You can also see my post on my 41 Willys build under Ex. Elverne Pfeifer Willys. I attached a few pictures of my 32 Rockne on that post and had a request to start a thread of the Rockne as well. I will try to post some of this build as well but I do not have as much documentation handy of the build as I do currently of the Willys. I will try to not share as much history on this car due to the fact that we want to share it along with the Willys history in TRJ later this year. You can see an update in the latest TRJ #58 of the Willys. We are hoping to shoot both cars at some point. The Rockne was originally my father's car and he bought it in 1968. I grew up in this car and rebuilt it after my father passed away. In all, it took us 13 years to complete. LoMan Rods in Tipp City, OH completed this build. Mac Nicewander and crew have a new shop that I would recommend checking out or calling him to see how his team may assist you. We have worked together on both the Rockne and the Willys. You can see a picture of the Rockne in TRJ Scrapbook. It was black then when it won the 1st Street Rod Nationals in Peoria, IL. It was best known when it was candy purple. Again, I do not want to show a ton of historic photos since we may share more in future posts.
Here are some of the chassis pictures that I have handy. It is an original Rockne frame, boxed w/tubular cross member. Mustang rearend, Kugel front suspension w/Air Ride. LTI w/700R4. LoMan Rods set up the front suspension, made the exhaust. Aesthetic Finishers in Piqua, OH powder coated the chassis. The original splash apron was being fitted and made to rest on the ground when the AirRide is lowered.
Here are some of the body. It is un-chopped and all steel. The body lines set this car apart. All original body lines. Note where it comes to a "V" on the rear panel of the body. My father had several 57 Chevy's. We had a gauge cluster left over and thought it would be cool to mold into the dash to fit the gauges. The body is unmolested and was in terrific shape! It does have a filled roof and filled cowl.
The body was painted PPG black. Mac Nicewander with LoMan Rods in Tipp City,OH sprayed the paint on this car as well as my 41 Willys. You can see pictures of the Rockne in the Streetscene magazine after the 40th Anniversary Street Rod Nationals where it won. It won the 1st and 40th Nationals. This time, my young son was there to collect the award with me which was an honor. It was also in the Goodguys magazine as a Gazette pick after the last Chicagoland Nationals. It will be out in out soon in Auto Enthusiast magazine.
Not sure why I would catch anything for my street rod. It was a street rod since the early 60's and used to race back then as well. For anyone that chooses not to like the car or direction it went, I am fine with it. It was built for my family's enjoyment and to represent my father and his legacy. It was never an original car and then hacked up.
I think it's cool. Did you get your Rockne info with Larry Tholen on the Rockne Registry? He does welcome rods as well as restored.
The windshield is actually curved glass to flow with the curved body. LoMan Rods made a mold and then had the glass made for fit the body. It floats as any new car windshield does on a body. It does not have a molding etc. around it. The 57 Chevy gauge cluster shows the gauges. Later the body is on the chassis and becomes a roller and starts to look pretty and slick.
im cool with it, but with the efi,mm2,billet etc it doesn't fit the bill for this forum. not trying to be a downer, i really dig the reasoning/family heritage behind it, just saying some will not.maybe just remove the first series of pics. good luck.
Yes, I have spoken with Larry Tholen in the past and my car is registered on the Registry. My father actually started the list and used to track Rocknes around the world and parts for them. At one time, my father had this coupe and two 32 Rockne sedans. Larry seems to be very knowledgeable and does a great job with the Registry. Anyone looking for more info. on Rocknes, contact Larry.
Good for you for standing your ground against the haters. There was a metallic blue Rockne Coupe with a Mustang 5.0 and a matching Mullins type trailer for sale at Hot August Nights in Reno about 2005 and the owner was asking $65k at that time....
Interior shots. Bob Lyons in Brookville, OH completed the interior. Bob also did the seats in my Willys. He is great to work with! The stereo was hidden behind the seat. The air conditioning was hidden and the vents were paced into the kick panels and recessed. The AirRide guages were placed above the steering column and Bob covered them to make it look cleaner. The rear window still rolls down. This was where I used to sleep as a kid - when you could get away with those things back then. Bob made several sections of the seat to make it look more like bucket seats.
Beautiful car. Nicely done. A few years ago there was someone on the HAMB who had a similar car although not as finished as well as yours. If I recall, he was from the east coast and was thrashing to get it built to drive south. I always wondered what happened to that Rockne. Anyone remember this?
Heres a few picture of my in the works,Rocknes,one is a driver,the other is a future project...and by the way,i think your Rockne is awsome...
Your Dad "Buzz" was such a class act.. He'd be proud of what you did with his car......... I remember talking to him at shows over the 70's 80's ( we ran the same circles) Yes...I still remember the "Purple" color Wasn't it a jacked up "Gasser" when he bought it? What happened to the "Rockne" Sedan he built ?..got any pictures? Bob Lyons did the interior......Cool Lets see...How many "Riddler" winners has he done?
What a great looking car! Although I'm a big fan of the early Fords, I still enjoy seeing the rare brands, especially when they're done as nicely as yours. The car has a great back-story, too. Glad you kept it in the family.
A guy in our rod club years ago actually had a Rockne roadster..he drove that thing everywhere,all year round...the restorers at the time had a cow. He since moved to florida and haven't seen the car for years. Great looking ride !!!!!
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