car restoration
When GM introduced the Gen III small block in the F-body, it rekindled a dying performance flame with its new-generation small block. While the Gen I small block actually kick-started the hobby and got it into gear, it’s the latest family of small-block engines that has grabbed the attention of enthusiasts everywhere—and for good reason.
Instant gratification. It’s an addicting thing whereby somewhat suddenly, you find compete satisfaction. It’s the opposite of long, laborious projects that linger on for years, doling out their pain and pleasure in measured portions along the way. Sure, it can be fulfilling, but few things are more fun than putting things in fast-forward and doing what should take a long time in a short time. TV shows are based on just such rewards in this ever-accelerating time we live in, and in a reversal, we now find life imitating art as hot rodders do their own versions of Overhaulin’; we like to call it Over-Thrashin’. Generally, there are no cameras whirling, no lights and no scripts. It’s just a bunch of hot rodders, a good garage and maybe stacks of empty pizza and parts boxes in the corner.
It was during the ’60s when Vern Hill’s love for all things automobile blossomed. And like so many young men of that era, his love of cars turned into a thirst for speed, and there was no looking back. Hill began building cars, several of which were racecars, which helped him accumulate a few Wallys that adorn his trophy case.
By name alone, Reflections Restorations attracts enthusiasts whose worlds revolve around period-correct classics, muscle cars and other favorites built in the Motor City over decades past. Then again, not all of the exquisite creations emerging from this Cabot, Arkansas-based creative shop reflect originality, as an equal number of customers these days prefer a more modern approach to the cars they’ve found and have been attracted to for so long.
The poor Falcon.
Were it not for Ford’s inglorious first compact car, who knows what the early Mustangs would have been like, built as they were on Falcon architecture? Today, everyone wants a Mustang, yet Falcon fans are few. Fewer still are those who crave Falcon wagons, and initially, Norman Schmitt was not one of them, either. He wasn’t after a Falcon, or a wagon, but when a friend told him about an old wagon for sale, he went to check it out. What he found was a rare ’63 Falcon two-door wagon, and it was in great shape. The price was right, so he bought it, with visions of a wicked Pro Street Falcon in his head, and he set out to transform those dreams into steel.
Back in the summer of 2004, Harry Cline found a ’34 Ford three-window coupe body on eBay. When the auction ended, Harry was the high bidder. He made the trip to Jacksonville, Illinois, to pick up the body. The overall condition of the car was better than he expected, and the doors fit very well for a car that was 70 years old. The seller told Cline that it had actually been stored for nearly 40 years.
Kirby Kennedy grew up around street rods in his hometown of Selmer, Tennessee. His father, David, had several rods and even operated his own shop. Kirby hung around Kennedy’s Kustom Auto Shop and helped with many of the projects. He also learned many of the required skills to build a rod along the way. Once Kirby reached high school, he knew quite a bit about the history of hot rodding and had developed a fondness for traditional hot rods. His school required each graduating senior to complete a project before they reached graduation. While only a sophomore, Kirby decided to build a traditional-styled hot rod.
Here in the United States, we have been conditioned to find vintage tin in many places. The availability of good cars to build into street rods has become more limited as the years have passed, but depending upon your choice of bodies, there are still quite a few options. Of course, the advent of reproduction bodies has added to the choices. Now put yourself in a foreign land and think about how hard it would be to find a good 70-plus-year-old imported American car to build. That is what Wayne Streams faced as a native of the United Kingdom. Building street rods has grown in both popularity and participation in the UK. There are many vintage English vehicles available, but American cars are the most cherished among British rodders.
Is a love for fast cars—specifically those that are Chevrolet-powered—hereditary? If you were to ask C.A.T. Operations Engineer Kevin Christensen of Castaic, California, he would definitely say that it is.
Sitting slightly nose-high and looking that much more restrained with dog dish hubcaps framed in bias-ply blackwalls, this ’62 Chevy bubbletop is as sinister as it is subdued. In fact, as smooth as these panels are, one has to wonder if this car has ever broken a sweat or even turned a wheel with aggression since it rolled off the showroom floor.
