Too Far With the Car

One summer day when I was back from school, I walked into the garage and noticed it was a little different. Everything seemed to be in place for the most part, but it had all been shifted into a pile of sorts. Tools, toolboxes, hardware, spare parts, crates, chairs—every last bit had been mysteriously moved towards the far wall. Confused, I looked down at my feet and noticed a line of green painter’s tape running down the center of the garage. “Oh no,” I thought. “This can only mean one thing.”

Just like that, I was in deep shit. My projects had gone too far, creeping out dangerously close to my Mom’s daily driver*. I figured as long as I abided to her “No Cacklefests past 10 p.m.” rule, I would be fine—but that wasn’t the case. Enough was enough. She was cracking down.

I haven’t been home in awhile, but I’m going to bet that the tape is still there. I’ve since moved a few thousand miles away, and now I can put pieces of my projects wherever I see fit. There have been carburetors in the kitchen, wheels in the living room, exhaust pipes on the couch, batteries on the counter and plenty of things of that nature. It would be just plain weird not to have old speed equipment somewhere in my sight at all times. As a matter of fact, as I write this, I can see the chromed grenade shift knob from the wheelstanding “Suicide King” Studebaker on my end table. That’s just how it is—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

***

Of course, when it comes to car parts in the house, I can safely say that Phil Cool did it best. Back in 1977, he blew apart his big block-powered Deuce for final paint and detailing. With that, he brought the major pieces into his home—making for an extra-memorable Andy Southard photo shoot. The resulting pictures found their way into the August issue of 1001 Custom & Rod Ideas, and the car won America’s Most Beautiful Roadster the following year. If a supercharged Rat Motor in the living room and a Deuce frame in the hallway isn’t hot rodding, I don’t know what is.

There was a thread about this about car parts in the house 10 years ago, but my curiosity is getting the best of me. So I’ll ask you this: do you have rod and custom componentry in your house? And is it there to stay?

—Joey Ukrop

 *At the time, my Mom had a late-model daily driver. She’s since switched over to the H.A.M.B.-side and drives an ultra clean 1961 GMC pickup, complete with the stock V6 and a four on the floor. But that’s a story for another time…

Photos by Andy Southard, 1001 Custom & Rod Ideas, August 1977