Cal, Nick & T-33
Hot Rod Deluxe|January 2020
REBORN.
Scotty Lachenauer
Cal, Nick & T-33
Eighty-two-year old Cal Kennedy was ready to live out his life at home, retired from the daily grind and enjoying his golden years after 55 years in the workforce. “I would tell people I was pretty much locked into my rocking chair,” he says. Well, he was prepared to live the quiet life at home, until Mike “Nick” Nicholas appeared in his life.

Nick grew up in the greater Denver area, born into a world of motorcycles and fast cars. His father, Bob “St. Nick” Nicholas, was a hot rodder who enjoyed sharing what he knew about vintage speed equipment with his son: parts like Ardun OHVs for flatheads, the super-rare Rajo heads for Model T bangers, and the cherished Wayne 12-ports for Chevy inline-sixes, the latter known as the “unicorn” power-adder of inline speed equipment.

When Nick had a family of his own, he decided he needed a project car to share his love of the hobby with his two young boys. So, in 2010, he scored a needy 5-inch-sectioned ’50 Ford, a car he thought was just unique enough to stand out at local car shows. Left in the trunk by the previous owner was the March 1954 issue of HOT ROD, bearing a similar Shoebox on the cover. Though the Ford was the featured story, there was an article inside that really grabbed Nick’s attention: a recap of the first Hot Rod Hill Climb that took place in nearby Georgetown, Colorado, in the late summer of 1953.

Nick was floored by the discovery, as he had no idea the race ever existed. He was drawn to the article and the history and read it over and over. It was a revelation he carried with him for the next two years, until finally a light bulb went off in his hot-rodinfested head. Why not recreate the event? It was feasible, but first he had to find out everything he could about the original event. “The Hill Climb was run nearly 60 years ago, so I wasn’t expecting much,” he says.

Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Hot Rod Deluxe.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Hot Rod Deluxe.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA HOT ROD DELUXESe alt
Cal, Nick & T-33
Hot Rod Deluxe

Cal, Nick & T-33

REBORN.

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2020
Backstage Past Part 10:1963
Hot Rod Deluxe

Backstage Past Part 10:1963

This Glendale, California, photo session produced the Bob D’Olivo (behind camera, right) transparency that became one of HOT ROD’s most-artistic covers.

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2020
Travellin Deuce
Hot Rod Deluxe

Travellin Deuce

A stock height windshield, in conjunction with a body that’s been channeled the full width of the frame, gives the ex–De Fillipi/La Masa ’32 roadster a chunky, almost perky appearance. Discrete lakes pipes peek out beneath the framerails, just behind the firewall. In the mid-’50s, the lakes plugs exited (curiously) in front of the rear wheels.

time-read
7 mins  |
January 2020
back to basics
hot rod deluxe

back to basics

bountiful. the ’32 ford has become the quintessential hot rod, thanks to its good looks and the fact that the model year coincided with ford’s release of a v-8 engine in addition to the reliable four-cylinder.

time-read
5 mins  |
march 2017
Nothing Screwy About It 
Hot Rod Deluxe

Nothing Screwy About It 

In this space in the Sept. ’16 issue I wrote about several topics, including the Screwdrivers car club of Culver City, California, and whether or not the famous cocktail was named after the club.

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2017
Blue Bird
Hot Rod Deluxe

Blue Bird

Fathers. The plan was this: My son Sebastian and I had just finished one of many restorations, the Blood Sweat & Gears 1948 Prefect.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2017
Mark of Excellence
Hot Rod Deluxe

Mark of Excellence

Tilt. Somewhere in a small farming town in central Illinois is a garage with a couple of car builders who live in a time warp that starts and ends in the 1960s.

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2017
his purple passion
hot rod deluxe

his purple passion

eli english was a grade schooler when he first spotted this '34 couple peering through the open doors of a local garage. thirty years later, he got to work on this period-perfect late-'50s hot rod and put her back on the road.

time-read
6 mins  |
march 2017
waterlogged trog
hot rod deluxe

waterlogged trog

waterlogged trog

time-read
5 mins  |
march 2017