Is this thing beautiful, or what? The body is steel with the exception of a handcrafted aluminum rumble lid and hood sides. The split front fenders have been welded together and lengthened at the front corners, and the wheel arches were slanted back to add the illusion of forward motion. The Hot Rods & Hobbies crew also mounted a pair of '37 Ford headlights and removed the original horn grilles. The entire body is supported by an intricate hidden cage running from body mount to body mount and up through the pillars and roof. It also crosses the back of the dash, making mounting points for steering, A/C, speakers, and trim panels. The cage also supports the rumble-mounting points, as well as attaching to the door hinges. The tubes are used to support the quarter-windows and the power-window tracks in the quarter-panel cage section.
Being a bare-bones traditional hot rod lover, it's not often that a full-out, flawlessly built, mega-dollar street rod turns my crank, but I have to admit this awesome creation out of Scott Banowski's Hot Rods & Hobbies stopped me in my tracks.
When lifelong car and HD aficionado Bruce Rossmeyer teamed up with automotive visionary/artist Steve Stanford and master street rod builder Scott Bonowski to build his latest street rod, there was just no way not to end up with anything other than a rolling work of art. And, as is made obvious by these images, Bruce's '36 Ford certainly fits the bill.
The '36 was purchased from Blackie Gejeian and turned over to Hot Rods & Hobbies for its rodstoration. Scott then approached Steve with an idea of how he and Bruce pictured the finished product and asked if he would expand on and concept. Steve gladly accepted and went to work incorporating Scott and Bruce's ideas into a piece of preliminary artwork. Apparently, Steve hit the nail on the head with his first try, as Bruce immediately said he wanted it built. The HR&H crew wholeheartedly agreed with Bruce and rolled up their sleeves and went to work.
Hot Rods & Hobbies' main focus was to provide Bruce with a quality street rod that would be easy to drive and maintain, since there was a 3,000-plus-mile commute between builder and customer. With that in mind, they built a rod that was straightforward, chassis and drivetrain wise, but over the top in body and interior design and construction.
Hot Rods & Hobbies started out with a stock '36 five-window and worked their magic, transforming a good-looking design into a fantastic one, by massaging and transforming every square inch of the car's exterior and interior.
The amount and quality of the modifications are extraordinary, right down to the car's integral cage that supports the whole custom body assembly. They worked so hard and so extensively on this car that I'm at a loss as to how I'd ever explain all the details in the space allotted.
The '36's interior is every bit as impressive as the rest of the car. A 10-speaker stereo system using Diamond Audio Technologies amps and speakers with a Pioneer head unit provides entertainment-that is whenever Bruce tires of the growl of his small-block Ford. All the wiring and battery are hidden in subpanels behind the driver and passenger seats. Fast Ed's Interiors handled all the panels and the leather-covered interior. All panels are made from aluminum and shaped as needed, with closed cell foam covered in fiberglass cloth and resin added to help hold the shapes permanently. The solid headliner assembly sports an inside console equipped with an infrared receiver for the stereo system. The door controls are all remote with safety cable exit mechanisms in the door panels. The custom dash was handmade and formed to wrap into the doors, and a custom stainless steel insert holds a pair of TPI Tech gauges. |  | 
As you can see from this rendering, HR&H worked diligently, and flawlessly, to transform an idea into reality. You can literally walk around this car for hours finding modifications both blatant and subtle-a true testament to their craftsmanship. |
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HR&R had the Roadster Shop build the chassis, since this car's going to be driven and they wanted it to be reliable and easy to maintain, as well as comfortable to drive. The Roadster Shop chassis is outfitted with Heidt's IFS and a triangulated four-bar rearend, Wilwood disc brakes, and a 9-inch Ford rear. An FB Performance Transmission-built 700-R4, and a 427-cube small-block Ford based on a 351 Windsor (520 hp) fit with a set of Sanderson headers and a DAH Works exhaust provides ample get-up-and-go. The '36 also sports Budnik wheels, rack-and-pinion steering, Aldan coilovers, a stainless steel gas tank, an Edelbrock fuel pump, and a Mattson's cooling system that consists of two radiators and two fans linked together-one is mounted under the right front fender. |
The roof is totally hand-fabricated; the only thing kept was the back window. HR&H didn't want to chop the height of the window, so they cut it out and slanted it back, moving it 3 inches closer to the rumble and laid it forward. They made a blowup of the rendering and used it as a blueprint for the roof; then, using 1/4-inch rod, they made a mock-up of the roof profile. Form blocks were made for the sides, and all other sheetmetal was formed using a power hammer. The trim on the edge of the roof is brass, handformed, and chromed. The windows disappear into the roof when they roll up, making for a nice seal. | 
The '36's rear needed a little tub work for tire clearance. The rear tail was dropped to accept a custom 500-LED taillight assembly. The rear panel is all new with a solenoid-operated gas door concealed beneath the Ford emblem, and the rumble was lengthened and curved at the lower edge. The rumble lid is now operated by an electric ram mounted in the center console and has a safety cut-off switch to limit its fully open and fully closed positions. HR&H even added a safety pin, so it is safely locked either open or closed. |  |