.summitracing.com.
On the rack
Replacing steering boxes with bolt-in steering rack conversions has become popular of late, not least because they provide improved steering response and handling. Unisteer Performance Products can now help those of you with 1958-64 Impalas with its new bolt-in rack and pinion kit, which match the factory suspension geometry and have little or no bump steer.
The kit is supplied with all parts needed for installation, though if you've installed an LT- or LS-series small-block, you'll need to inform Unisteer, as such applications are available but are custom orders. For more information contact Unisteer Performance Products at (800) 338-9080 or www.unisteer.com.
Number One again
If there's one name that's synonymous with Flathead Ford performance parts, it's Edelbrock. Having recently rereleased the block letter aluminum cylinder heads, we now have the Slingshot intake manifold available again. This is especially significant as the Slingshot intake manifold was the first product manufactured and sold with the Edelbrock brand logo, and has been recognized as one of Hot Rod magazine's "Twenty Speed Parts That Changed the World."
This iconic design for 1938-48 Flathead Fords is available once again under part #1103. The Slingshot's Y-configured dual carburetor flanges will accept Stromberg, Holley, and Demon two-barrel carburetors and accommodates the period-correct generator mounting, something that isn't always possible with other dual carb intakes. For more information contact Edelbrock at www.edelbrock.com.
Keyless Column
Flaming River, in conjunction with an original equipment manufacturer, has designed a keyless ignition system. The driver carries an igniter, in much the same vein as the keyless remote you probably have for your modern daily-driver, and when he or she enters the vehicle using the igniter, the system 'wakes up.' The igniter sends a signal, the system responds and identifies the codes, and the engine is started with the push of a button.
The obvious benefits are high security and no need to carry, or lose, a mechanical key. The system is available from Flaming River on its own, or as part of a new electronic 'Secur-Start' tilt steering column. This 30-inch stainless steel column integrates the starting system, with an illuminated push button where you'd normally expect to find the ignition key switch. For more information contact Flaming River at (866) 815-3673 or www.flamingriver.com.