Produced by the Right Coast Association, the 12th Syracuse Nationals at the New York State Fairgrounds drew almost 7,600 cars this past July, with attendees from all over the United States and Canada. Having wanted to attend the show for a number of years, we finally made it this summer, thanks to the constant harassment from our old pal “East Coast” Artie (just kiddin’!).

Once again, summer capped off in sunny Southern California—Long Beach Arena, to be exact—with the second re-installment of the indoor show, originally made famous by the Renegades Car Club, The Long Beach Motorama.

Randy Graham

The term “gypsy dent puller” might not be something everyone’s familiar with, but we’ve all seen the results of their traveling trade. Typically, the method used by these roving bodywork specialists involves four basic procedures: drilling numerous holes (in and all around a dent), slide-hammering the riddled metal out, plastering Bondo over it, and applying a thick undercoating-type spray paint (ultimately to aid in disguising their shoddy work lying beneath). All four of these steps are unnecessary to begin with. Dents can be pulled—either paintless or bare sheetmetal—without drilling a single hole or via applying anything more than a very thin skimcoat of filler in the end. It is really that simple.

As we’ve illustrated elsewhere in this month’s issue, there are numerous ways in which to sever metal of all shapes and sizes—in all shape and size manners. Whether it’s a nice, clean bandsaw cut or ragged-edge torching, the end result ultimately relies and depends upon the tool that’s used in the first place. Two things to take into consideration when acquiring specific metal-cutting tools are cost and application. For general use, an electric grinder can accomplish various tasks at a very affordable price; for more frequent use, along with the aforementioned bandsaw, a good plasma cutter will go a long way in all facets of fabrication. But with the increased applications come increased prices, obviously. It’s up to you to determine if the investment’s “worth” it or not as far as time and effort savings go.

As fun and rewarding as it may be, the role of a magazine editor is by no means a walk in the park—at least not one without hidden obstacles behind every bush. Don’t get me wrong, as I’ve said before and will attest to here again, I feel blessed to get paid to do something I truly love. Along with its numerous perks, the job also has a few drawbacks that, try as I might, are impossible to overcome. Number one: pleasing everyone … all the time.

If you’ve read the last two issues (and if not, why not?), you’ll know we’ve been upgrading Paul Gauvry’s ’55 Chevy wagon, using parts from Classic Performance Products. Following a total suspension and brake upgrade, in this final installment we swap the power steering and a new column. In an ideal world we would have done this at the same time as the suspension mods, but our tech center manager, who performed the work, had other jobs to complete at the same time, which is why you’ll see the new center steering link and tie rods connected to the old Pitman arm in some of the following shots. This enabled him to move the wagon around easily until he tackled the power steering box and column installation.

We all like a rare early car, and some of the rarest are the ’32 Ford B400 and sedan delivery. Compared to the panel delivery, of which just over 6,000 were produced, only 406 sedan deliveries rolled out of Henry’s factories, based on a regular Tudor sedan body but with a rear door and paneled-in rear side windows, at an extra cost of $90 over a stock sedan. A very limited number of “flower cars” were also built, retaining the rear side glass.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Gasser”? For many, visions of a nose-high Tri-Five come to mind, and naturally so. While ’55-57 Chevys only comprise a fraction of actual Gasser material, next to a ’30s-40s Willys, they just seem to best fit the mold for a good number of street-driven versions we’re mostly all familiar with. But, all Gassers are not created equal—not by a long shot. Some, as you’re about to see, are just as suited on today’s highways and byways as they are on a quarter-mile strip.

It never ceases to amaze me how many times coincidences play a part in either this lifestyle of ours or, more specifically, my profession. A chance conversation can trigger a chain of events when it comes to resurrecting old cars, or buying parts to build new ones, while publishing a long-lost photograph can fill in huge blanks in a car’s history. We can go for months writing features on new builds or restored hot rods, yet rarely do we get to feature cars that have some form of family history.

After finishing my traditional-looking ’31 Model A in 2007, I just got busy driving the wheels off it. I will be the first to say that this Model A is not period correct in every way, and every time I opened the trunk that modern Optima battery was sticking out like a sore thumb—the lack of trunk mat and side panels didn’t help matters much, either. Regardless of style of car, unfinished would be the correct description.

Over the past few months, I’ve been reading and studying the various installments of Metal Shop more like a student eager to further develop his fledgling welding skills rather than as an editor proofreading for grammatical errors. In the process, between all the lines of product information (promotion?), I’ve actually been able to dissect some valuable information. But best of all, it’s forced me to spend more time out in the garage messing around and experimenting. While I’ll never be a “self-taught” pro TIG welder, I am doing my best to become as proficient as possible so that, one day, I can feel confident that my welds will be strong and integral—maybe not pretty, but …

Quite frequently I get asked what the process is for getting one’s car featured in the magazine. In the nearly 20 years that I’ve been performing that particular “process”, the rudimentary rules haven’t really changed—we like your car, we photograph it, you fill out a form and sign a release, we write and prepare the feature, and the rest is up to the printer. Simple enough, right?

It’s not too often that you will find yourself reading a feature story written in the first person. So, take this rare opportunity to hear an owner’s story firsthand, grab yourself a cold one, and sit back and enjoy the tale of Mike Alexander’s very first finished ride!

For over 35 years I’ve made a career of refinishing various forms of motor vehicles, including rods and customs. Over that span I’ve had opportunities to shoot everything from nitrocellulose lacquer (which was even older than me) to PPG’s up-to-date waterborne Envirobase. Back in the ’70s when I became involved in the trade, an acrylic lacquer job was still the top-of-the-line finish. For the in-and-out jobs, acrylic and synthetic enamels were—well, they were what we had. Unlike the modern finishes we use today, the aforementioned were forgiving in that mixing proportions weren’t so critical. In fact, many mixers of that era relied on a measuring method that took its name from the sound a reducer can makes when it’s opened and turned upside-down, “the glub system.” Here’s an example of how it worked: 3 glubs of color to 1 1/2 glubs of reducer, give or take a few glubs. Don’t try that with today’s primers, basecoats, or acrylic urethane clears. Along with our current material’s superior durability comes magnified sensitivity to loosey-goosey mixing mistakes. Now more than ever, the mixer had best be part chemist—and chemical components must be mixed in exact accordance to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Much like a majority of us, Troy Howard’s a second-generation “car guy”. No ethanol or synthetic—pure-leaded fuel and petroleum-based oil run through the Bakersfield, California, hot rodder’s veins. “My dad got me interested 40 years ago, taking me to the drag races and talking about the cars he’d had throughout life. He always had me handing him tools or turning a wrench with him,” Troy recalls.

Don Walde

I know I’m not the only one with two projects in a two-car garage and who spends an inordinate amount of wasted time moving one or the other around to work on them. My roadster pickup runs and can be driven out of the garage, but the Purple Pig ’49 Chevy isn’t a runner yet (it’s close, but I know what I’m like, and if I get it running I’ll start driving it and never finish it!) and I can’t push it back in my garage on my own if I move it out. While I have a set of four-wheel dollies, not only are they hard to move over rough ground (and my garage floor ain’t the smoothest concrete; I’ve even been asked if it’s a dirt floor by people who’ve seen pictures of the car in there!), but invariably I’ll have the car up on jackstands and have to lower it onto the dollies to move it over just so I can get the pickup in at night.

Crop Circles

Many projects these days start out, or even stay as, barn finds. While Dave and Patti Hochevar’s ’42 Dodge had been a farmer’s truck all its life, and had been stored indoors for the majority of that time, it wasn’t really a barn “find”, as Dave had known about it literally all his life (his grandfather bought it new in 1942!).

Hot rodding is all about going fast, though it’d be foolish to increase performance without increasing braking capacity. If you’ve experienced brake fade or simply not been able to bring a car to a stop once you’ve made performance upgrades, you’ll appreciate the importance of improving the “whoa” as well as the “go”.

The Great Depression altered countless lives and maybe some for the better. Bob Bondurant was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1933. Bob’s father owned a car dealership that sold fast cars in nearby Chicago; very fast cars—Cords to be exact.

Hand-me-downs usually come in the form of high-water jeans with worn-out knees or sweaters with mustard stains, right? Not always. At least not in this case, as Mike Carlson couldn’t quite wear what his father eventually passed down to him. But it almost didn’t come to be, as Mike is about to tell—a case of teenage temptation that initially netted a lengthy grounding, but fortunately, led to a happy ending.

The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack, make the famous guitar move at Billy F Gibbons' Hollywood home on a recent trip to California as part of the company's 90th anniversary celebration. Gibbons, the front man for legendary blues-rock band ZZ Top and a life-long automotive enthusiast, considers himself a fan of the Pep Boys brand and welcomed "the Boys" on the tail end of their tour that also included stops with other automotive personalities and at events including the 2011 SEMA show and the Route 66 Rendezvous.

The Grand National Roadster Show has plenty in store for 2012, including, but by no means limited to over 500 show vehicles, many competing for various awards, inside all of the Pomona Fairplex buildings. Another 400-800 vehicles will join the event Saturday and Sunday for the 7th Annual Grand Daddy Drive-In sponsored by Rod & Custom and Street Rodder magazines. Vehicles will park between buildings as part of the show. The featured building celebrates the 1932 Ford once again, this year with the 80th Anniversary of the The Deuce. Watch and bid on artwork created by the best pinstripers in the nation at the Grand National Roadster Show Pinstriper's event. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to nearby charities. Listen to live music all three days inside Bld 10 and outside, and see celebrities throughout the show. The GNRS Awards Ceremony starts at 4:00pm on Sunday night where the 2012 America's Most Beautiful Roadster and America's Most Beautiful Motorcycle will be crowned, along with many other awards.