Art & Inspiration What makes your car or cars unique?

The louvered hood on my 66 Suburban.
Notice the two outer sections have standard louvers (outies) while the two inner sets of louvers are inverted.

 

There are a handful of unique (handmade) items on my roadster but the rearend is something many people might not recognize.

Kind of big and not too pretty by some standards, this is a 1957 Ford F-100 half ton rearend housing.

 

Mine would be the old fart driving each one.

 

Been in the family for 69 years.

 

Another unique detail on my Cabriolet are the jewels.
I drilled the '49 Ford hubcaps and added blue-dots with green jewels in them.
I ground down a green jewel to fit the crank hole in the grille.
I made green jewel bolt covers for the bumper iron bolts.
With a name like "Irish Jack Murphy"...well, that should explain a lot....

 

Chrysler made my Dodge unique. I didn't have to do a thing.

 

They only made my car for one year!






Bones

 

'58 Thunderbird grille

 

They only made 57 Chevys for one year, too.

 

I think all the old 40s-50s parts...Buick head lights, Mercury tail lights, Plymouth bumpers, Olds hub caps, shoe box ford trim, and Nash rear bumper guard and a few other kustom goodies.

 

Down tube exhaust outlets


Hello,

From the time my brother had our local welding/muffler shop install some down tubes for cut outs, the job of opening and closing them was left to “guess who,” when I was old enough. But until I was, my brother did the same thing when the chips were down. There were many teenagers during the 1956-65 time period in our local Bixby Knolls area that had down tube exhaust cut outs.

In his days of driving and racing the 1958 Impala, there were many times that he would crawl under the car to open the down tube cut outs. He had to unbolt one, loosen the other and move the cap over to one side. Then tighten the remaining nut so as not to lose any during the upcoming encounter. This was a standard operating procedure for most teenagers that had any kind of exhaust cut outs back then. It was a hassle, but it was a fix-it ticket at the very least from the CHP.

With the next generation of teenagers taking over the cruising hot rod scene, changes had to be made. One time on Cherry Avenue, the CHP broke up a race and chased a lot of teenagers all over the area. Luckily, my friend lived just around the block from the cemetery and told me to pull into the cul-de-sac near a low growing tree. He knew this spot was perfect for hiding. We had to jump out and cap up the exhaust cut out caps in case we were given the once over from the chasing CHP cruiser. Using an open end wrench or box wrench was not the fastest, but the only way to get the caps back in place, in silence.

We obviously were on our backs, upside down, removing one nut, loosening the other, swinging the cap over, installing the loose nut and tightening both as if it was never open. It was time consuming and exciting at the same time.


Downward exhaust outlet flange with wingnuts for quick opening/closing and removal.

Then one day hanging around my friend’s house, we figured out a way to make the opening and closing of the down tube exhaust cut outs so much easier and faster. A small slit on one side of the exhaust cap end fitting. Wingnuts (with Loctite or some solution) instead of an ordinary nuts. That way, a small tap is all that is necessary to tighten and loosen the cap for that extra power and sound. The reverse was easy, as the cap just swings back over the opening and the wingnut gets the tightening. Problem solved.

The nut was now permanently attached to the cap with a wingnut. When the wingnuts were loosened, the cap easily slid out and over to open the exhaust opening. The wing nut was easier to tighten and keep in place. Even a small rock could tighten the wing…

Before we started using blue Loc-Tite, several of the wing nuts came loose and fell off, creating a jiggling metal on metal sound. The cap was loose and one remaining wing nut was keeping the whole thing from falling completely off.

Jnaki

So, the process is not just a waste of time, being macho or anything, but just something that was necessary for added sound and power. Opening the side or down tube exhaust cut outs is/was a standard procedure. But, crawling under the car to reach the down tube was a chore. The side cut outs could easily be capped up in a flash. Stop, flip, tighten the wing nut… silence is golden …

From the 1959-60 standard exhaust cut outs to the electric cut outs is a long way apart. If we had those devices, it would have made it simple. But, not the true teenage ideas that made it fun and exciting while experiencing growing up. Cuts outs are Traditional, but electric cut outs are way beyond the timeline cut off dates. YRMV

 

The only claim to fame for this one is that it was bought new by my great grandfather and has always been in the family.

 

My woody was in the movie “Walk the Line” and was driven by Joaquin Phoenix with Reese Witherspoon climbing all over the place it

 

Glove box light. Always put them in my cars. Don't know why. Don't have gloves; no one ever looks there but somehow the car isn't done without them.

 

What would make my avatar roadster unique would be the transmission. People ask what transmission I am running and I reply, " A 76 AMC Pacer ". I get a lot of strange looks when I say that. But it is true. When I was building the car, I decided that I wanted to use a Ford full syncro 3 speed and an overdrive. I had worked for the Border Patrol as a mechanic and we had Jeep Cherokees with Ford full syncro 3 speed trans and a top shifter. I wanted an overdrive also, so I cared Gordon at Stick Only in the San Fernando Valley and asked him which Fords used the full syncro 3 speed with an overdrive. He told me that they never did but AMC did on 75-77 Pacers, Gremlins, Hornets. They were using the trans throughout there line and added a Laycock overdrive to those three models. We'll, I found a perfect example in Fresno and brought it home, took it apart and everything was great. I put a small parts kit in it and then put it in my roadster. I converted it to a Jeep top cover and bolted a 36 Ford hand brake on the side. It works perfectly even after 15 years of service. The old time look on the floor of my roadster hides all the later model parts. I can get aĺl rebuild parts for the trans and overdrive, but if I ever break the factory AMC adapter, I will be in trouble! After all the perfect service I have gotten out of the combination, I feel pretty safe with it. The best part is to be at a show and someone will come up and inspect my hemi, look inside the cockpit, and then ask what trans I am running. It's fun to watch the look on their face when I say "a 76 AMC Pacer transmission". After they shake their heads, I explain the generic history of the parts and they all seem to enjoy my original answer. 40+ thousand miles on the combo and no problems. Speed shifting is not possible with the Jeep top cover, but other than that, it's ideal!

 

The Flames, if it weren't for them, it would be just another black Merc!
After owning it for 41 years, it is now owned by @CHITOWN 29A and driven way more than I was ever able to even to work, weather permitting! Couldn't have gone to a better caretaker.