Building cars is a family thing for us. After World War II, my dad built racing cars - midgets, hot rods, that sort of stuff. He actually raced for a while himself in the San Francisco Bay Area and was the а first to hit 100 mph on the Oakland Speedway. When I was a kid, I always hung around the workshop with dad, helping him out, and kind of got the knack of it.
After I got out of the navy in the late '60s, I started building aluminium bodies on racing cars: midgets, dragsters, funny cars, and sporty cars. I also started building motorcycle petrol tanks for the Harley-Davidson XR-750 flat-trackers in the early '70s.
I've been a fabricator, building cars and parts for other people, almost my whole life. But a little over a decade ago, I bought this '34 Ford. That's the year that Fords started having nicer lines - a more flowing look. I looked for a five-window '34 coupé for a long time and paid way too much money when I finally found one, but it's what I wanted.
It was a running car, but it needed help. It was just in primer when I bought it. It had a Chevy 350 in it, which I'm not particularly fond of - I'm a little bit of a purist. To me, a Ford's a Ford, and a Chevy's а a Chevy. It sat with me for years, then I finally decided I'd just take the car apart and do a restoration on the thing - reassemble it, paint it, and everything.
I stripped it down to the bare frame, but the further I got, the more problems I found. This is where the car really became a project.
Denne historien er fra May/June 2022-utgaven av Popular Mechanics South Africa.
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Denne historien er fra May/June 2022-utgaven av Popular Mechanics South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Can a retired rocket engine take us to Mars?
The space shuttle's main engine was mothballed with the programme in 2011. Now NASA believes it's the future of interplanetary travel.
6 metre waves. All engines on fire. 1 500 Km from land.
How Flying Tiger 923 and its 'miracle pilot' made an impossible ocean landing.
Land Rover Discovery D300
A FEW MONTHS ago a $2 billion lottery jackpot was won in the United States. It’s fun to sometimes ponder outrageous winnings like that, and how I’d spend it, even if it’s completely detached from reality.
Volkswagen Taigo R-Line 1.0 TSI
The compact proportions make this a delightful daily commuter.
Mazda CX-5 2.2 L De Akera AWD
Floor the pedal and overtaking is achieved easily and safely.
Making the most out of your grinder
THE HUMBLE BENCH GRINDER IS A STAPLE of the handyworker's home shop, largely due to its versatility. But, while you can employ one to remove metal from just about anything, the traditional kind may not provide the precision you need for every grinding operation. Here, we shed light on the best ways to use the different types of grinders, gleaned from our testing.
Unlock your devices' full potential with a USB-C hub
AS NEW TECH SHRINKS EACH YEAR, essential ports such as USB-A, HDMI, and ethernet are being replaced by the slimmer USB-C.
WE BUILT THE WORLD'S FIRST V-8 TESLA
THE RICH REBUILDS TEAM HAD A DEAD MODEL S. THEY FIXED IT WITH A CAMARO ENGINE.
I bought a GHOST TOWN
This abandoned California mining village once had 400 buildings. Now I'm restoring the 20 that remain.
F1 taught me that speed starts with comfort
AS A FAN OF MOTORSPORT, I'M ALWAYS fascinated with the finer details that go into Formula One racing. Piloting the fastest racing cars on the planet subjects drivers to savage forces - up to 6 G's under braking which has led to an almost endless pursuit of comfort.
