Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Glad they're okay! Blankets have been added to my "must have" for the trunk list.

I believe it's a repro Model A piece from SoCal, and it came with the frame. It pinches the rails a little bit and will bring the nose down an inch or so.

I agree. I do have full coverage with free towing within 100 miles from Hagerty, which gives some peace of mind.

 

Hey all,

Not too much to report on the roadster front as of late, but I have been on the road. After a fun and productive week at the Ridetech HQ in Jasper, Indiana, I made the trip north to the metro Detroit area to spend Christmas with my family. There's no doubt that the highlight of the 400+ mile haul was my lunch stop in Fort Wayne.

From the moment I walked out of my hotel, it was raining. It rained all morning and into the afternoon. Sometimes it came down in sheets, while other times it was more of a mist. I didn't mind much. I was knocking down miles with a distinct destination in mind: Powers Hamburgers.

If you've made it this far in this thread, you probably know how much I love a traditional roadside hamburger (or, a hamburg, as Kerouac called them). These small burgers mashed up with onions are extremely difficult to find in California these days, and I try to hunt them down whenever I'm anywhere close to the Midwest. After digging around on Roadarch.com, I discovered Powers and was immediately attracted to the Deco-style building and the neon sign. They've been around since 1940.

I walked in, sat down at the counter and immediately felt at ease. I glanced at the menu, placed my order and soaked in the sights, sounds and the unmistakable smell of grilled onions. Soon thereafter, I was greeted by a pile of hamburgs. The perfect supplement to the latest issue of DicE Magazine. (Thanks @Kid Rocker!)

As I was chatting with some of the locals, I mentioned that I was there from San Francisco. "San Francisco?!" one said. "That's a looong way to come just for a hamburger!" We all laughed, and I was on my way.

In Fort Wayne I also stumbled upon City Glass. There's no doubt that they've cut some hot rod and custom car windshields and windows in their day. If it weren't closed, I would have went in and asked. Sounds like a story for next time.

Other than that, I'm working on some pretty big pieces behind the scenes. I don't have any major developments, but I figured I would let you know that I'm still chipping away. That's all for now!

 

I'm home for the holidays and I've been working on some bigger pieces of the puzzle that I'll hopefully be able to share soon.

Right before I left San Francisco, Yama and I rode around town and made this video about the other vintage machine in my garage.



I've also been collecting hot rod inspiration from here and there.





Hope everyone is doing well!

 

I have a lot of catching up to do, but Santa in Kentucky was good to me. Michigan Santa was too! But more on all of that later.

I dropped back in town for 24 hours and ripped the roadster all around the city and beyond. The battery didn’t drain more than 0.1V after sitting for most of the month, and it’s back to full charge after a day of driving. Happy New Year friends! Thanks for all the stories, laughs and support in 2021. I’m looking forward to a big 2022!

 

After a quick trip to Lake Tahoe's winter wonderland, I'm back at my desk. And you know what that means—time for updates.

Let's turn back the clock a couple of weeks. While I was in the Midwest for Christmas, I was able to pencil in a few pieces of the quickchange equation. I've tracked down two complete '40 Ford banjos—one of which I'll be using for rough mockup and the other will be outfitted with a V8 center-section. I'll have more details on this later in the month.

So, what's the story on the intake? Back in the 1971, my friend Patrick Knight was working for the NHRA. On a trip to California for the Winternationals, he met with Phil Weiand at the Weiand headquarters. "In Mr. Weiand's office was a wall of shelving with prototype and cutaway intakes, ranging all the way from the flathead days to a Boss 429 example," Patrick recalls. "I thought I was in heaven!" He said Phil was a true gentleman; they two talked about historic properties in Patrick's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

Years later, Patrick bought this intake to run on his Model A project. Although the car—a chopped and channeled coupe—has come and gone, he held on to the old 2x2. It spent more than 30 years in his display case, until last month when he so graciously gifted it to me.

Longtime readers will remember that Patrick also made the incredible neon sign in my garage.

Next, I'll install a pair of fresh Stromberg 97's, which should be arriving here in the next couple of weeks.

 

There's no question that gift giving is my favorite part of Christmas. Earlier this year, I hatched a plan to make my own roadster T-shirts to give to my family. After a little bit of brainstorming, I decided to handle all the drawing, painting and lettering myself.

I'm very happy with the end result, and my family was very surprised. As you can see, they put them right on for a photo op! For those who are wondering, the bulk of this build has taken place in my one-car garage on Loyola Terrace.

I don't think I've talked about it on this thread, but I thoroughly enjoy watercolor painting. For this logo, I tried to keep things as traditional as possible with paint and markers. I drew inspiration from car club plaques of the '40s and '50s.

I'm planning to do a very limited run of these shirts for sale later this winter. Not for profit, more just for fun—and maybe a few dollars towards my quickchange.

 

Plant parking.