In the beginning, Crystal took the lead on her ’57 Chevy. She really did a great job!

As you can see, we have elected to strip entire car down to metal.  Original paint was too iffy.

We’re making ready all the body parts for paint.  Body is nearly stripped of all the old color.  Just need to do final bodywork, then seal and sand for new color.  It’s the end of April and at last we can start seeing it coming together.  Interior of body is done and just waiting for carpet and headliner.

Here’s a pic of driver’s floor right after it was cut out.  

A great deal of interior sheet metal was replaced with new Eckler components.  

This is a pic of the new driver floor installed.  

Another person that has spent lots of his time and expertise in bodywork is Rick Bailey.  This good good friend is a real magician with metal.  He has spent many Sundays here at my shop getting dirty and waving his wand (hammer) over problem areas.

We had just removed what was left of driver’s side dogleg.  This was replaced with new part from Ecklers, perfect fit!  

This project began in March of 2019.  At this point in our work, all the suspension components, springs, wheels, brakes, cooling, exhaust, engine and trans are new.  In March 2020, after a few tries, this 58 ‘Vette motor fired right up at Terry Ford’s shop.  A very special thanks to Terry for all the work that he did in helping to get to this point.  Also hats off to Dwayne for his assistance too.  A True Friend!

Terry Ford helping with the transmission installation.

Getting final clear coat!

Getting closer………..

An exciting work in progress.  Next will be the cut and buff.  Eeeeek!  This is no time for the timid.

Crystal sanding clear coat.

Sanding and more sanding.  Then buffing like there’s no tomorrow.  But we knew we were progressing.

Once the buffing was done, then came the assembling of this beauty.

She got an old license plate thanks to Rick Bailey.  As parts came in, we kept this moving forward. 

Started polishing all the original stainless steel and other bright work.  This was time consuming.

Started the upholstery, another hat to wear and big learning curve.

Front seat was a nightmare, definitely a process that needed to be done in order.  Moving forward!

Final buffing is done.  Next step will be bugs on the windshield!

Elsie’s new home

She will like it here

Slant six runs great!

Driver’s side seat worn out

Small amount of rust poking out below each door

Surface rust only in trunk

Vinyl top removed

Lots of adhesive remover and elbow grease used

Where is the dual exhaust?

Meet Elsie, my 1970 Dodge Dart.  Purchased from the second owner by me, I was told that Elsie is the first owner’s name (hence the name of the car), and that he received the car as a gift from Elsie’s estate upon her passing.  He was Elsie’s neighbor for many years and it was her wish that he have the car as he had helped take care of Elsie, her husband, their house and the car as they aged.  He received it with only 51,000 miles in 2004, and I got it in 2010 with 73,000 miles.  It was in Fallbrook California for most of its life, then moved to Temecula California where I found it by accident near a  garage sale one morning (I like to say she found me).  It was just one of those car guy moments, I am sure you would understand.  In excellent condition considering its 41 years of use, I had to have it since I like Mopars and my first car was a Dart.  It has very little rust and no real body damage.  It was born with a slant six and column automatic, but that will change.  Elsie will be getting a face lift, a new heart and soul (360), a new rear end, new make-up, and new shoes!  That should put a pep in her step.  This will be my first attempt at a complete makeover, and I will enlist the help of any willing participants to make it happen.  I have some great friends with lots of experience so I am sure it will turn out nicely.  I won’t let it happen any other way!   As you see, the end result after 5 years of effort (during warm weather) is quite a makeover!  Thank  You to many friends for their help- Gary, Tim, Norm, Mike, Bill, Steve, and the support of my wife Sonja.

Tim has been a hot rod guy from the early age of 10. I think it was a horse and buggy! He got his first car at 14, a ’47 Ford Tudor Sedan. To help with the running of a car and the running of the girls, Tim worked as a car-hop, will maybe that was a fry cook at Ron’s Drive-In in the Spokane Valley. Tim says the girls and rods were aplenty. With the help of a few friends he bought and built a ’57 Chevy two door hard top, he was now 17. The fastest car that he has owned was a 383 Magnum Dodge Dart, with a four speed on the floor. In ’64 or ’65 he and a friend built and raced a ’31 Ford Roadster with a Chevy 283 as the go power.  They raced it at the old Deer Park Drag strip in Deer Park, Tim said it was very competitive Rod. He has had many Rods over the years and has been showing them around this area since ’86. In the ’60’s a car club was formed in Sandpoint called the Injectors, it had quite a few local boys and some of their fathers that helped them get everything set up and going. It seemed to fade away as the Boys got older and got married or moved away, so the club went under. In 1999 Tim with Jim Neveau, Dave Townsend, and Bill Zantow, while sitting eating some Burgers at Burger King, and kicking things around, one of them said lets start up a car club. They all agreed that it was a great idea, so a name was the next order of business. That’s when Bill tossed in his two cents. Why not name it after the old car club from way back when The Injectors? So they did!

Tim has been working hard on his new project. He started off with a frame that he got from a club member, Arne Kantola, a lot  of work as been done to it and it is close to being done.

Tim has stepped the back end 4″ and rigged up a nice nine inch Ford from a Mavrick. To keep it from being to bouncy he has installed some nice Coil overs. The trans is 700 R  four with a 2500 stall, and a Locar shifter to put it thru the gears. Tim did all the cutting and welding where needed. As you can see he added some 8 gallon bags under each running board. A switch inside well keep the gas flowing. The front end has a 4” BEll dropped front axle, four bar. Linking it to the frame. He plans on running a set of steel rims or Artilary rims with big and little tires.

The engine is going to be a built chevy 350. It will have a Comp cam, flat top pistons, 305 Heads and roller top rockers. The gas will go through an Edelbrock  carb on an Edelbrock intake. The exhaust will funnel thru a set of Herman headers. Tim has a plan or has already powder coated the engine. A  Aluminum four row Rad will be put into service to keep this one cool Rod.

The body has some surprises in store for it. Tim plans on unbolting the back section and bolting on a fiberglass panel section in its place. It will have a door in back and the two back windows will no longer be there, sounds good. In other words it will be a panel! He has some nasty rust spots on the  back lower panels that have to be taken care of, you know the kind, like it was shot with a shotgun! He plans on applying some type of patch panel, one of  the ideas is to apply a fiberglass patch, another is to use a panel glue and a metal sheet of tin. These are being used instead of wielding to keep the panels from warping from the heat. Tim has not decided on a hard or soft top.

And of course the rig has to be red, but that is down the road. This is going to be a great ride when done, and Tim is doing a great job. Keep up the good work Tim and  Rod on.

The project for this month is a 1941 Willies old school gasser, being built by Ron and Bev Kauble. Ron is not new to car building, he started messing around with cars at the age of 13. His first car was a 1954 chevy coupe while attending high school Santiago, California.

While still in high  school  he entered into the world of drag racing. He was racing a 1932 chevy coupe at the time. In the early 60’s he went on to race in the Junior Fuel Bracket. Ron did some of the driving at these events, but was really the man behind the engine building and fabracation of the car. Ron’s partner in the Junior Drags was Jack Jones, who is still racing Funny Cars.

Ron did most of his racing in California, a lot of his compitetion were some of the greats of the sport, like Big Daddy Don Garlius. In 1970 Ron’s car won the Top Gas Speed Product in a front engine rail, running a 392 Chrysler engine. I’m sure if you sit down beside him at a meetting he will tell you all about it!

Ron did not make it to this great event as he was in the process of getting married to Bev. They have been together for 43 years now, and it looks as thought its going to work out. Their youngest son was living in Sandpoint when they decided that they had had enough of California life, so bypassing Calorado, they moved to Sandpoint.

Ron’s income was made as a Machinist, and from the way he lives and the quality of the work i have seen, he is very good at it. He has made some niffty looking brackets and braces and what nots for the rig. He also is a very fine wielder.

Ken Lunn saw the 41 in the Wheels and Deals and showed it to Ron and Bev and they at first were going to take a pass, but like all good couples, they sat down and talked it over, and decided to buy it. Ron had had this project in his head for a long time and had been collecting ideas about what he wanted to do with a rig like this so it was on.

This is the car Ron has been dreaming of for over 20 years, the start looks good!

What an engine! Its a 355 small block chevy, and sould produce around 600 horse power. It has Pro Filter Aluminum heads, balanced and blue printed, molly pistions,Manley foraged cam, and a 671 blower with two Holly 600’s on top. It will be backed up by a TH 400  with a BM shifter.

All roller  rockers and ceramic heads.

It is running a fine straight front axle with Possies springs. You’ll have to ask Ron about the radiator, it is out of a jeep, ask Ron about it , as a lot of work went in to get it. It is running a vega steering box. It will run very big and little in tires, all of the bunch arre Mickey Tompson.

Steering wheel is a Grant, gauges are Sturart Warrner, Seats are and after market brand and look great. It will have a black enterior, and Bev said she will have the say so in this department! Ron will install a six point roll cage and five point seat belts.

Ron will add some wheelie bars and a chute just in case!

Ron has added a nice fuel cell to the back with an electric fuel pump.

Ron hopes to drive the rig to our car show in September, but will be sans paint, but who cares i just want to hear it run!

Will thats all till next time so Rod On!

Gary

Bob started out like a lot of the rest of us, he didn’t know anything about cars. The only thing he did know was taht he wanted one and it needed to go fast and look great. So he talked to people in the bussiness and read anything he could get his hands on, and thought I can do this. So he did! This was a long time ago, you know, around the time the stone wheel was invented!

Bob does most if not all of the work on his rigs from overhaul of the engine to laying on a dazzling paint job.

This 37 has seen most of its life as a farm truck on a local farm. Dan Bachman, a rat rod builder, found two trucks at the Jacobson ranch and bought them. He took Bob along to help get them home, and little did Bob know that he would end up with the 37. He is going to return the truck back to its early glory in the only way he can, with love and hard work.

The engine is a 230 flat head six, that Bob took out and rebuilt. It looks a little dusty in the pics, but it really is done very nice. Take a look at that horn!!!

As you can see the interior is bone stock and will be brought back to way to cool.

The hood is in good shape and will look great when done.

This is something you don’t see every day, Kerosine road flares!

The grill is something else, the center grill is really rare and can go for as much a twenty five big ones!

The bed sides are in need of some loving, as it has some major dents and rips. Bob has got to come up with some inventive way to straighten the bed rail, he will. The wheels are held on with lug bolts not lug nuts. Bod may cut out the center of the rim and weld in a newer outter ring to be able to run different tires.

The fenders needed a lot of work as you can see. Bob is holding a chunk of metal that was jerry rigged to the side and he took it out and welded it up like it should be.

These are the head light buckets, looking good!

These are some pics of some cars Bob has for sale, just thought you would like to see.