Patchy Progress
August 14, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE
Dave Kaminski wanted a custom-built truck, but he also wanted a vehicle he could take to a dealer for repairs, plug it into a computer for a diagnosis and determine the problem. In this hobby, that is hard to do with an old truck, given that computers rule the functions of today’s engines. Kaminski met with Frank Strianese, owner of The Car Shop in Springville, New York, and explained that not only did he want an old new truck, he wanted it to blend in with the Ford service trucks used by his Besroi roofing and contracting business in Buffalo. Ideas were passed back and forth, and soon a project began to unfold. Once you read how it was accomplished you will know that nothing is impossible to do.
55 Tips, Tidbits & Info
One of the many things The Auto Builder does on a daily basis is keep its eyes peeled for small make-a-difference items, tech and how-tos that might benefit you for both street and/or strip application. Sometimes those elements are major, other times they are far less significant, but nonetheless helpful. We also pay particular attention to things that are of interest, up to and including the reasons why an owner did not win at a car show. There are 55 photos here, each with a bit of info. Many may pay dividends for you sometime in the future, so sit back, learn, laugh and enjoy.
Gear, Grit, & The Great Outdoors
Overland Expo Mountain West 2024 just wrapped up, and if you weren’t there, you missed out on one heck of a great weekend. Held from August 23-25 in Loveland, Colorado, this event was the ultimate gathering for anyone who lives and breathes off-road adventure. We’re talking thousands of overlanding die-hards, hundreds of exhibitors, and more gear than you could shake a winch at.
Spotlighter
STAR CARS: A Family and Its Speedstar
Street Rods That Would Make Bobby Alloway Proud
Author
Jeff Tann
Words & Photography
A Family Built on Street Rods
Joe Stuban started building street rods in 1971 and has been showing his fantastic creations at prestigious indoor car shows for 30 years. During that time he has built some awesome show-winning street rods, and all the while his sons, Kevin and Dale, were right by his side learning how to work on them. Like so many other sons and daughters of street rodders, they acquired the same interest and began building rods of their own.
Discovering the Alloway Speedstar
Dale was working on a unique rod project when his father went to a Goodguys event and saw Bobby Alloway Speedstar’s new Rat’s Glass Speedstar body and Alloway frame package. Joe knew it was the look Dale was trying to accomplish, so he purchased the makings of a Alloway Speedstar street rod and traded it to Dale for his unfinished car. Joe and Dale then went to the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, and saw a beautiful orange Speedstar that Alan Johnson had just finished. They were impressed with the roadster’s craftsmanship and attention to detail, so Dale decided to take his custom Speedstar build to Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop in Gadsden, Alabama, to help him finish it. Dale’s intention was to build the roadster for outdoor car events, because the last rod he built was never driven, it was strictly an indoor show car. This time he wanted a rod that was exceptional, and a driver.
Father and Son Speedstar Builds
While Dale was working on his roadster, Joe then purchased a Speedstar coupe; in fact, it was the third car out of the molds. Joe was determined to construct a car to compete, and perhaps win the Ridler Award in 2001. Now both father and son were working on their own Speedstar street rods.
A Three-Generation Street Rod Vision
On a warm day in the summer of 2000, Dale had his family over for a visit and they were discussing—and educating—Dale’s wife about the positives and negatives of showing cars at the Detroit Autorama. During the discussion, Dale’s mom suggested that maybe they should present three generations of hot rods at the show. She said that Dale could rebuild the Tot Rod that Joe built for his nephew five years ago and present it to his son. Dale thought it was a good idea, and his wife, who isn’t particularly interested in street rods, agreed.
Joe had determined he was naming his Ridler Contender “Nasty,” so Dale’s wife creatively came up with the “Nawty” and “Nice” tags for the other two roadsters. With an all-new goal, Dale called Johnson to tell him that he now had a closer deadline. The Tot Rod was taken to Joe Ribass, a family friend, with the instructions to flip-flop the original pearl aqua with the same Orange Glow as Dale’s car. He also wanted a curved windshield and a removable roof. Dale wanted it to look like a scaled-down version of the car he was building. He also wanted it to have the same attention to detail as the full-size cars.
Designing the Show Display
The next step was to design a display to house the three vehicles. Working with AutoCAD, Dale was able to get his ideas on paper. The concept was to display the vehicles in a complimentary and functional fashion. He wanted them to be viewed on one side as though they were on the ground to emphasize how low they are, but they also had to show the undercarriage from the opposite side. The ideas were presented to MetalForm where the display was constructed from milled-edge aluminum.
Ridler Award Recognition
Neither car won the Ridler Award, but they qualified for the top eight and made that exclusive final cut. Even though they didn’t win, they were the first family to accomplish a father and son having two separate Ridler finalists. They were also the first family to present three generations of street rods.
Dale is the first person to build a Speedstar roadster with a removable top. Joe’s Speedstar coupe turned out to be a beautiful and highly detailed street rod, and all of the work on the car was done by Joe and Ron Fuller at Classic Auto Works. Although most Alloway Speedstar street rods are similar in appearance, which is the way Alloway designed and created them, Joe managed to make his even more unique by modifying the original design. He made changes that give the coupe a personality of its own.
THE FATHER
Custom Speedstar Coupe Build Details
Joe started by modifying the Speedstar body. Molded improvements were made to the body side mirrors between the door and hood, the underpan and frame rail covers, the rear pans with hidden exhaust, the front pans and frame rail covers and a flush access fuel door. He also added a disappearing license plate, concealed windshield wipers, a custom OEM taillight with third brake light from Lambert Enterprises, an aluminum polished grille insert by Jim Wrench and a molded wraparound dash continuing into the doors and rounded rear cockpit. When the body modifications and preparation were complete, the Speedstar was painted with DuPont Blasberry Chromalusion Blue/Purple paint.
Performance Chassis and Drivetrain
The coupe rides on an Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop chassis with a Heidt’s polished stainless independent front suspension. It uses polished Aldan coilover shocks and a polished rack-and-pinion steering system. The rear rides on an independent suspension system with a Winters quick-change centersection. It uses Zipper aluminum trailing arms and control arms that have been polished to a high gloss. Wilwood brakes with grooved and cross-drilled rotors are used at all four corners. The emergency brakes are also Wilwood items. Since everything under the car is polished aluminum, stainless, or chrome-plated, the chassis is equipped with an Inland Empire polished aluminum driveshaft. All of the brake lines and wiring have been concealed in the frame for a clean look. The roadster rolls on Budnik 20-inch wheels running Goodyear P295/40R20 rear tires and 17-inch wheels running Goodyear P215/45R17 front tires.
In keeping with the high-tech look of the coupe, power comes in the form of a completely polished Corvette LT-6 engine from Street & Performance. The engine is hooked to a completely polished Camaro automatic transmission with electric overdrive. Exhaust exits through CNC mandrel bent polished stainless headers and 3-inch stainless exhaust that connects to Stainless Works polished mufflers.
Interior Craftsmanship and Features
The interior also had to stand apart from the other rods, so Joe, Ron Fuller and Paul Atkins put their creative heads together to come up with an interior that was really outstanding. The dash was handmade and flows into the door panels and then wraps around the rear cockpit. The A/C unit was concealed and was outfitted with billet vents. Cornering is handled by an ididit tilt and telescoping column topped by a Colorado Custom steering wheel with the name “Nasty” etched in the horn button. Other interior amenities include Classic gauges, a Lokar shifter, color-matched seatbelts, solenoid doors with remote, automatic dome and trunk lights and a Custom Auto Sound stereo with a CD stacker.
Joe’s show-car experience paid off, and the car came away with several prestigious awards. It was named First in Class, Outstanding Undercarriage, Outstanding Paint, Outstanding Engine and Outstanding Display.
THE SON
Custom Speedstar Roadster Build
Dale’s Speedstar started out to be an excellent driver, but it ended up being a show machine as well, with many innovations such as a lift-off hardtop roof. Similar to his dad’s car, Dale’s sleek machine started out with an Alloway/Rat’s Glass Speedstar roadster body and chassis. The cockpit was radiused and extended 4 inches and was modified with a painted wraparound interior that was integrated with the console. The windshield posts were shaved for consistent width around the windshield glass. The bottom rear corners of the doors have been radiused. The inner decklid has been smoothed and painted, with countersunk hinges and a remote electronic opener to ease entry. The hood and side panels were fabricated for the car, and the lower body edges were boxed, filled and smoothed. When all of the changes and improvements were completed, Alan Johnson painted the car PPG Orange Glow over a fine gold base.
Undercarriage and Performance Setup
The undercarriage is also a work of art and features an Alloway chassis with a Heidt’s independent front suspension and Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop custom backing plates. A Currie polished aluminum rearend was used with a Zipper aluminum tapered four-bar setup. Wilwood polished aluminum calipers ride on all four corners with billet dust covers. The chassis has been smoothed and the brake lines have been concealed in the frame. Power is supplied by a Street & Performance ’94 LT1 engine that has been completely smoothed and all of the unused boltholes filled. It’s hooked to a Street & Performance 6-speed manual transmission. The car rolls on Colorado Custom 20- and 17-inch wheels with a “Nawty” logo etched on the center caps.
Interior Design by Chip Foose
One of the more outstanding features of the car is the wild interior that was designed by Chip Foose and Dale, with input from Atkins. The roadster’s interior incorporates special fiberglass work that allows the exterior color to become part of the interior design. Atkins worked closely to get exactly what Dale was imagining, and stitched the ivory leather material with matching seatbelts. Features include an ididit steering column topped by a Colorado Custom steering wheel with the “Nawty” logo stenciled on the horn button. The logo also was incorporated into the Classic gauges. The doors and trunk lid are electronic and are opened with a remote. Tunes are provided by a Custom Auto Sound head unit with Kicker amps, square subwoofers and a six-disc CD changer.
A Legacy of Speedstar Craftsmanship
This Alloway Speedstar street rod turned out to be a real people pleaser with the glowing color and fantastic attention to detail. With the work that has been completed and the removable hardtop, the car has a unique profile. As you can see, beautiful cars and creativity are hereditary.
