the first 100 - unearthed hot rod video!

We are lucky to be able to study the roots of traditional hot rodding (and customs)
with the help of a couple key books -

Birth of Hot Rodding
Amazon.com: Birth of Hot Rodding (9780760313039): Robert Genat: Books

All the Don Montgomery books
Amazon.com: Don Montgomery: Books

Muroc - when the hot rods ran
Amazon.com: Hot Rods On Muroc Dry Lake 1938 (9780910390309): William Carroll: Books

I have spent countless hours pouring over the pics.
Looking at all the little innovations that make a real hot rod.

We are really lucky that someone actually was dragging a camera around back then.

harper dry lakes
ripped screenshot

However a hot rodder friend up in Santa Cruz, (Dave) recently found the mother lode.
His "uncle" Tommy Lorbeer brought up an actual 8mm video camera to shoot
at the Harper Dry Lakes in 1940!

brand new 1940 ford at speed
ripped screen shot

Thanks to Dave and his son Conner,
 they digitized it and posted it on youtube yesterday.

Prepare to be blown away!

Some amazing stuff going on in this video.
So rare to see these machines and people actually moving.

Rufi Streamliner
ripped screenshot

This section blows me away.
The video is shot moving alongsite the Bob Rufi Streamliner!
Incredible.

bob rufi streamliner
ripped screenshot

I love it!

wrecked 1940 ford coupe

I also really dig this car.
This was probably brand new or close to it,
and it's already wrecked, okay damaged.
I'll bet this ended up as one of the first chopped or customized 40 coupes.
(okay obviously there's a customized '39 in the video,
so let's say it's one of the first!)
To me this gives the reasoning behind some of the early customs,
especially the one's with later model grills and the like.
Just like wrecked vw bugs turned into Baja Bugs.

almost taildragger 1940 ford coupe
ripped screenshot

As you can see I've torn this video apart.
There are more "iconic" cars,
 but I'll usually gravitate towards the real hot rods.
So cool.

1928 or 1929 ford roadster
ripped screenshot

Okay the next car I build definitely a roadster...

3 guys in a ford roadster
ripped screenshot

This shot brings back memories of a fun time for me.
Me, Luke "pigpen" Brown and Holly drove up to San Jose for a show in 2 cars,
but only one car made it back.
(thanks Neal for storing the 40!)

The three of us piled in
and drove the 29 "red dot II" roadster - 100's of miles back home!
Good times.

########################################################

We're lucky Dave's hot rodding roots reach so deep.
Please check out his website,
quality stuff coming out of the Seabright shop.

Seabright Hot Rods

he and his associates deserve all the credit for the video!

TP

rainy day schedule

It's been raining down here,
so the plan has changed a bit.
Yeah yeah yeah,
 rain down here means sporadic sprinkles.
But it's still wet!

tough mama
1955 chevrolet truck

Instead of doing body work outside in the fresh air and sun,

the body is temporarily planted on the freshly painted frame.
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Jimi Hendrix - Rainy Day, Dream Away

1968 - what more to say!

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Time for some bondo magic...

TP

swapmeet scores

Sunday we planned on going to LA to an early ford swap meet.
Me and the boys woke up and had all intentions of going.
On the way up,
we realized a 250 mile road trip was not in the cards,
especially when I don't really need any hot rod stuff.
Ok,
I always need more hot rod stuff,
it's just that I really didn't want to get teased into spending money right now,
on stuff that I don't really need!

So we ended up going to the local Sports Arena swap meet.
Sundays are the best days,
as that's the day most garage sellers fill up the back part.
It was a rarity to get there early,
while people were still setting up.
That is when all the good deals are picked.

This one guy had a slew of bitchin BMX bikes.
Jake had been wanting one for a while now,
and he got this complete 1997 Redline  RL 440 for $40!

Jake's BMX bike
1997 Redline RL 440
Jakob Perich

We had been searching for one for a while,
and they all seemed to be for taller guys.
This one was too good of a deal to pass up,
and is a perfect bike for him to learn the basics of bike mechanics,
and jumping.
Needless to say he was pretty stoked about it.

sunday funday

Another thing we scored was this bike trailer deal for Macey.

$10!
I've been wanting one of these for a while,
as she's too big for the bike seat,
and too slow to keep up with us on the street.
Usually these things used are $100+ and I was preparing to bite the bullet,
so this was a great score.
Of course it needed a new seat and inner tube,
and the seat post connector thing is cheesy.
But she loved it and it was fun riding around.
She didn't want to stop!

perich family
4 out of 5

Jaxon found a couple 40 ford hot wheels,
so we all found something cool.
Hopefully next week we go for a ride!
TP

layin frame & closing gaps

The truck has so many interdependent projects,
it's very tricky to know what projects to prioritize.
Instead of finishing one part,
I've been jumping around,
doing whatever one I can do the fastest at the time.

The goal for the weekend was to get the frame painted black.
This meant hopskotching the body over the frame,
again...
perich brothers (and sister): hurtlocker truck - stripper time

deja vu

I've got Ken hooked on the stool.

He hogs it up.

stool time

I had made some bolt-on rotisserie brackets to help ease the painting process,
and rigged up the A-frame and the engine hoist.

paint booth

I'm not a real painter,
so I enlisted my Dad's help,
since he's been doing the paint thing since I was a kid.

huffin'

This was a tough thing to paint.
15 feet long,
with many facets and nooks,
crawling around and flipping.
Thanks Dad!

black

After watching him paint for a while,
I wanted to give it a try.
The only other time I've held a spray gun was probably 11 years ago,
and it wasn't a good experience.
I think it was a high pressure gun and it just wasn't my thing.
It was a nerve wracking experience for me.

first spray job

There was enough 2-part paint mixed to coat the insides of the fenders,
perfect for a beginner.
This was the HVLP style gun (low pressure)
and it was actually fun.
I'm not sure if it was the fumes or what.
Now I want to try it some more.
Uh oh.
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This is the theme song for the truck.
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Another thing I've been dealing with
is the sheer amount of bodywork on this old truck.
I swear there is an issue on every panel.

gapola

Since that rear corner of the cab was mounted,
the doors were realigned and the old tig-rod trick had to be used.

lucky

I got lucky on the new drivers door.
The passenger door,
not quite so lucky.

major gap

The passenger side was way off.
There was no way I could find to not do both sides.

primer

On top of that,
there was enough dinks and bumps that my magic paint couldn't fill.
So out came the can of bondo,
or in this case Evercoat Z-grip.

filler

I hate to have to do this,
but I had settled early on that it was needed for a smooth body,
in way more places than just the door.

filler

Yeah I'm not proud,
but it relatively thin coat,
and it looks a whole lot smoother.

Again,
this is something that I typically dread,
but it's been fun.
Mainly cause it's not mine,
so instead of rushing through,
I want to see it look right.
This week I'll move on to the drivers side.

floating 1955 chevy truck cab

So now you're caught up to what's been going on.
This week hopefully the frame paint will be hard enough to assemble the suspension,
inside the shop,
and then do the bodywork outside,
so the cab and fenders can be plopped on next weekend.

Oh yeah,
there's still the engine!

1985 corvette 350

Two weeks left!
Let's see what can get done.

TP

bolt-in's?

Since we're pressed for time,
Ken's been buying some bolt-in kits to help speed the process.
Little did he know what bolt-in means!

1955 chevy truck hanging brake pedal

The first was the brake pedal.
We figured a hanging pedal was best,
since he was going to buy the shiniest master cylinder/vacuum booster combo available.

modifications

The bracket was a time saver,
but it was a bit too long.
If you look at those X's that's where the holes should be for an easy fit.

all set

There is a lip along the dash bottom,
 so it wasn't a simple "drill new holes" fix.
I was trying to imagine how someone would install this if in their driveway,
maybe some spacers?
I don't know.

shiny vacuum booster &
master cylinder

The pedal offset will need to be slid over as well,
but that will be after the column is set.

He also liked the bear claw latches on the 40.
perich brothers (and sister): how to - bear claws!!
So instead of buying the stock latch kit,
he found the ready-made bear claw kit.

1955 chevy truck bear claw kit

This was a headache saver.
The door needed to be cut to fit the latch box...

holey

which was fun cause the one door was brand new.
The original door needed the holes retapped for 1/4-20,
no big deal.

tappin'

The plate makes it real easy to install the latch box,
but the design doesn't allow for the stock inner door panel.
Well it does but there is a cut right on the reveal line (no photo).
It would also be cooler if the box could be installed from the inside,
with the bolt-on panel welded up.
The panel kinda sticks out so it needs some hammering or trimming to clean up.
But that's just me.

installed bear claw kit
1955 chevy truck

Regardless it's good to know the doors actually work.
We still need to figure out the button.

deja vu

So now we're trying to get the frame buttoned up for final paint.
Lotsa sanding,
but it's gonna look good black,
especially with all the aluminum stuff installed.

junkyard dawg

Here's Ken learning the finer points of sanding or painting or cleaning.
He's a tough nut on the dead though,
he really likes the radio more.

Meanwhile the body is inside.
So much bodywork on this old truck.

endless bodywork

It's like that saying about the weeds.
You pull the tall weeds,
than you see all the medium weeds,
which are covering the small weeds.

TP

quickee dash insert

Finally something quick and easy.

too holey

Ken didn't like all the holes.

patched

The welding took longer than making the patch panel

magic paint

Everything looks better with that magic paint.


grateful dead - green onions - 1988
supposedly only played once.

TP

christmas in december

Ken is a good car owner for a guy like me.
No scrounging around for used parts.
When in doubt,
charge it!

cubic dollars

Please fit!

TP