How to Build Affordable Hot Rods

by Tony Thacker

Overview

Learn how to build an affordable hot rod following the advice of the masters!

In How to Build Affordable Hot Rods, author and lifelong hot rod aficionado Tony Thacker takes you through the process of building a hot rod on a budget. Drawing on his own extensive experience of both buying and building rods, Thacker explores the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good was setting a land speed record at Bonneville, the bad was buying a rod from which the previous owner had "swapped out" the good engine, and the ugly--well, let’s just not go there. How to Build Affordable Hot Rods includes extensive how-to sections that cover step-by-step chassis builds for Model A, 1932, and 1936 Fords, including front- and rear-end setups. The in-depth chassis builds are complimented with sections on powertrain choices, bodywork and roof chops, wheels and tires, and wiring and paint. Also included are chapters on interiors and the all-important details that individualize any project to ensure that it stands out from the rest.

When Henry Ford introduced his beloved Model T, he unwittingly gave the average person the means to go racing. Prior to the T, racing was mostly a sport of the rich, but that changed with the Model T. Stripped of fenders and hopped up with speed parts, T speedsters ruled, and it wasn’t long before enthusiasm on the track translated to the street and the term hot rod entered the vernacular.

Of course, it didn’t need to be a Ford (and still doesn’t), but the easiest and therefore cheapest route to Hot Rod Boulevard is down the Ford road. The journey accelerated after World War II, as hot rodding boomed with the growth of speed shops, car shows, drag racing, talented and trained GIs returning home, and the launch of Hot Rod magazine to spread the gospel far and wide. More than 100 years after the original Model T, hot rodding remains alive and well in the Australasia, Europe, and (of course) its birthplace the US.

Learn from the best and get started building your affordable hot rod today!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613257067
Publisher:	CarTech Inc.
Publication date:	11/15/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	78 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

After stints with the legendary So-Cal Speed Shop, the NHRA museum, and setting speed records on the salt flats, Tony wrapped up his professional career by opening an education museum in the Portland area called The World of Speed. However, he is far from being retired and is as busy as ever consulting for a number of clients and works in front of a computer on his first love: some book projects.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Billy F Gibbons

Chapter 1: Background

Chapter 2: Where to Start

Purchasing a Car

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)

Buy a Kit

Time and Materials

Change Orders

Read Your Bill

A Basket Case

Start from Scratch:nA Bare Frame

Registration and Titling

Bill of Sale

Certificate of Origin

Title

Non-Op Registration

Chapter 3: Tools and Equipment

Chapter 4: Make It Your Own

Chapter 5: Frame, Chassis, Steering, and Suspension 41

Purchasing a Frame and/or Chassis

Building a Frame

Front End

Mike Williams’s Model A Frame

Dick Wade’s 1932 Frame

James Jard’s 1936 3-Window

Chassis, Steering, and Suspension

Rear-End Redo

Steering

Brakes

Chapter 6: Powertrain Choice

Mock-Up Block and Transmission

Ford Model A and B and the Russian B

Ford Flathead V-8 and the French Block

Ardun 97

Ford Y-Block 98

Ford 289

Buick Nailhea

Lightweight Buick/Oldsmobile/Rover

Cadillac 331 Series

Chevy Big-Block W-Head

Chevy Small-Block

Chrysler/Dodge Hemi

Lincoln Flathead V-8

Lincoln Flathead V-12

Oldsmobile

Transmission Background

Adapters

Adapter Plate

Bellhousing, Clutch Can, or Scattershield

Clutch Pressure Plate and Disc

Flexplate

Flywheel

SFI

Transmission Options

Rear Axles

Additional Information

Chapter 7: Wheels and Tires

Backspacing

Balancing

Bias-Ply versus Radial Tires

Bolt Pattern or Circle

Chrome Reverse Rims

Dow 7

Ford Welded Wires