Movie of the Week: Hot Rodding in Brooklyn circa 1960

Here’s a pretty special film for you: Color 8mm home-shot footage of young guys in Brooklyn, NY building their first hot rod together. Even better that it’s a ’31 Chevrolet 5 window coupe, and modified as you’d expect for the early 60s era: It starts as primer grey body, full fendered, red wheels and running a freshly-transplanted 283 V8 with no hood. But throughout the film you see this cool little car progress, as the stock motor gets chrome dress up treatment, ’32 hood, new interior, whitewall tires (including a white vinyl covered spare), and eventually she’s sprayed a beautiful metallic light blue paint. Watch to the end when you see the car featured in magazines, including the April 1963 issue of Hot Rod, where I see the owner is Frank Aadahl, Jr.

Could that be him at the very end of this film?