TRJ Issue #87

Let’s take a deeper look into what’s inside TRJ #87.

The cover of TRJ #87A depicts a historic full-fendered Deuce roadster, which received acclaim on the California rodding scene more than a half-century ago when owned by Bay Area Roadsters’ member Bill Marshall. It is now under the stewardship of Texas hot rodder, Steve Wertheimer. In fact, that’s the Texas state capital in the background of our cover shot.

TRJ #87B showcases Pete Eastwood’s “Samurai” Top Fuel Dragster, which was raced in Japan back in the 1960s after being built by Don Long in California, with the help of a team of top-notch craftsman.

Other articles in TRJ #87 include;

The Bill Marshall Deuce is joined by the Ian Cusey full-fendered ’32 Ford roadster in our article entitled “Texas Hold-Em”. Like the Marshall car, the Cusey Deuce has also made its way to Texas where it is now in the collection of “Flat Top Bob” Owens.

We attended our old friends Bobby Alloway and Gary Case’s relatively new event, The Triple Crown of Rodding, held in the Nashville, Tennessee area. It’s been a big hit right from the start!

In the 1960s Walt Zaveruka was a flight engineer for Japan Airlines based in Tachikawa, Japan. What he decided he needed was a Top Fueler to run in Japan. He ordered a car from Don Long who enlisted everyone from Tom Hanna to Dave Zeuschel, George Cerny Jr. and Tony Nancy to complete the build.

We have a full feature on Rich Hubbard’s Barris-built Tom Hocker Forty Ford custom. It made its debut at the 1953 Oakland Roadster show and went through several iterations over the next couple of decades. It even appeared in American Graffiti and has now been faithfully restored by John Canepa of Westminster, California. It’s quite a story.

Maryland rodder, Andy Volpini’s road warriors, a ’40 Ford coupe and F-100 pickup, see more than their share of miles. The Forty has been a hot rod since the ’60s and Andy has owned it since 1978, putting nearly 300,000 miles on it during that period. Originally powered by a six-cylinder hooked to a three-speed the ’53 Ford pickup is now powered by a 401-inch Buick nailhead.

Jay Fitzhugh delves into the world of traditional hot-rod hardware and fasteners. They say, “The Devil is in the Details” and that is literally the title of this article. Jay takes a deep dive into just what hot rodders and customizers were using when assembling their automobiles back in the salad days of our sport.

We also explore Cody Walls’ concept custom ’49 Buick. Cody’s inspiration basically came from two sources. He wanted to tip his hat to the “Y-Job”, the original concept car, built by Buick back in 1938. But he wanted the exterior finishes and interior details to reflect the evolving show world of the late- ’50s.

Noted automotive designer Larry Erickson shares his take on Bonneville racing history. Bonneville Speed Week has been going on for more than 75 years and the salt flats are a place where tradition hangs heavy in the air. Larry is a Bonneville participant with a unique perspective on just what makes this place so special to hot rodders from around the world.

In our Parts is Parts feature we showcase the aluminum heads and assorted pieces that Jack Chisenhall developed for the Red Ram Hemis. That’s right, brand new aluminium heads for Chrysler’s “Baby Hemis”!