Pinstriper's Delight
Jerry Campbell has been into cars probably since he could walk. He's built numerous hot rods and custom, including his flamed woody, and pinstripes cars almost daily. We caught Jerry's latest, an early '47 Ford convertible, almost by accident. Being a fan of the late-'40s Fords, I happened upon what I thought was just another clean, black 'vert, but upon closer inspection, found that there was much more lurking behind that lacquer black paint.
Jerry found the car through his friend who tipped him off to a '46 Ford that was buried in a barn only 15 miles from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. A deal was made and soon the car was in Jerry's garage where the body was grafted onto an S-10 chassis that was Z'd to lower the body without using airbags or modifying the suspension. An LT1 mated to a 4L60 was slipped under the hood and joined to the stock S-10 rearend. Jerry then slapped a pair of steelies with Ford caps and wrapped in Coker wide whites on all four corners. Once rolling, Jerry massaged the body back into shape before spraying it black. Jerry has a tendency to flame everything and once his wife saw the latest creation, she convinced him not to flame it. Jerry's reply was, "OK, I won't flame ... the outside."
Leaving the exterior all black with a bit of pinstriping here and there, he moved his attention to the interior and all hell broke loose. He decided that if he was to flame the car, why not do the door panels in metal and flame 'em?! That's exactly what he did. With help from a friend, they created panels that flow all the way around the backseat that Jerry then covered in flames. He also applied his 'striping brush to the doorsills, leaving an intricate Von Dutch-style design there and on the dash, which is actually three separate dashes. Jerry also made the center console, which houses a Lokar shifter, and fabricated a dummy clutch pedal that is attached to the brake pedal. Housed in the dash are two Classic Instruments convex gauge clusters, while a tachometer is mounted off the side of the steering column using a connecting rod. A gennie '39 Ford banjo wheel adapted to the Chevy column tops everything off.
With the paint dry and the 'striping done, Jerry sent the '47 over to Dean Alexander at The Hot Rod Garage in Denton, Maryland, to stitch up the red leather. While the recent exploitation of the Von Dutch name is making ol' Kenneth Howard roll over in his grave, we like to think that guys like Jerry Campbell are bringing a little credibility back to his name and giving him the respect he deserves.
Hot Rod Ressurection
In 1955, a teenager by the name of Palmer Schade was busy in his Long Island, New York, garage building a Dodge Red Ram Hemi-powered '29 lowboy roadster. He channeled the body the width of the frame and backed the Dodge with a Lincoln Zephyr trans and '34 Ford rearend. Juice brakes from a '40 Ford were installed at all four corners to keep the over-powered hot rod stopping safely. Once everything was said and done, Palmer's roadster got a purple paint job and was sent out prowling the streets.
Years later, after languishing in the garage, Palmer sold the car to his neighbor and current caretaker, Harvey Bagshaw. Upon buying the old hot rod, Harvey hauled it down to his son, Scott, in North Carolina to get the dilapidated '29 back in shape. Scott went through the motor and replaced both heads since the originals had rusted through from years of sitting with no antifreeze in the coolant. He also overhauled the brakes, trans, and rearend and replaced what little sheetmetal needed to be fixed. Using the stock chassis as a model, Scott fabricated a new chassis that incorporated fully boxed 'rails and sufficient crossmembers to support that hefty Hemi. The finished product was almost exactly as Palmer had built the car 50 years before, with exception of the paint color, headers, and wheels and tires. The restored roadster has put many miles under its belt since being reborn. We caught the car at the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, and just got word from Harvey that it was a finalist for Hot Rod of the Year at the Great American Rod & Custom Nationals in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Here's hoping the car sees another 50 years!