Frank found his '33 in Virginia...
Frank found his '33 in Virginia 10 years ago, and it still had the original drivetrain in it. One of the many little tricks Frank did with this ride was convert the four-piece hood to a three-piece and fill in the open roof with a section from a '62 Valiant station wagon. The vent glass was removed, handles and trunk latches shaved, hidden hinges (from Carolina Custom) added, and bumpers taken off during its conversion to a rod. That stylish grille was custom-made by Jim Rench.
Never one to shrink away from hard work, Frank Kallam has spent a lifetime building up his business to get to a point where he can enjoy some of the finer things life has to offer. For him, that happens to include working on the type of car he's always liked: hot rods.
Though he's owned many over the years (his first, a '39 Ford, was in 1962), his collection of vehicles in the past decade has revolved around more than a handful of GM products, chiefly Chevys and Buicks. He says he likes the fact that they're unusual to the industry, even though they're a task to build (not a lot of aftermarket parts for mid-'30s Buicks). Having never really gotten into the Pontiacs or Oldsmobiles, Kallam, who lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, has owned everything from a '40 Ford coupe to, more recently, a pair of Grand Nationals (including an '87 GNX).
A hot rodder to the end, Frank wouldn't mind finding a '67 Grand Sport GS400 to keep in his garage but, for now, he's happy with his assortment of vehicles, which includes a '33 Buick 50-Series sedan and a '54 Buick Special.
This is what his rod looked...
This is what his rod looked like the day Frank first brought it home. His buddy of 25 years, Jim Peters, had a restored, drivable Buick, which Frank bought and drove around for more than a year while collecting the parts he needed to make a street rod out of it.
Frank found his '95 LT1 motor...
Frank found his '95 LT1 motor in a rolled-over police car that had only 1,400 miles on it. A Street & Performance wiring harness made everything work right, and a Griffin aluminum radiator keeps it running cool. Exhaust runs through HPC headers and out to a pair of Flow Master mufflers. A 4L60E trans was also used.
With a perfect stance that...
With a perfect stance that comes via a Chassis Engineering rear spring and swaybar and a Fatman Fabrications IFS with Carrera coilovers, Frank's Buick rolls on 18x8 and 20x10 Coddington wheels wrapped in BFG 245/45R18 and 245/50R20 rubber.
Frank got this GM crate 502...
Frank got this GM crate 502 and had to find something to put it in, and the Buick got it. A Griffin aluminum radiator also found its way into the engine bay, as did a pair of Sanderson headers, custom valve covers, and a Vintage Air Front Runner pulley system. The 502 is backed to a 700-R4 trans.
Ray Hester created the shale-colored...
Ray Hester created the shale-colored leather upholstery for Frank's '54, stretching it over Acura bucket seats and elsewhere in the interior. Power windows from Nu-Relics complement the Vintage Air system, which keeps things the right temp inside the Special. To keep Frank going in the right direction, a Billet Specialties leather-wrapped steering wheel was attached to an ididit column. Up in the custom aluminum dash are a trio of Classic Instrument gauges, all tied together with a Ron Francis wiring kit.
Frank found his Special in...
Frank found his Special in a local newspaper-it was only 100 miles from his home. He describes it at that point as "a nice old car, very drivable." He started on this project in 2000, and finished it four years later.
Boy, does this car sit right!...
Boy, does this car sit right! Fitted with a Fatman Fabrications IFS stub and a Fatman four-link with Air Ride Technologies bags out back, Frank can adjust the ride height to be whatever he likes. Wilwood discs are found on each corner, as are Michelin-wrapped (225/50R17 and 255/55R18) Coddington wheels (17x8 and 18x9). The hood, doors, and trunk were shaved and '59 Cad taillights added before Steve Gibson, from Gibson's Auto Body, squirted the Sikkens Ferrari Red paint.