TRJ Issue #27

The Radio-Free Flyer
FastLane Rod Shop in Donohue, Iowa, has become known for building clean, simple, low and mean hot rods, and Alan Button’s Deuce three-window is no exception. Powered by a high-horsepower 355-inch smallblock Chevy hooked to a Muncie 4-speed, the coupe features bodywork by Dave Lane and Marcel De Ley and rides on polished Real Wheels with big-and-little blackwalls.

The Art of Speed
The artwork of Gus Maanum helped define early hot rodding. His pencil sketches of roadsters, Modifieds, and streamliners racing across the dry lakes can be seen everywhere from S.C.T.A. racing programs to Bell Auto Parts catalogs. We tell the story of the man behind the drawing board.

Cut By Cole
Cole Foster created a modern classic custom when he built the chopped ’36 Ford taildragger for Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. Beginning with a five-window coupe, Cole worked with his late father, master craftsman Pat Foster, and various talented members of the Salinas Boyz, to handcraft the graceful, modern take on the cars of the early post-WWII custom era. We captured it in baremetal before it was finished in its fitting deep black coat of paint.

All About the Color
There’s no denying Gilbert “Bubba” Bugg and his wife Barbara’s Deuce roadster is a beautiful hot rod. It’s got a cool late-’50s/early-’60s vibe, with a nicely raked stance with wide whitewalls and chrome reverse wheels and a chopped top. A 362hp smallblock Ford is tucked beneath the hood. The Darryl Hollenbeck-applied Pagan Gold and Tommy the Greek-style pinstriping by Rory Pentecost add to the impact.

A View from the Strip
Our look back at the drag racing photography of Robert “Pete” Garramone focuses on images Pete caught on the street and strip back in the 1960s. Many of the shots came from the Continental Divide Raceway and Rocky Mountain Dragway, both near his native Denver, Colorado home. Featured are Gassers, Top Fuelers, Fuel Altereds and more, on the strip and in the pits.

Tom Orren’s Touchstone Roadster
Tom Orren’s ’29 Model A roadster was a terror around the streets of Waco, Texas, in the late-’40s. It was channeled over the rails, outfitted with a neat set of nerf bars and a Deuce grille shell, and powered by a nicely equipped 59AB flathead. When one of the new overhead Chevys finally beat Tom in a race, he parked the roadster in a shed until it was unearthed 40 years later. Texas hot rodder Steve Wertheimer is the current owner, and we’ve got the full story of this amazingly preserved piece of rodding history.

Intense Memories
Pat D’Ambrosio grew up around jacked-up Corvettes and tri-five Chevy street Gassers, so it’s no wonder his latest project reflects that influence. His ’57 ’Vette began life as a racecar–and had the scars to prove it. After carefully restoring the body, Pat painted it black with flames and outfitted it with a Hilborn-injected 427-inch big block Chevy, a ’57 Borg-Warner four-speed, and American Racing Torq Thrusts.

Parts is Parts: Dropped Axles
There are many ways to drop an early Ford, from actual dropped original axles to aftermarket I-beams that are available painted, chromed, drilled, or any combination therein. We take a look at all the options, from Mor-Drop originals to brand new pieces from the likes of So-Cal Speed Shop, Magnum, and Super Bell.

The Chet Herbert Story
Chet Herbert was an active hot rodder and talented machinist whose contributions to hot rodding led to countless drag strip and land speed records and victories. We explore his history, from his record-setting “Beast” Harley-Davidson drag bike and chopped Deuce Fordor to his contributions to camshaft technology.