Hot Rods Abound in the Nichols Garage

The Crawl Guide: Big Al Casteen

On this particular day, our “crawl guide” is none other than “Big Al” Casteen, and we’re motoring through the countryside of Smithfield, Virginia, on the way to Jerry Nichols’ house. Jerry drives a very nice ’36 Ford coupe that we had seen the weekend before at the NSRA Richmond Nationals, so his garage was a must-do stop so that we could also shoot a feature on his five-window coupe.

First Impressions of Jerry Nichols’ Garage

Like so many great garages, this one is nestled behind his house, and since just one end shows from the driveway, we were a bit surprised to see how big the shop was. There was plenty of room for building hot rods in this shop, and to that end, there was a lot going on inside. From an air-conditioned, two-bay shop to a dedicated bay just for painting, Jerry Nichols has built a great shop and some very cool cars.

Exploring the Projects Inside

Inside the garage, we found everything from a ’54 Mercury awaiting paint and bodywork to a very cool Model A coupe that was once the primary focus in the garage but now awaits its turn for more attention. Jerry swears he’ll finish the car, “unless I get an offer my wife won’t let me refuse,” he says.

Then there is the all-original ’39 Ford coupe. Well, okay—it’s not all original, with a later Flathead under the hood and 12 volts pumping through the wires, but beyond that, this is one rock-solid stocker. And there’s a ’37 Ford coupe in the mix that has already had all the floors replaced and rides on a chassis with Mustang II-style front suspension. All the parts to complete the coupe are in the shop with the exception of rear fenders and running board. And we almost forgot to mention the ’56 Lincoln that will someday make a great cruiser.

Cool Extras in the Shop

After spending some time going over all of these projects, we were busy checking out some very cool coolant recovery bottles that Jerry makes, in addition to some of the cool old stuff in his garage.

A Lifetime of Projects

We really enjoyed seeing all of Jerry Nichols’ stuff, and like so many of us, it appears he has a lifetime of projects going in his garage. Having said that, he has a great place to work, and what better way to spend your time than building cool hot rods in your backyard?

Wrapping Up the Garage Crawl

Of course, we took plenty of photos to share with you before heading off to our next stop on the one-day garage crawl. Check out the photos; we think you’ll agree that this a very neat shop filled with great projects.