They protect your chin, and sometimes your rear, while adding a bit of shine, tradition, and, ideally, some beauty. We're talking about nerf bars, those dirt track- and dry lakes-inspired protective pieces of steel rod and tubing that rodders have been designing and crafting for their rides for the past five decades. During last year's show season we ran across countless renditions of these time-honored accessories, and grabbed photos of a few that we thought were particularly well designed or well executed. Take a look and see what you think, then go get some round steel rod, fire up your torch and see where your imagination takes you.
...He says it has saved the...
...He says it has saved the car's grille shell more than once.
The Hot Rod Garage used traditional...
The Hot Rod Garage used traditional S-shaped uprights and a curved horizontal bar that matches the grille shape on the front of Bill Baldwin's '40 Ford pickup...
...Around back, a larger straight...
...Around back, a larger straight bar gives the bed a visual foundation and provides a license mount. Note the brackets with lightening holes on both bars.
The chin bar on Bud Ford's...
The chin bar on Bud Ford's Lobeck-built '36 Ford is tight, tidy, and matches the grille and fender lines perfectly...
...Bud says the rear bar was...
...Bud says the rear bar was added simply for balance.
Ron Wiggins' Model A pickup,...
Ron Wiggins' Model A pickup, featured elsewhere in this issue, uses a simple curved front bar that mimics the shape of the curved grille shell.
Jeff Teague's Bobby Alloway-built...
Jeff Teague's Bobby Alloway-built SpeedStar Vicky has a cartoon-like appeal to it. The curved and pointed rear nerf bars fit the theme perfectly, playing off the car's flames and pinstripes with a pitchfork-like quality.
Side nerf bars, like these...
Side nerf bars, like these hanging off the wishbones of Steve Giosso's Deuce, lend a definite nostalgic, track-car vibe to open-wheel rods.
The thin rear nerf on Rodney...
The thin rear nerf on Rodney Payne's '35 Ford pickup is so delicate you hardly notice it, yet it helps make the truck look more complete.
A simple loop with two scallop-shaped...
A simple loop with two scallop-shaped vertical supports is the nostalgic nerf recipe used on this Model A. Looks good to us.
Simple curved bars look sharp...
Simple curved bars look sharp wrapping under the rolled pan on Richard Sherman's '29 Model A roadster. We especially like the oval window detail on the mount bracket.