We've all listened to the occasional stories of lucky devils who stumble across those legendary unmolested hot rods, and there's not a one of us who doesn't wish we had been so lucky. Unfortunately, discoveries such as those are rare and only getting more so.

Aftermarket headlamps are pretty plentiful and relatively inexpensive these days, but there are times when stock early headlamps are preferred. In this case, my wife, Candy, had a pair of stock early Ford lights that belonged to one of her favorite uncles, Walter, who had them on a Model A doodlebug he'd used as a tractor at his home back East. After he passed on, Candy saved those headlights as treasured mementos, hoping I'd use them on one of my hot rods someday.

Repairing the ravages of decades of abuse to an original steel body is something that takes planning and patience to complete. Maintaining a strong focus while enjoying the journey will no doubt ensure you're proud of the end result. Over the last few months, we've followed along as the team at Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop in Greenfield Center, New York, undertook a major rebuild of a Deuce five-window body, including lowering its lid and replacing numerous body panels. With all of the completed updates in place, it was time to dial in the body and get it closer to the paint booth.

The debate about what constitutes Detroit's first musclecar will rage on forever among enthusiasts of one marque or another, but there's little doubt that the '61 360hp, 409-powered Chevy Impala SS (Super Sport) is right up there as a powerplant/vehicle that made an indelible mark in the annals of drag racing and street racing. Few engines have ever been named in Billboard Magazine's charting of pop hits, but if it ever came down to an asphalt rumble between those that have been thus immortalized, Chevy fans would be betting on that "four-speed, dual-quad, Posi-traction 409" (Beach Boys, 1962) to come out on top in the lights.

It all started a few months ago when I overheard my wife, Candy, describing herself to a girlfriend as a "garage widow." Her comment made me finally realize how lucky I am that this sweetheart has, with very little complaint, spent the better part of 30 years playin' second fiddle to my hot rod obsession.

It's been a few weeks in "real time" since the first installment of my King T build, and I'm happy to report I've made quite a bit of headway. At this point, the chassis is complete and the drivetrain installed, but you'll have to be patient, because the kit goes together a heck of a lot faster than STREET RODDER makes it to the newsstand each month. That said, let's review what transpired last issue and then move on to what's happened since.

It's encouraging for the future of street rodding that vintage engines have really come into their own lately, serving to spice up the mix and end the boredom of new crate motors in every engine bay-even in cars otherwise built to appear "period."

The abilities gained when one ventures into the world of welding is something that cannot be appreciated until experienced. From simple chores like shaving trim to more complex tasks like installing a front clip, the possibilities are endless when a good machine and an adequate operator are combined. The simple ability to fuse two metals together opens up such a variety of possibilities that it's impossible to even scratch the surface. Many of the tasks previously outsourced to friends or local shops that were equipped to do such jobs can actually be done at home with the proper machine.

Model A Ford production automobiles through 1931 had an integral fuel tank/dashboard/cowl assembly. It was not until 1932 that Henry decided to put the fuel tank out back where a rearend collision could wreak havoc on the fuel tank. We assume that was safer than having the fuel tank sit next to the engine and over the cockpit. Heck, I had an old CJ5 Jeep that had the fuel tank directly under the driver seat-now that was certainly a great location for the fuel tank.

Our latest stop at the Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop in Greenfield Center, New York, gave us the opportunity to check out what was going on with our five-window coupe project. Having already completed a hell-bent chop, and cowl and doorskin replacement, it was time to wrap up the sheetmetal updates in high style as the crew took on the coupe's rear quarter and subrail.

Fate works in mysterious ways. The world is a really big place when you're young and impressionable, and it's easy to become ena mored with things you deal with on a daily basis. For a young steve ramsey of Fallston, Maryland, his earliest memories are consumed by the sights of Detroit steel and the heavy scent of racing fuel, as he grew up immersed in his dad's business long before he even made it to the start of school. This was the late 1950s and a time when his dad's auto repair shop was constantly filled to the brim with cars being refurbished, as well as being hopped-up with cuttingedge speed equipment of the time. steve's dad also had a passion for dirt-track racing, which led them both to countless tracks, sometimes three times a week, where the youngster would often sneak off into the pits to get a firsthand glimpse of just how hardcore the racing world was. Old Ford coupes with full-race Flatheads mixing it up on the dirt was about as real as it could get!

Building a street rod is very similar to putting 10 pounds of stuff in a 5-pound bag; there's often more stuff than there is space to put it. Such was the case when we went to find a place for the battery in our Model A pickup. Under the hood was out of the question due to lack of space, and under the body was out because it was too inconvenient. The only logical spot for the battery was the pickup's bed-there was plenty of room and it would be convenient; we just had to find a way to camouflage it.

Most street rodders put considerable time, effort, and money into the paint jobs on their cars, and it generally shows. But, while the outward appearance is important, street rods are sort of like icebergs-there's a lot under the surface that may not be visible.

We've said it before, but it deserves repeating: Four-bangers formed the foundation hot rodding was built on. And while there is no denying today's engines are technologically superior in every way, vintage four-cylinders still have appeal, even though it's more emotionally so than practical. Contemporary engines do what they do with detached efficiency; you feel connected to the process of internal combustion with a vintage four-banger. They have a unique feel that appeals to the soul, an unmistakable sound-even the uninitiated won't think it's a small-block Chevy-and some aficionados say the little wisps of blow-by make 'bangers smell different than other engines.

Most loyal SRM readers will be quite familiar with the name Bobby Alloway and the cars his shop, Alloway's Hot Rod Shop, has built over the years. The shop has won numerous awards, including the prestigious America's Most Beautiful Roadster award, and the Ridler award at the Detroit Autorama, and designed one of the most popular aftermarket bodies in street rodding-the SpeedStar coupe. But, while the boys down at Alloway's are well known throughout the hot rodding community for building cars such as their latest for Van Tyler-a highboy '33 Ford coupe (SRM, Mar. '08)-their shop has always been peppered with equally built post-'48 hot rods.

If a standardized parts list for hot rods were ever developed, no doubt one of the components on it would be a quick-change. these race-bred rearends don't just offer the obvious practical benefit of allowing the final drive ratio to be optimized for every conceivable need. along with mechanical flexibility, they also provide a street rod with attitude, their visual impact is undeniable, and, to the true enthusiast, their characteristichowl is music to the ears.

Although our hobby is built on tradition, it certainly benefits from modern automotive technology. Street rodding is and always will be a unique blend of historic automotive architecture and contemporary mechanical components. Alternators, electronic ignitions, computer-controlled fuel injection, and disc brakes are only a few of the improved components that street rod builders have embraced. There have also been advancements we have taken advantage of almost without realizing we were doing it; specifically we're speaking of modern engine oil.

You Big Lug
Wheel Studs And Lug NutsWheel studs and lug nuts are pieces of hardware many rodders simply take for granted. If a wheel doesn't fall off and it looks good, then you've found bliss. Why worry about parts if they work? There are plenty of reasons to give these components some extra thought, not the least of which is safety. Not only are these parts much more important than you might think, picking the proper rear wheel studs, nuts, and washers might not be as easy as once presumed. Remember that the stud (and, in many cases, the actual shank of the lug nut) is the element that actually transfers the load to the wheel, and the wheel and tire are what transfer the load to the road. And some of these loads at the axle might be much larger than you think. Look at the basic math (and we mean basic-there's nothing here that takes traction or tire dimensions into consideration): engine torque x torque converter multiplication x transmission First-gear ratio x rear axle ratio = load. Using a typical small-block-powered street rod, the loads can exceed 7,500 ft-lb of torque at the axles. Arguably, in most situations, there are two axles and 10 studs to distribute this load over, but it's still a bunch. That's why wheel studs and lug nuts are important.

We took a brief look at some of the varied wheels seen on street rods in the last issue and also examined in detail what really makes up a wheel. The truth is, there's a lot of choice out there, and tires most certainly compound that diversity. The bottom line here is, name your poison. If you dream it, it likely exists when it comes to rolling stock. In this installment, we'll not only take a detailed look at mounting tires on wheels, we'll also look at things like lug nuts, wheel studs, nitrogen refills, and even roadside repairs-there's something here for every street rodder.

A number of months ago, we illustrated how Frank Wallic fabricated replicas of aircraft seats. Little did we know that the story would prove so popular-so popular, in fact, that the story begat a miniseries of sorts. Suddenly people were interested in what it took to fabricate parts by mid-century aerospace means. And that's cool.

At one time it wasn't unusual for a hot rod's emphasis to be strictly based on performance; the goal may have been top speed on the dry lakes, or a low elapsed time at the dragstrip, but proper gearing always played an important role n achieving the objective. Of course, some cars played a dual role and were used on the street as well, but that meant compromises had to be made. If you were a drag racer, it didn't take long to learn that highway gears didn't work at the drags any better than a close-ratio four-speed and a 4.88:1 ring-andpinion did on the highway. So, unless a quick-change was used, the only choice was to have more than one center section with gears appropriate for whatever it was you intended to do.

Not every rodder-to-be is going to tackle a ground-up hot rod build that includes fabricating a chassis or frame from scratch-especially a first-timer. Luckily the aftermarket is rife with quality offerings in this respect, and purchasing a perimeter frame or chassis package is an affordable option that goes a long way in our quest for instant gratification with our hot rod projects. Leaving frame and/or chassis engineering and fabrication to a professional is an easy and really cost-effective method for jump-starting a project -especially when compared to the outlay required to purchase a turnkey hot rod.

Our quest to squeeze some extra horsepower and torque improvements out of our pair of V-8 mule motors without breaking the bank continues. This month, we're back at the Vrbancic Brothers Racing digs over in Ontario, California, with George and Bob Vrbancic to direct our attention to our small-block Ford. As you may recall, we pulled our baselines right out of the box and then proceeded to start some easy and affordable tweaks-the first of which was the installation of a set of COMP Cam's Pro Magnum roller The obvious start for this phase is to tear down the engine in preparation for our next set of upgrades, and George makes quick work of it. Our small-block Ford is a great choice for a street rod powerplant right out of the crate (in fact, an identical engine was my choice for my next project), but as we car guys realize, we can't leave well enough alone. Luckily, though, our upgrades are being handled by a pair of the best performance engine builders we know-Bob and George Vrbancic. Plus, they were smart enough not to let me within 5 feet of it while it was apart. from basic to bitchin' rockers that garnered a pretty good bump for the SBF. We next outfitted the Ford with a set of performance Lunati valve springs, lifters, and camshaft to see what we'd gain horsepower and torque wise.

I figured it was about time to get back to sewing together this homebuilt hot rod since I found a couple of spare hours this past weekend. Since all the major fabrication has been completed, all that's left is actually of relatively minor consequence-though each one gets me closer to the road.