Sometimes tech articles are where we find ’em. In this particular instance Mrs. Rotten and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time while visiting friends, Richard and Trish Wright, at their home/shop in Fallon, Nevada. “Hey Rich, what are you workin’ on there? Wait, that’s cool! Let me grab my new digital Brownie!”

OK, I have a confession to make, though it probably won’t come as much of a surprise to the observant amongst you who noticed the engine in the Notso Special in the last issue. One of the worst kept secrets around here, especially if you frequent our Facebook page, is that while I made it to Bonneville with the car, it wasn’t with the turbocharged four-cylinder engine as planned. That will still happen for next year, but circumstances, not to mention my ridiculously short self-imposed deadline, meant it wasn’t ready in time for August. If I’m honest, I think I was the only person who never doubted the car would make it!

Owners of classic ’47-53 Chevrolet trucks can now obtain a contemporary ride, improved handling, and exciting performance by swapping out their old frame for an Art Morrison GT-Sport Chassis. It is a bolt-on proposition, with little or no fabrication required. The extra-strong chassis utilizes 2x6-inch framerails and incorporates body, bumper, and running board mounts, plus core support, front and rear suspension, and power rack-and-pinion steering. The computer-engineered AME Sport IFS incorporates heavy-duty control arms, adjustable coilover shocks, forged spindles, and an adjustable antisway bar. A reinforced 9-inch rearend housing is fitted with a performance four-bar suspension, center-mounted Panhard bar, adjustable coilovers, and an adjustable antisway bar.

Sometimes you just have to face the facts and realize that even a played-out cliché is hand’s-down still the best way to describe a situation. Exactly what string of words was being preluded to—none other than Sir Isaac Newton’s “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” That simple phrase is in a constant state of motion in all aspects of this world, including the rod and custom world.

For all those assuming that assembling a suspension system is just that—assembling suspension—think again. While that may be the case in some situations, let me tell you, when you’re building a chassis from scratch, it definitely ain’t one of those situations. Blueprints, diagrams, and jigs may indeed go a long way toward reaching that cherished point of actual parts assembly. When it comes to initially setting everything up, the two important factors that really matter are time and patience. That last one is something my maker forgot to equip me with at birth, because anything that doesn’t happen immediately, usually doesn’t happen. That said, Jimmy White must’ve inherited my share of the fortitude, not to mention extreme tolerance of annoying factors … like me!

Last month Charley Hutton, at Charley Hutton’s Color Studio, gave us a working tour of Envirobase High Performance, PPG’s line of waterborne basecoats. Though the information applied specifically to the paint, every so often he’d interrupt himself to reveal handy methods and potential pitfalls that escape most enthusiasts. “You could probably do a story about nothing but these little things,” he observed at one point. That inspired us. So here we are.

Whilst one- and even two-piece hood tops are available in the aftermarket for a number of early cars, stray from the norm, and you're likely going to find yourself having to make, or have made, a one-off hood tailored to fit your application. Such was the case with this Model A that uses a Speedway Motors track nose. Not only is this a completely different shape to a Model A grille, but it was also mounted several inches farther forward than stock, necessitating a scratch-built hood.

Last month we left off with putting the final touches on the frame of my ’33 at Circle City Hot Rods in Orange, California. To date, that portion has consumed the most time, with extensive labor having been dedicated to boxing (and finishing) nearly both full lengths of each ’rail, not to mention the first rounds of squaring everything up (further leveling/squaring continues with the suspension setup, which we’ll now address).

Having used a fullsize slip roll in the past (and indeed on page 72 of this very issue where Jeb Scolman fabricates a hood), we were dubious as to the usefulness of a 12-inch slip roll. We have to say though, it soon proved its worth when we had to make the steel return lip for a ’glass grille shell, shown in the picture to the right. Admittedly, we also used a bead roller to form a step in this panel. We can see this slip roll being very useful for forming patch panels for doorskins, quarter-panels, and rockers, too. It should prove invaluable in a home shop, where its small size, and the ability to be stored when not in use, would make it an ideal addition to an occasional sheetmetal tool arsenal. After all, who has space in the average home garage for a slip roll, brake, shear, and so on? At least not if you want to get a car in there too!

Safety is not necessarily a hot rodder’s top priority. If it was we wouldn’t drive around in overpowered roadsters with no rollbars or seatbelts. But if you want to race that same roadster under the rules of a sanctioning body, be it SCTA, NHRA, or any other, driver safety is something you’ll have to address.

If you believe that technology made automotive paint more difficult, then take note. We have good news for you. The latest innovations have actually made modern paints easier to use. In fact, if you cut your teeth shooting lacquer then spraying these new coatings will feel like going home again. They don’t require mixing beyond reduction. The absence of catalyst gives these paints infinite pot life. Finished parts dry to the touch in minutes and the transfer style makes runs nearly impossible. Blemishes can be repaired almost immediately, making these paints friendly for absolute beginners.

When it comes to customizing there are all sorts of ways to make a statement. Some approaches maintain a bold, in-your-face presence that can’t be denied, while others are a more subdued approach. One of the basic fundamentals of customizing is pancaking, or in layman’s terms, the act of removing a sliver from a structure to create a flatter (hence the moniker pancaking) and less robust feature. Depending on how one executes a pancake job, it can be noticed right off the bat, or something that creeps up on you. Either way though, once realized it’s a simple trick in the book that yields a statement.

Now being offered exclusively from Stoker’s Hot Rod Factory is a 4 1/2-inch chopped, fiberglass ‘32 three-window body. It is available with exposed door hinges or hidden hinges and with or without door handles with all hand-laid fiberglass around a steel and wood reinforcement. Stoker’s also offer the three-window body in a 2 1/2-inch chopped top as well as a stock reproduction ‘32 roadster body or with 2-inch-longer doors. Grille shells and fenders also available.

It’s been well over a decade—14 years to be exact—since I’ve built, let alone owned, a real hot rod. And by hot rod, I’m talking NSRA-parameter, pre-’49 hot rod (customs I’ve had more than my share of in that timespan). Self-proclaimed post-’48 affinity aside, I love early traditional cars just as much as anything else—including Fords—so, one of my goals after coming aboard at R&C was to end that dry streak. It’s only taken, what, three years to get around to it?!

We’re backtracking slightly with the build of the Notso Special this month, as I reached the stage of the project where a lot of things were happening at once. You’ve already seen the rearend semi-mounted, as well as the installation of the Wilwood disc brakes in previous installments. What you don’t know is that it features a Torque Sensing Differential (limited slip), or why I chose an 8-inch over a 9-inch or any other rearend.

The mating of Ford’s old Model A bodies to Ford’s more graceful, more substantial Deuce frames has been a common practice throughout the better part of hot rod history. But who do you suppose might have birthed the original notion? Without a “way back” machine, we’ll likely never know who is owed their due propers. Therefore, the best we can do to honor the unsung originator of this time-tested tradition is to just go on and mate another Model A body to another Deuce chassis.

Doesn’t really matter what specific part of building and/or maintaining hot rods you prefer, one area that applies to each and every one of us, if for even once in our lifetimes, is having to put an engine in or pull an engine out of a car—any car … including someone else’s! Cherry pickers and engine plates are without a doubt the universal tool, not only when it comes to personal use, but when it comes to the one(s) most loaned out. (Doesn’t matter how big—or much—you write your name on it either … chances are, it’s going to end up at a friend’s house/shop sooner or later!)

Most readers will know of Wheelsmith, purveyors of steel wheels, aluminum artillery wheels, wires, and even their new range of big-inch billet wheels that look like steelies, in various styles. The company, however, also manufactures steel wheels for land speed racing.

Let’s face it—we’d all like a media blasting cabinet in our home shop, though not many of us have the space to dedicate to one! But taking small parts to a media blaster is always a crap shoot as to whether you’ll get ’em all back again. Those little pieces always seem to go missing.

Up to this point in the build, the Notso Special has been a fairly straightforward hot rod build, if you discount the sections of rollcage structure already in place. With the bodywork sorted, I could now move onto fabricating the remainder of the ’cage.

Have you ever filed away an old magazine ’til the pages turned yellow? Isn’t it funny how when you refer back to it years later, its content seems fresh and new again? If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a rod builder of my particular generation, it’s humility. Nowadays whenever I think I’ve birthed an original notion to incorporate into the buildup of a traditional-style rod, I try to leave a little room in a cluttered, but open mind. And when the fingers take to walkin’ through the yellowed pages of an old magazine, it’s common to discover that what I’ve conjured in the canyons of my mind, in a dream, or even in the shower where my better brainstormin’ takes place, has been done and documented before in days of yore.

Last month, Star Kustom Shop began a 2-inch section on a ’51 Chevy and left off right after the cowl got welded back together. Well, here’s the state of the union: with the body back together Star Kustom can section and fit the doors, and then move onto the fenders. If you remember, the material taken from the body was at the bottom of the car, and this month things will follow similar suit.

As the story goes, once there was a time, long ago, before cast-aluminum wheels became standard equipment for new automobiles; a time when decorative hubcaps were coveted and their acquisition was sport.

We all have our personal lists of tools we really need, and then there are those we’d love to have, but for one reason or another cannot justify owning. Whether it’s due to not having the physical space to accommodate or simply not having the extra money to spare, we’re often relegated to “multi-tasking” with certain tools at hand, and by that we mean performing particular tasks with tools that weren’t meant to do so. As long as safety’s not an issue, there’s nothing wrong with that. But when you wind up having to factor in an additional tool to properly finish the task, as is the case when cutting material with an angle grinder (where a file or sander is often required to “straighten” your not-so-straight cut), your reasoning for not having that certain tool—say, a band saw—comes into question.

When Neil Emory and Clayton Jensen opened the doors of Valley Custom they concentrated on keeping things subtle, simple, and most importantly, classy. Yet as things progressed, the legacy of Valley Custom took an ironic turn. Sure, classy was always at the forefront, but most remember Emory and Jensen for perfecting the art of what is the most complicated and drastic custom measure one can take: sectioning. Their sectioning legacy began with a ’40 Ford convertible and reached its height with the iconic ’50 Oldsmobile Holiday 88, known as the “Polynesian”. In 1953 the Polynesian hit the pages of Hot Rod and R&C in a series of stories documenting the section. Long story short, those pages and Valley Custom brought the art of sectioning to the custom world and it has since stayed.