That's Don Brasfield standing...
That's Don Brasfield standing next to his '36 coupe-he used to race the car at an old airstrip in Halls, TN, until 1958.
Sometimes history finds you through a myriad of circumstances, and sometimes it is thrust upon you. There are those out there who believe it is OK to make a rap song out of a Sinatra classic or repaint an AMBR-winning roadster a different color than it has been for the past few decades, but most folks bristle at the idea of severely modifying something that is already considered perfect the way it is.
While it is true hot rods are updated all the time (changing wheels to reflect current trends, swapping out the leaky 97s for a fuel-injection system, etc.), when you can find a hot rod that was customized 50 years ago in an unaltered state, you best leave it alone and go about restoring it rather than try to make something else out of it. There is something sacrilegious about wholly erasing some other rodder's creation, and karma demands that it be returned to its former glory when there is a certain amount of history involved with the car.
The Buick Nailhead has been...
The Buick Nailhead has been in the car since the '60s. Tucker's Automotive went through the 425 and bored it .030 over, installing a forged Poston camshaft along with a stock crank.
In 1956, Don Brasfield, a tall, Golden Glove boxer, traded three Harley-Davidson motorcycles to Joe Lunati (of Lunati Cams fame) for a running '36 Ford three-window. Brasfield wanted to race the car at a new, local track (an old airstrip) in Halls, Tennessee. He did so for a few years before deciding to fix up the coupe as a show car in 1958. Don was one of the original members of the Memphis Rodders, and even served for a time as the vice president of the club.
From 1958 to 1959, the coupe received major bodywork, including a filled roof, a Nash grille, '40 Chevy headlights, and a 4-inch chopped top. A new-for-'57 364 Buick Nailhead was also installed and was topped with a Crower six-carb manifold. By 1966, Don had decided to sell the car, and Bud Crain, also of Memphis, bought and drove it through 1972 while attending Memphis State. Jimmy Arnold, owner of the Triumph Shop in Memphis, bought the car in the early '70s and it stayed in the family until 2002 when Steve Legens became the new owner-but not without some anxiety.
If Steve Legens' name sounds familiar to STREET RODDER's readers, it is because, for the past few years, Legens Hot Rod Shop in Martin, Tennessee, has been busy producing many of the better-looking hot rods found at today's cars shows. Two of his previous efforts (a '36 coupe and a highly customized Willys truck) have found their way onto the cover of STREET RODDER (April '02 and October '06, respectively), with a handful of other cars from his shop being featured inside the magazine through the years.
Steve's shop is only 125 miles from Memphis, and he'd sold his first hot rod in Memphis early in his car-building career, so when a friend had called to tell him about a '36 coupe that had been in storage for 35 years, Steve had to evaluate what he was working on at the time and told his friend that he'd pass on buying the car. But, as some cars do, the coupe occupied Steve's thoughts, and he called his friend back up two weeks later to see if the car was still for sale-but it wasn't. Steve thought the car was long gone, but the friend called him back the following day saying the owner had decided he didn't want the coupe, and it was back on the block. The day Steve got the call he took his truck and trailer to Memphis and bought the car on the spot.
Though having owned the car since 2002, Steve became busy building his hot rod business, not having much time for his own projects. But recently he felt the time was right to finally go through the car and bring it back to life. Not as a completely new vehicle mind you, but more of a restoration, employing today's build standards (as well as Steve's usual high commitment to quality) to a very original vintage concept
The original Ford chassis, with its wishbones already split, was in good shape, but Legens Hot Rod Shop installed a modified X-member, a Currie 9-inch rear (3.25:1) with 12-inch drums, a dropped I-beam axle (with GM disc brakes) from Chassis Engineering, along with a Pete & Jake's Panhard bar and Flaming River Vega steering box.
Steve then ordered a set of classic chrome reverse wheels (15x6 and 8) from Wheel Vintiques, wrapping them in Coker Classic 5.60-15 and L78-15 whitewall rubber. To some folks, the engine in this ride is the best part of the car, and it started life in 1964 as a 425 Buick Nailhead. Tucker's Automotive in Murray, Kentucky, did the required machine work and assembly of the V-8, which included using .030-over forged pistons, a Poston NH-400 cam, and a stock crank.
The iron heads were reworked, too, with a new set of stainless steel valves set in place with COMP Cams springs. An adjustable roller rocker assembly from Rocker Arm Specialties was also used, and the valvetrain was protected by a set of finned aluminum covers from Mooneyes. Feeding the beast is a set of six RetroTek throttle bodies (controlled by a FAST XFI computer) bolted to a log manifold from Northwest Speed. Six finned Mooneyes air cleaners continue the theme of the valve covers while an MSD ignition system with PerTronix wires delivers the needed spark. Exhaust exits through Sanderson headers, stainless tubing, and a pair of MagnaFlow mufflers. A 1969 Muncie four-speed transmission was also used, and fitted with a McLeod clutch and disc setup. A custom bellhousing from Bendtsen mates the Nailhead to the Muncie.
The body, with its laundry list of '50s-era modifications, was left alone, though it was stripped so the guys at Legens Hot Rod Shop could start from scratch making it straight before the Spies Hecker Red Snap paint was sprayed. Inside the coupe, the filled dash was outfitted with eight Classic Instruments gauges and a well-hidden stereo system incorporates a Custom Autosound head unit and four Pioneer speakers.
Dynamat insulation is run under all the raven-colored Sedona Nubuck upholstery found on the doors and in the cab while Daytona black carpet was used below. Legens Hot Rod Shop did the interior work on the coupe, which included recreating the aircraft seats Brasfield once had in his ride (the originals were lost in time). A Hurst shifter connects to the trans on the floor and a '57 Olds steering wheel was cut down 2 inches by Quality Restorations to just the right size.
The coupe debuted a few months ago in the Pro's Pick area of the Goodguys Nationals in Columbus and was an immediate hit with the spectators, many of whom thought it was a brand-new design "in the spirit of" rather than one from 50 years ago. But that's what you will find with owning something with a classic design-it'll last forever!