Aluminum bomber-type seats...
Aluminum bomber-type seats from Speedway Motors look good in the aluminum interior made up for the OSHR roadster pickup. The restraints are 2-inch safety harness belts from Crow, and the overall mechanical, purpose-built look of the truck is carried along by having exposed braided lines. The "carpet" is actually skateboard grip tape.
Being traditional in feel, the pickup is equipped with a performance Flathead, punched to 276 inches by H&H Flatheads in La Crescenta, California. H&H assembled the Flattie with a 4-inch SCAT crank and rods, as well as 3-5/16-inch Ross pistons, and a mild cam. Up top, Edelbrock aluminum heads, set up with an 8.5:1 compression ratio, are fed by a pair of RetroTek fuel-injection units bolted to an Offenhauser manifold. OSHR made their own air cleaners, and MSD supplies the spark through Moroso wires.
Exhaust exits through a pair of Speedway Motors headers, completely wrapped in high-temp exhaust tape; the tape job extends down the entire exhaust system almost to the tips, which exit just forward of the rear wheels and through the framerails. All over the engine, you can find 12-point bolts from ARP, which look great against the black block. The Flathead mates to a '39 Ford three-speed box-which itself was smoothed out-that connects to a Dick Spadaro tubular driveshaft.
.
The aluminum trans mount is...
The aluminum trans mount is not only beautiful but functional. The top-mounted pedal assembly came from Wilwood, though the shifter for the '39 Ford three-speed transmission was made by Old Speed. Extra special items in this shot include the smoothed-out gearbox, plus the custom one-off drilled aluminum brackets that protect the hydraulic slave unit, which was moved to the passenger side of the trans.
The all-steel '29 cab and bed were heavily massaged, too, for this project, which began with a radical channel job to get it low on the chassis. The bed was widened 5 inches and stretched so it now meets the outside edge of the cab and flows rearward, close to the inside edge of the tires. No floor bed was made, but only because Mike and Rick wanted folks to see what they had done with their chassis components. In the back of the chassis, just above the rearend, a 16-gallon steel gas tank from Tanks bolts in, as does a pair of 6V Optima batteries, which is secured to a machined aluminum plate that runs between the framerails.
A cut-down '32 Ford grille shell from Vintique and an insert from Speedway Motors were used up front before bodywork was completed and the parts handed off to the crew at Long Beach, California-based Gonzo's Auto Body, who covered everything in a custom-mixed Valspar Old Speed Green paint.
Once back from paint, OSHR finished off the interior with custom fitted aluminum sheet featuring a small bead running around its edge. The same type of material was used on the back of the cockpit, which is mostly hidden by the pair of aluminum bomber-style seats OSHR picked up from Speedway Motors.
The channeled steel body for...
The channeled steel body for the Old Speed pickup is from Last Refuge Hot Rods, but OSHR created their own stretchedand channeled bed, which is 5 inches wider than stock. Painted Old Speed Green by Gonzo's Auto Body, the rod rolls on '40 Ford 16-inch wheels (4s and 5s) wrapped in Firestone Deluxe Champion hides (6s and 7.5s).
The dash, a '32 Ford design, was painted flat-black before a single '52 Ford gauge cluster was mounted mid-dash. OSHR did all their own wiring, using old-school fabric-wrapped material, and designed a chaindriven steering system that allows the three-spoke Moon steering wheel to be mounted close to the dash and out of the way of a driver exiting or entering the vehicle. Completing the steering system is a Dodge Omni rack-and-pinion unit, which mounts out of the way and under the front crossmember.
The finished interior is plain and simple, but as everyone knows, it's not easy making something as complicated as a working interior look plain and simple. The extra aluminum pieces Mike made to support the batteries and the rear trans mount are as minimalistic as you can get, but the rounded edges and lightening holes all took a great effort to not only design but create.
The guys at Old Speed Hot Rods, located in Torrance, California, finished their first company vehicle just hours before its debut at the '08 Grand National Roadster Show, where it was greeted with great appreciation. Not only was it something new, but it was well-thought-out and expertly executed-something you don't normally associate with hot rods that have the general appearance of a rat rod. But, the blending of traditional looks with updated components is where Old Speed Hot Rods is at, which is the best part about their Land Speeder-the more you look, the more you find, and it's all good!
Everything you need to know...
Everything you need to know about the pickup's vitals is contained in the '52 Ford gauge cluster, rebuilt by Redline Gauge Works, mounted in the middle of the '32-type dash. A Moon three-spoke steering wheel was used, which connects to a shop-made chaindrive steering system and then on to a Dodge Omni rack.
A Tanks aluminized universal...
A Tanks aluminized universal gas tank allows the owner 16 gallons of go-juice that, by the time you read this, might be the better part of a $100 bill. There are no plans to cover the floor of the bed.
Taillights from a '37 Ford...
Taillights from a '37 Ford were used, and Old Speed Hot Rods makes their own aluminum tailgate hinges, which they sell separately in a line of parts they offer on their Web site, www. oldspeedhotrods.com.