The Spectre shifter from Pep...
The Spectre shifter from Pep Boys is equipped with a one-of-a-kind drilled aluminum arm custom mounted off the tailshaft. The knob is a shrunken head interpretation of Voodoo Larry himself, created by Jimmy Flintstone.
The wheel and tire combination is as old-time hot rod as you can get. The ’39 Dodge “high clearance” wheels, 20x3s in front and 18x4.5s in the rear, are what you would have seen in the earliest days of hot rodding—before it was even called that. Skinny Firestones, measuring 4.75-5.00-20 and 7.50-18, finish the look. The front brakes are Wilson Welding backing plates equipped with ’40 Ford shoes and cylinders inside ’57 Buick drums. The rear brakes are ’65 Chevy, also with Buick drums.
“Since I love my small-block Chevys, the motor is a ’72 SBC,” Larry says. Before you start any “belly button motor” comments, take a look. Nobody’s got a belly button like this 350, designed by Larry and built by Milo Iglesias at Foreign Car Rebuilding in Palatine, Illinois. The Vintage Cal Custom finned valve covers are painted with Chrysler light green to match the body, and many other vintage components are chromed or polished. Gas is delivered through an Eelco fuel rail to half a dozen Holley 94 two-barrels with frog’s mouth scoops on top of an early Edelbrock X1 Ram Log 6x2 intake manifold.
Steering is provided by a...
Steering is provided by a 16:1 Schroeder sprint car box mounted to custom-made framework under the cowl.
Larry built the headers, wrapped to keep in heat and muffled with custom baffles. The TH350 transmission was built at Pioneer Transmission Service in Franklin Park, Illinois, and modified with a shift kit and manual reversed shift pattern. And unlike most transmissions, this one isn’t hidden. The polished case is a prominent feature in an interior loaded with prominent features.
The interior started with new scratch-built floor pans. The black canvas fabric was installed by Bruce Mapes at Guven Custom Auto Upholstery in Elgin. Most of the interior is unupholstered riveted aluminum panels. Combined with the custom-built B-52 bomber seats with original B-52 belts, it creates a World War II aircraft feel. The ’49 Pontiac insert and gauges contribute to that feel. A ’36 Dodge gas tank is located behind the seats. The steering wheel, mounted on a scratch-built column, once steered a mid-’50s English sports car. Larry says the rearview mirror is from a ’27 Greyhound bus.
Voodoo Psychosis was built in six months. Since the ’31 has been finished, Larry’s been driving the hot rod as often as he can. “She wins awards pretty much everywhere she goes,” he says, and he’s having fun giving the car exposure at a variety of shows. In other words: Making an impression.
Voodoo Larry knows how to make an impression with a car— not by revealing things slowly and subtly, but by unloading everything all at once.