Hot rod racer

If you're a hot rodder you're used to hunting down leads in hope of finding vintage gold behind a dusty old door. When Mike Boerema, owner of Gas Axe Garage in Allendale, Michigan, was trying to locate some old speed parts for a project he was working on he never imagined that he'd walk through a door leading to a hot rodder's paradise.

It was the early '60s when a young Gene Melbocker of Allegan, Michigan, caught his first whiff or race fuel as he frequented Martin Dragway in nearby Martin, drag racing was surging with front-engined dragsters, Gassers, and Alterds heavily influencing him to locate a suitable base to build his own race car from. He eventually found a 1932 Ford pickup, which he tore down in his shop as he gathered parts for the build. He often bought out old speed shops, selling the parts off to fund his project as he went along.

As with many builds the fever starts hot and sometimes fades as time passes. Melbocker had assembled a great group of hop-up parts and even pulled the Deuce's original 265ci mill in favor of a Cadillac unit when all fell silent. The silence lasted over 50-years till one afternoon while selling parts at a local swap he met Mike. The two became friends with Mike stopping by his home barn to look into purchasing some parts for the build currently in his shop.

That's when a door opened revealing the dusty Deuce and a grouping of parts that made his heart skip a beat. Stacked around the truck were piles upon piles of original speed parts, all in their original boxes never opened, destined for the build. It didn't take long till conversations centered on pulling the truck out of its longterm hibernation to bring it to life. Melbocker saw the passion in Mike and agreed to let him haul it back to Gas Axe and get started.

The truck was torn down and first to be addressed was the frame. The 'rails were boxed for added strength and then tied together with custom crossmembers. Out back a vintage Halibrand quick-change was hung in place in the '60s with a triangulated four-bar and coilover shocks to handle the bumps. Mike got busy up front redesigning the suspension with a 1937 Ford tube axle and 1946 Ford spindles deftly matched to a buggy spring and Monroe tube shocks. He also incorporated mounts for the Deuce grille shell, 2-gallon Moon tank, and headlights. Anchoring the chassis to the asphalt are original American Racing magnesium wheels with Pirelli rubber up front and gennie American Racing five-spoke mags out back, topped with classic M&H drag slicks.

To make plenty of thunder the original 365ci Cadillac mill was pulled and brought to D&T Performance in Grand Rapids to machine and bore to 376 ci. The bits were brought back to Mike who assembled it using a stock crank linked to matching rods wearing Jahns pistons. An Isky stick sets the beat while warmed-over factory heads generate power. On top an original "from the box" Hilborn mechanical eight-stack fuel injection setup was bolted in place and brought to life by a Mallory mini-mag with spent gases dumping through Gas Axe designed headers. Shifts fly through a hopped-up Turbo 350 trans via a B&M stick. Thankfully the original steel cab and bed were in good shape, only needing a few minor repairs to iron it out. Mike then got busy relocating the cab and bed while also lowering the cab 1 inch and the shortened bed 4 inches over the 'rails. The truck was then handed over to Tim Miller at Miller Collision in Zeeland to make straight, set the gaps, and lay down a vibrant coating of PPG custom-blended blue vibe.

Inside, the business office was treated to plenty of race-inspired details, including a stock dash filled with a custom insert cradling Classic Instruments gauges, vintage white steering wheel, and four-point steel rollbar by Gas Axe. A pair of Crosley bucket seats were covered in a combination of blue and white Naugahyde by Cassie Ostema of Top Stitch Trim & Upholstery in Allendale who also handled the inner panels and black loop carpet. We can hardly wait to hear the truck fire up and see it hit the strip.

http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/1504-1932-ford-pickup-with-power-a-plenty/

It's said that something every hot rodder should do at least once is attend Bonneville Speed Week. We'd agree with that, and would in fact go a step farther and say it should be on every hot rodder's bucket list to drive a race car at Bonneville. While it is possible to "rent a ride" in a race car, or if you're really lucky, drive a friend's car, there are those who bite the bullet and build a car with the specific purpose of racing at Bonneville.

Larry Erickson is a name that may be familiar to you if you've been around this hobby a while. Not only did he design Cadzilla, and Boyd's Aluma Coupe, but he was also the chief designer of the Ford Mustang a decade or so ago, amongst design assignments for the OEMs. A hot rodder in his off-hours, he's now turned his efforts to designing and building a Bonneville car for himself.

Starting with a 1929 Model A Touring cowl that Paul Beck dragged out of a ditch in Wyoming, the car will be a 1929 roadster on a modified 1932 frame. Larry told us, "I spoke with Troy Trepanier when I started the project, and he told me you could get away with as little as 1 inch of ground clearance at Bonneville. Once I heard that I started sketching different positions for the body. I positioned the front of the flattened 1932 frame parallel to the ground and positioned the driver so as little as possible was sticking out in the wind.

"We are keeping the stock doors, quarters, and cowl, although that will be under the hood with only the filler cap poking through. This may be a water tank as the fuel cell is behind the rear axle. It will have an open cockpit with a removable tonneau cover. The driver sits just enough off centerline to allow the driveshaft and safety enclosure through. The motor will also sit off-center to help with the packaging of the driver. The bulges in the hood are there to clear the Mercedes-Benz motor."

Ah yeah, that motor. The car is designed to run in the roadster class as a Gas or Fuel car, depending on engine configuration. To start with it will run a Buick V-6 Stage 2 engine supplied by American Speed, of York, Pennsylvania. Some of the under-construction photos show it with a Mercedes-Benz M100 6.3L V-8. That is the largest motor it will ever run but that is down the road a bit. Larry has owned this engine for 30 years, and considers it a beautiful motor with dramatic proportions, as well as having a fantastic Bosch mechanical fuel injection pump. Part of the wonderment of racing at Bonneville, as he puts it, is that "how you go fast can be as important as how fast you go!" The transmission is a Jericho four-speed, backed by a Winters quick-change rearend.

Larry's support team includes Jack Chisenhall from Vintage Air, Tim Godbout, Paul Beck, Jeff Higel, and Dennis Kelso, as well as Ed Scutchfield, who has been shaping metal for many years, and whom Larry turns to whenever he has a problem in that area. Kelso was responsible for those beautiful front wishbones. "One of the great things about Bonneville is that weight is not so much the enemy it is in other forms of racing, so Jeff made these out of solid steel. In the roadster classes you can stretch the wheelbase as long as you stay inside the overall length requirement. These are 55 inches long and so nice they may get clearcoated."

A huge fan of mocking up a car and putting it outside to see from a distance, Larry has done this several times already during the project, and it's the only way to truly see that the finished proportions, stance and "look" are just right. We're looking forward to seeing this Model A out on the salt.

http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/1504-larry-ericksons-model-a-bonneville-race-car/

1929 Ford Roadster Bonneville race car. Car was previously owned by long time salt flat racer, Doc Jefferies. Built by Don Stringfield.

Richmond 5 speed transmission
Halibrand quick change rear end
MSD crank trigger
Weaver Brothers oil pump
Waterman fuel pump
Injected (Hagen manifold modified)
Dart block
Bullet cam (501000)
Total Seal piston rings
Speed Pro rod bearings
J & E pistons
Pro Topline heads (aluminum)

Much more...

This car is ready to race at Bonneville with a fresh motor. Have been racing for 13 years at Speed Week in class C/GR and car is always photographed and in magazines & videos.

Decided to sell the Walker Special Track T that we built last year and raced at TROG. This car is an original 26-27 T touring body that was shortened and narrowed 6". The body is mounted to an original "A" frame that was fitted to the T body. This car was built with many nice used original parts and finished in single stage urethane.
Handmade Steel Track nose and handmade aluminum grill, Hood top and sides are Aluminum.
Engine is a 1937 tinside V860. It was bored .100" over and is running original 10:1 Edelbrock heads. We raced it with a 2 carb intake but the car now has a single carb intake and a Ford 94 and makes it more drivable on the street. (2 carb intake not included in sale price)
Trans is an open drive top loader from a truck as is the Banjo rear axle with 3:54 gears.
Front suspension is made up with original 37-40 front split wishbones and a 4" dropped filled SuperBell I beam axle. The car has 37-41 round backs, Juice Brakes all the way around using original 39' wide five hubs. Original Wide 5 wheels with 700-16's and 4.50-16's.

The car was built for the Race of Gentleman in 2014 with a supercharged banger. I just finished up rebuilding the car with a 1938 Ford flathead V8. The car has a bunch of other changes now.



The car is the front half of a 26 T touring body mounted to a 27 Essex frame. It has a Dodge double dip axle and a Ford open banjo rear. There is a really cool custom gas tank out back and the grill is a cut down Studebaker.



I would think the car would be a great car for the Race of Gentleman this year. If I could keep it I would try entering it. I'm selling it to finish my 34 Ford roadster...

1 9 1 9 B U I C K
B U L L E T T A I L R A C E R

D E S I G N E D A N D E N T I R E L Y H A N D - F A B R I C A T E D B Y T H E I N I M I T A B L E


P A U L N O R M A N D

A m e r i c a n H o t R o d D e s i g n & F a b r i c a t i n g L e g e n d





It brings me absolute joy to introduce globally to collector car enthusiasts ANY creation designed and built by Paul Normand of Rochester, New Hampshire as his cars the world over are appreciated, collected and curated in many of the world's finest rare car museum collections from the little known (with 500 fabulously rare automobiles) $50 million Evergreen Historic Automobile Museum collection in Lebanon, Missouri to the illustrious and globally renowned Peterson Museum in Los Angeles, California. Quite simply, automobile museums have one goal in mind, and that is to get paying customers through the doors and the only way to do this is put on display extraordinary, rare and UNUSUAL cars! I have owned 14 Paul Normand automobiles in my lifetime and without exaggeration, most of my sales of Normand automotive masterpieces were acquisitions directly by museum curators/owners themselves, and then there were a few that happened while driving on the street by curious motorists following alongside for miles and while waiting at a traffic signal, getting my attention and asking "How Much"?




At first you gloat and bathe in pride of ownership until the second and third stoplights reveal that these are not passive inquiries, but maniacally aggressive, impulsive offers to sell you car on the spot! I have experienced this myself and several others who have owned Paul Normand Boat Tail Racers/Speedsters have incredibly relayed to me the exact same experience as rare, beautiful and/or unusual collector cars are in such demand that quality replicas of Auburns, Lamborghini's and now even first generation Corvettes now sell in excess of $100,000. Life is just too short to motor around in mundane cars, and driving exceptional automobiles is downright exciting !!




Mr. Paul Normand is now approaching 70+ years of age (I suspect) and he builds only 2-3 cars each year releasing them in the spring (working all winter) and I have the coveted privilege of first right of refusal to any Normand automobile/masterpiece newly built and offered by Paul (I haven't refused any builds of his since I met him by phone a few years ago). This fabulous and imposing big bodied 1919 Buick Racer and titled as such is aesthetically bordering "Whimsical and Menacing" as the "eight"side cowl exhaust pipes are not only functional, but percussive, thunderous and combustible with an occasional spark or flame emanating from the pipes upon aggressive acceleration, and if you enter some sort of local or regional car show and don't take home any awards or trophy's, then you drive lead footed and "Blast" & "Dynamite" your way home knowing the whole thing was rigged. Again, this car is a "Show Stopper"!




The car was preliminarily photographed (ok, I begged) last week and Paul is still putting finishing touches, fitting and calibrating cowl panels, brakes and whatever else requiring adjustments. I am the very, very proud the owner of this dramatic bullet tailed "Fire Breathing Dragon" and the car will be in New Hampshire for probably one more week, after which time I will have it transported to my home in Key West to terrorize the wild chickens and five toed "Hemingway Cats". If your personality is bigger than life and you don't mind an "All Eyes on Me" type of car, then get aggressive about owning this instant museum classic (Paul Normand cars NEVER LAST LONG ON THE MARKET), because you won't be finding another one like it, or anything remotely close to it for that matter for under $75,000 (visited "Pre War Cars" online publication lately?).

Built as a tribute to old-school Bonneville Salt Flats racers, this very cool 1930 Ford 5-window coupe should create a stir everywhere you go. Still plenty fast, but with a few creature comforts that make it a bit more usable than its racing-oriented siblings, it's an awesome way to get the look without having to endure the blood, sweat, and tears that come with the territory.





To be honest, there's not much 1930 Ford left here, but that's why it's so cool. The raked-back windshield and pointed nose are obviously designed to cheat the wind during high-speed record attempts, and around town they help this coupe's performance in a big way. The hood itself was fabricated from a pair of 1940 Ford hoods that wrap seamlessly into the nose. This car is all about form following function, so there are louvers punched in the hood to let heat and air out and the sides of the nose were subtly reshaped to allow room for the V8 engine underneath. It's bathed in copper metallic paint that has an old-school look, especially with the vintage-style lettering on the hood and doors, including class letters. There are a lot more lovers out back (you'll see why in a moment) and the roof insert has been filled. For a timeless go-fast look, this coupe really nails it.




The interior is Spartan, but not race car bare, although there are plenty of old school race car touches to be found. The seats themselves are cool aluminum pieces clearly designed to look like surplus aircraft parts, and the tan vinyl cushions are comfortable enough to make this a reasonable cruiser for regular use. The three spoke wheel is an old style dirt track unit with a leather wrapper and the dash is full of modern interpretations of vintage-looking gauges. A long shifter handle sticking out of the floor, a center "console" made out of an ammunition box, and bare aluminum door and side panels add make this feel like an early post-war flats racer, which was entirely the point. The fact that it's comfortable enough for cruise nights and as well finished as it is becomes a testament to the dedication of the builder. Technically there's a trunk out back, but as you can see, it's full of radiator and gas tank. The radiator has an electric fan and feeds coolant to the front through the frame rails, and you'll be pleased to note that the system works rather well.




The engine it's cooling is a late Ford flathead V8 dressed up in period speed parts like finned aluminum cylinder heads and a big Holley 4-barrel carburetor on top. The red paint looks right and a few chrome pieces like the modern alternator give it some flash. There's a secondary radiator up front, complete with another electric fan, but obviously with that pointed nose, there's not a whole lot of airflow, hence the bigger unit out back. You do get a 5-speed manual transmission, which makes this a very comfortable highway cruiser and may even push it to higher speeds on the flats, and there's a familiar banjo-style rear end hanging on a transverse leaf spring out back. The front suspension is a dropped axle with hairpins and another transverse leaf, and the exhaust system uses Smitty mufflers and cut-outs to further blur the lines between street and race. Steel wheels with spun aluminum discs complete the look, along with big-n-little tires measuring 6.00-16 up front and 8.20-15 in back.