The media used in soda blasting, sodium bicarbonate, has been around forever, and its uses are widely varied. Not only is it the soothing ingredient found in mineral springs, but another form, baking soda, has many uses in the kitchen and around the house. When workers were trying to figure out what could be used to remove old material from the Statue of Liberty during its restoration back in the early ’80s, a soda-based power spray not only removed the grime, but the soda was found to be essentially environmental friendly.

Hot rodding has always been about improving a vehicle’s performance. As a result, hopping up an engine for more horsepower was a regular topic in the early hobbyist magazines but other issues were also addressed, such as improving the steering in ’32-34 Fords.

Most people looking at Don Webb’s ’32 three-window coupe would probably not call it a restoration. Most people would reserve that term for a Ford built the way Henry did it. The difference with Don’s Deuce is that it’s built the way Bill Webb did it.

I find myself taking a deep breath having finished absorbing (and digesting) this year’s 63rd Grand National Roadster Show and now prepping for the 60th Detroit Autorama. These two shows aren’t the only indoor car shows around by a long shot, but they’re the two that carry the “weight.” Both are iconic in stature. Between the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award and the Don Ridler Memorial award you see much of what represents the best—a compilation of immense imagination and uncompromising craftsmanship—that our hobby has to offer. And you see it at these two shows first!

If you want to keep your hot rod running cool, it’s going to take more than a good radiator. You’ve got to move some air. You could have the largest, highest-flowing radiator money can buy, but if you’re unable to move sufficient air through it, you’re still in hot water.

A few spectators, upon entering the Grand National Roadster Show’s Suede Palace, expressed surprise at the fact that most of the rides inside weren’t finished in flat paint. The Suede Palace is dedicated to cars and trucks built in traditional style on a (relatively) low budget. “Suede” paint is not required.

For decades Posies has been building hot rods that push the design envelope by infusing just the right amounts of creativity, vision, and excitement within each build. It’s one thing, however, to produce cars with such highly redeeming features that look great in the show world, it’s another to put them to the test on a yearly basis by running them hard cross country through the elements. Sometimes it only takes two words to make a statement that speaks in volume: driven dirty. Back in 2006, Posies conceived the Driven Dirty Tour, which consists of a group of dedicated hard-core hot rodders who were ready and willing to drive their hot rods cross country from Posies shop in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, to SEMA in Las Vegas, covering on average 2,500 miles each way. The trip however isn’t just about putting their rides to the ultimate test by merely driving non-stop (stopping only for fuel and a bag of burgers) to see who gets there first. It’s about plotting a course (which changes yearly) that includes plenty of breaks to visit with friends, shops, manufacturers, various auto collections, points of interest, and some great restaurants along the way. The best part is that Posies puts a fresh build to the test every year and when the cars finally arrive at SEMA, they are shown dirty covered with all the remnants of their journey on the show floor. While most real hot rodders get it, there are always a number who pass each car while scratching their heads in confusion.

Quite possibly the most well-known accolade in hot rodding—the Amercia’s Most Beautiful Roadster award—originally came into being as a publicity stunt. When Al and Mary Slonaker were busy organizing the first National Roadster Show (later to be called the Grand National Roadster Show) for 1950, Al came up with the idea of having a magnificent trophy to really impress people and call attention to the show—and it worked.

For the Top 100 program, STREET RODDER attends 10 particular car shows each year and picks 10 vehicles at each to make up the Street Rodder Top 100. For more on where those shows are and how they’re voted on, check www.streetrodder.com.

Flare Road Wheel

When trying to make a good thing better the obvious approach is to add more of whatever made it popular in the first place. When it came to improving the Grand National Roadster Show, promoter John Buck did just that by adding more cars to look at with the Grand Daddy Drive-In.

There’s something about Tall Ts that fascinate me—especially the sedans. I sure would like to build one like I have sketched up, starting with a ’27 Ford sedan.

One of the unique features of the Grand National Roadster Show is the layout of the event. Each year effort is put forth to assemble a grouping of vehicles contained within Building 9 to represent a particular historical theme. This year, the 80th anniversary of the ’32 Ford; the iconic design in the world of hot rodding.

Let’s start with the question most asked at this year’s Grand National Roadster Show about the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster recipient. “What’s with the No. 3?” We asked owner Bill Lindig of Houston the same question. “What’s with the No. 3?” The “Indy Speedster V-8” is a tribute to the great Indy roadsters of the past. Bill noted in his research that the No. 3 came up as the most frequent number on the winning cars. There you have it; one winning tradition begets another.

The longest running indoor custom car show in the world, the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS), recently completed its 63rd annual installment and was held at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona, California.

Pneumatic planishing hammers are a real workhorse for both professional and amateur metalworkers. In this article, we’ll look at new hammers available at different price points, plus some vintage planishing hammers. We’ll discuss the relative merits of each machine, and show some of the varied tasks these machines excel at.

After installing a new Strange rearend in Don Prieto’s 1956 Chevy Nomad (STREET RODDER May ’12 issue) it was time to tackle the front suspension. The Nomad had undergone a conservative hot-rodding in the past, riding on basically stock suspension. While the car was serviceable in this configuration, good enough to act as a push car for Prieto’s fuel dragster, the fact of the matter is suspension and braking components have come a long way since 1956; it was time for an upgrade.

Though the look has been around since the earliest days of dry lakes racing, Lakes Modifieds and One Man Modifieds are enjoying a resurgence in their popularity. John Geesner, a hot rodder who in 2008 opened up his own shop, A&J Southern Rod Shop in Mooresville, North Carolina, liked the look of those cars, too, and found one for sale in California.

There are few things that make a street rodder’s life more miserable than a car that runs hot. A cooling system that belches steam like a locomotive or pukes the proverbial green river of death is not only annoying but is sure to shorten engine life and pretty much put the kibosh on any long-range traveling plans you may have.

It’s probably a safe bet that street rodders tend to pay above-average attention to the maintenance of all their cars. But it’s probably an equally safe bet that few of us consider brake fluid as something that should be replaced on a regular basis, however let us explain why it should be.

A show of hands, please: Who among us has dreamed of owning a full-on custom car, something so sexy and stylish that it begs to be eyeballed stem to stern, side to side, and top to bottom? We’re talking about a set of wheels the likes you’d expect from D’Agostino, Winfield, or Zocchi. You know, a showpiece for the show circuit.

Colorado legislation (S.B. 126) that originally sought to extend the emissions inspection exemption to vehicles that are 8 model years old and newer died when the legislature adjourned for the year. The bill had been amended and approved by the Senate Transportation Committee. Under the amendment, the bill would have provided the exemption to vehicles 6 model years old and newer. Current law only exempts vehicles that are 4 model years old or newer. S.B. 126 acknowledged the relatively minimal environmental impact of the vehicles targeted for this exemption.

This year's CRC Speedshow is heating up with the addition of the 2012 street rod of the year, a stunning 1936 Ford coupe owned by Howard and Carol Bond of Howick, which takes a prime display position at the massive annual auto and motorsport show.

Persuaded by the opposition of the SEMA Action Network (SAN), Nebraska legislation (L.B. 698) to remove labeling requirements on pumps dispensing ethanol-blended gasoline was "indefinitely postponed" in 2011. However, the legislature retained the option of reviving the bill in 2012. With the adjournment of the legislature for the year, the bill is now formally dead and would have to be reintroduced in 2013 in order to be reconsidered. Current law in Nebraska requires labeling when gasoline contains 1% or more alcohol, including labels for pumps dispensing E10. The bill would have made it impossible for enthusiasts to know whether the gasoline they put into their vehicles contained any ethanol, making unintentional misfueling and engine damage more likely. SAN maintains that you have a right to know what blend of ethanol you are putting in your older collector cars.

The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association will be forever tied to the Thom Taylor-penned cartoon of Gary Meadors '32 Ford sedan. Meadors' famed sedan has stood tall as the company logo for close to three decades. The bright yellow sedan has crisscrossed the country dozens of times and racked up over 200,000 thousand road miles spreading the Goodguys spirit nationwide. It now has company.