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    Super Stock Hemi Plymouth

    Back in 1965, the Chrysler Corporation took Super Stock drag racing very seriously. It was heavily involved in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) competition and to a lesser extent with other, smaller drag racing sanctioning bodies. It could be said that, without question, if you were at a dragstrip in America on any given Sunday during this time, there were plenty of winning Mopars blasting down the 1,320-foot racetrack.

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    HTM On The Water

    We chronicled the building of the Challenger 600 EFI engine over the course of two months and now the boat is ready to get out on the water for testing. We headed out to Lake Elsinore in Southern California (one of the few lakes without a speed limit) and gave the boat a whirl. With the help of Paul Pfaff Racing Engine’s Gordon Jennings we had a good day on the water.

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    TUNNELED, NOT FRENCHED

    Installing a Recessed License Plate

    Street rod trends are constantly changing. What once looked good now seems dated, and so it will someday be for today’s cutting-edge look. Eventually, some of these trends come back into vogue—hence the birth of terms like newstalgia. Other aspects of this hobby never change; the tires are still round and cars take up more of our time and money than we’d like to admit.

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    Picture of Will Smith

    Will Smith

    Photography: Scott Killeen

    The Ever-Changing Trends of Street Rods

    Street rod trends are constantly changing. What once looked good now seems dated, and so it will someday be for today’s cutting-edge look. Eventually, some of these trends come back into vogue—hence the birth of terms like newstalgia. Other aspects of this hobby never change; the tires are still round and cars take up more of our time and money than we’d like to admit.

    Navigating Government Regulations

    Just as unchanging are government regulations that tell us what we can, can’t and must do to our vehicles in order to drive them on the street. Well, that’s not exactly true—the government is constantly coming up with new regulations, but those that are already here won’t ever be going away. Sometimes we can use regulations to our advantage, turning mandatory items like brake lights and turn signals into stylish attributes rather than impediments to overall aesthetics.

    The Challenge of License Plate Placement

    Other required items are not so accommodating. Authorities do not react well, for example, to altered license plates. Sure, you can order the plate to read almost anything you wish, but altering the metal plates themselves is definitely verboten. That’s frustrating, because a 12×6-inch piece of stamped, flat sheetmetal doesn’t really lend itself to the shapely contours of a ’30s or ’40s street rod. Some states are better than others, in that some require plates on both ends of the vehicles while others mandate them for the rear only. There’s absolutely no good place to put a license plate on the front of a street rod, but some alternatives for the rear are definitely better than others.

    Traditional vs. Modern License Plate Mounting

    Of course, the simplest way to mount a license plate is the way factories did it: hang it off a bracket mounted to a taillight or bumper. That was fine back then because it was functional, but today we have higher standards for our modified cars. After going to the trouble of molding and welding the fenders to the body for a smooth, one-piece look, why just tack on a license plate as an afterthought? Some cars with particularly raked stances can attach the plate to, say, the rear of the differential, but not every car can get away with this. If your car sits too low in back, the authorities won’t be able to see the plate, and you can bet they will stop and ask you about it.

    Recessing the License Plate for a Clean Look

    One of the better solutions to this problem is to recess the license plate into the rear of the car’s body. Despite their curves, nearly every vehicle of street rod vintage has a flat enough rear for this option to be highly practical. Not only will it solve a problem, but it will also give you a chance to show off some of your fabrication skills. Put another way: Compared to all the other work necessary to build a street rod, this project is a breeze.

    1) The first step is to cut out the pieces of metal you will need. The overall size of the individual pieces will vary slightly based on how deep you want to recess the plate. The larger your pieces, the more room you’ll have to decide exactly how you want your installation to look.
    2) For this project, the recess is going to be shallow so that the plate sits close to flush with the body. Notice the size of the pieces in relation to the typical plate frame. Center and trace around the frame so that you know where to make the bends in your metal.
    3) Here, the areas outside the perimeter of the frame have been painted to provide some reference. Measure as far in from each edge as you want the panel to be recessed (e.g., if you want the license plate to sit 1/2 inch inside the body of the car, measure 1/2 inch from each edge). Scribe a line on each side so that you’ve created (in our example) a smaller rectangle with a 1/2-inch margin on each side.
    4) Use a heavy-duty set of cutters to remove the small square formed by the intersecting lines in each corner of the metal.
    5) Now you can bend your large piece of metal into the box that will contain the license plate.
    6) Move on to the smaller metal pieces. Use a hammer to bend the pieces around a length of pipe, creating a radiused 90-degree angle. Make sure you have everything lined up straight.
    7-A) This is how all your pieces will fit together. Note that in order for all the pieces to fit smoothly, you’ll have to cut a curve into each side of two of the pieces.
    7-B) At first you’ll just have to estimate the cut, so go easy and remove a little material at a time. If you try to make the cut perfect on the first try, you’ll probably end up cutting away too much.
    8) When all the pieces fit together the way you want them to, clamp them up and weld them together.
    9) Here, three of the sides have been welded and ground smooth. One more corner and this piece will be finished.
    10) Take your finished piece and trace its edges onto wherever you’d like to position it on your car.
    11) After you’ve checked to make sure everything is straight and level, begin cutting along the lines you’ve just made.
    12) With the original metal gone, you can position your new recess in the hole.
    13) Tack the metal together and then fill in the welds, being careful not to overheat any areas.
    14-a) When you’ve smoothed out the welds, here’s what you’ll have. Since you’ve got to have a license plate, this setup is probably your best option.
    14-B)It looks good and it shows that you’re willing to put a little effort into the exacting finish of your ride to make it look the way you want it to.

    ARTICLE SOURCES

    Picture of POSIES, Inc.

    POSIES, Inc.

    219 N. Duke St.
    Hummelstown, PA 17036

    Phone: 1 (717) 566-3340
    e-Mail: sales@posiesrodsandcustoms.com

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