Hot Rod Resolutions-New Year, New Roadster
Greetings, fellow gear heads. I want to wish you all a happy new year from all of us at Speedway Motors.
This is the perfect time of year to think back on the past year and how grateful we are. Last year was most certainly a “house project” year for my family. But we managed to fit in some good, clean hot rod fun as well.
2021 saw us finally bring home a ‘48 Kaiser we bought from a friend in Wisconsin back in July of 2020. Shortly after having it home, we broke first gear into little pieces. Our long term plan of working up to installing an LS engine into the Kaiser fast forwarded itself by six months. Our Kaiser friend, Adam, helped us drop the engine and transmission and the Kaiser is in the garage sitting several inches taller at the moment. We have the LS engine and are working through logistics (mostly space issues) for the swap. New engine mounts, upgraded brakes, new rear end and transmission, wiring and electrical issues, build a new exhaust and fuel system. So you know, just a tiny little project.
George also broke the heck out of a motor mount on his ‘31 coupe. We’re still not sure how he did it. Only that all of a sudden, the Lokar shifter would touch my leg when he turned left. It was easy enough to recreate once more and we limped it home. My dad built a thicker motor mount and welded it in, our friend Ken blended in new paint on the frame and by the skin of our teeth, we got the engine and transmission back in the coupe during the last week of December. You know, just to knock at least one project off the list.
Now to look forward to a fruitful 2022. This is the exact right time to think about how we want this shiny new year to unfold. So what do we have planned for this brand new year?
Well, my friend. Grab a seat. We did something. A few weeks ago, we brought home a 1928-29 Model A roadster. Neither of us planned on bringing home a new project. Not with the looming LS swap for the Kaiser. But destiny? Timing? Fortune favors the bold? Dumb luck? Dumb may be the directionally correct word in our situation.
In December, George and his dad made an appointment to view a tri-power setup at a large estate liquidation northwest of Kearney, Nebraska. Instead, they came home with the roadster and a blower. The roadster had come from Broken Bow, Nebraska, via another wheeler-dealer of a man, but had been in a building for at least five years, waiting for its turn to come to life as a project.
The body is in decent shape. We can spot where it had been a project for someone else, with a few panels spot welded in over the existing body panels. And maybe a little more putty in places we didn’t notice until we got it home. But it seems a good place to start. It rides on a stock Model A frame. And I’m sure it won’t be hard to talk ourselves into pinched ’32 rails. There were fenders and tractor headlights laying inside the body, which all came home with us. The running board brackets make me think it probably had running boards before it was parked. We’ll need to narrow down the look we want to achieve. Running boards and fenders really change the look from the high boys I’m usually drawn to.
Unlike other recent projects cough G’s coupe cough this roadster project will have:
- a sane timeframe
- a parts list with a budget
And a mighty budget at that if it gets that big beautiful power house Supercharger. We think it’s a 6-71 Weiand, currently fitted with a big block manifold. We’ll both be learning all about blowers and belts and… helmets. adds helmet to list
Plus, we can’t forget about the Kaiser LS swap. Crazy, right? I didn’t say our plan for 2022 was rational. We have a big year ahead of us. And because it’s limited, we guard our time and resources. None of us really knows how this year will unfold. We must live with the optimism that we have the power to plan and mold and squeeze to get everything we can out of it. Busy is a given for most of us. What we’re busy doing is what matters.
So here’s to all you other optimists, planners and go-getters. Whether it’s stripping down the mock build for the last time because it’s now ready for paint or getting the race car assembled for the first spring practice at the track or rebuilding a carburetor that needed a tune. I wish an adventure for you in ‘22. Go build your dreams. We’ll be here to help.
We want to see your projects for the new year-share your plans and dreams with us on our Facebook page!