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How to Build Affordable Hot Rods
In How to Build Affordable Hot Rods, author and lifelong hot rod aficionado Tony Thacker takes you through the process of building a hot rod on a budget. Drawing on his own extensive experience of both buying and building rods, Thacker explores the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good was setting a land speed record at Bonneville, the bad was buying a rod from which the previous owner had "swapped out" the good engine, and the ugly--well, let’s just not go there. How to Build Affordable Hot Rods includes extensive how-to sections that cover step-by-step chassis builds for Model A, 1932, and 1936 Fords, including front- and rear-end setups. The in-depth chassis builds are complimented with sections on powertrain choices, bodywork and roof chops, wheels and tires, and wiring and paint. Also included are chapters on interiors and the all-important details that individualize any project to ensure that it stands out from the rest.
When Henry Ford introduced his beloved Model T, he unwittingly gave the average person the means to go racing. Prior to the T, racing was mostly a sport of the rich, but that changed with the Model T. Stripped of fenders and hopped up with speed parts, T speedsters ruled, and it wasn’t long before enthusiasm on the track translated to the street and the term hot rod entered the vernacular.
Of course, it didn’t need to be a Ford (and still doesn’t), but the easiest and therefore cheapest route to Hot Rod Boulevard is down the Ford road. The journey accelerated after World War II, as hot rodding boomed with the growth of speed shops, car shows, drag racing, talented and trained GIs returning home, and the launch of Hot Rod magazine to spread the gospel far and wide. More than 100 years after the original Model T, hot rodding remains alive and well in the Australasia, Europe, and (of course) its birthplace the US.
Learn from the best and get started building your affordable hot rod today!
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Billy F Gibbons
Chapter 1: Background
Chapter 2: Where to Start
Purchasing a Car
Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)
Buy a Kit
Time and Materials
Change Orders
Read Your Bill
A Basket Case
Start from Scratch:nA Bare Frame
Registration and Titling
Bill of Sale
Certificate of Origin
Title
Non-Op Registration
Chapter 3: Tools and Equipment
Chapter 4: Make It Your Own
Chapter 5: Frame, Chassis, Steering, and Suspension 41
Purchasing a Frame and/or Chassis
Building a Frame
Front End
Mike Williams’s Model A Frame
Dick Wade’s 1932 Frame
James Jard’s 1936 3-Window
Chassis, Steering, and Suspension
Rear-End Redo
Steering
Brakes
Chapter 6: Powertrain Choice
Mock-Up Block and Transmission
Ford Model A and B and the Russian B
Ford Flathead V-8 and the French Block
Ardun 97
Ford Y-Block 98
Ford 289
Buick Nailhea
Lightweight Buick/Oldsmobile/Rover
Cadillac 331 Series
Chevy Big-Block W-Head
Chevy Small-Block
Chrysler/Dodge Hemi
Lincoln Flathead V-8
Lincoln Flathead V-12
Oldsmobile
Transmission Background
Adapters
Adapter Plate
Bellhousing, Clutch Can, or Scattershield
Clutch Pressure Plate and Disc
Flexplate
Flywheel
SFI
Transmission Options
Rear Axles
Additional Information
Chapter 7: Wheels and Tires
Backspacing
Balancing
Bias-Ply versus Radial Tires
Bolt Pattern or Circle
Chrome Reverse Rims
Dow 7
Ford Welded Wires
Ford Wide Five
Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Co. and Motor Wheel Corporation
Milk Truck Wheels
Moon Discs
Mock-Ups
Offset
Rollers (Mock-Up Wheels)
Rim Diameter and Width
Scrub Radius
Spindle Mounts
Stagger and Stance
Tire Shaving
Chapter 8: Body
New versus Restored
Top Chopping
Chopping Dick Wade’s 1932 3-Window
Assembling a 1934 Roadster
Chapter 9: Electrical and Wiring
Ballast Resistor
Batteries
Charging System
Coil
Fuses
Alternator versus Generator
Distributors
Distributor Cap
Fuel Tank Sender
Ground
Horn
Instruments
Kill Switch
Lights
Points
Magneto
Plug Wires
Starters
Switches
Wiring
Rewiring a 1936 Ford
Chapter 10: Details
Chapter 11: Interior
Seats
Seat Belts
Steering Wheels
Instruments
Pedals
Chapter 12: Paint
Aluminum
Bare Metal
Primer
Red Oxide
The Painting Process
Source Guide
In How to Build Affordable Hot Rods, author and lifelong hot rod aficionado Tony Thacker takes you through the process of building a hot rod on a budget. Drawing on his own extensive experience of both buying and building rods, Thacker explores the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good was setting a land speed record at Bonneville, the bad was buying a rod from which the previous owner had "swapped out" the good engine, and the ugly--well, let’s just not go there. How to Build Affordable Hot Rods includes extensive how-to sections that cover step-by-step chassis builds for Model A, 1932, and 1936 Fords, including front- and rear-end setups. The in-depth chassis builds are complimented with sections on powertrain choices, bodywork and roof chops, wheels and tires, and wiring and paint. Also included are chapters on interiors and the all-important details that individualize any project to ensure that it stands out from the rest.
When Henry Ford introduced his beloved Model T, he unwittingly gave the average person the means to go racing. Prior to the T, racing was mostly a sport of the rich, but that changed with the Model T. Stripped of fenders and hopped up with speed parts, T speedsters ruled, and it wasn’t long before enthusiasm on the track translated to the street and the term hot rod entered the vernacular.
Of course, it didn’t need to be a Ford (and still doesn’t), but the easiest and therefore cheapest route to Hot Rod Boulevard is down the Ford road. The journey accelerated after World War II, as hot rodding boomed with the growth of speed shops, car shows, drag racing, talented and trained GIs returning home, and the launch of Hot Rod magazine to spread the gospel far and wide. More than 100 years after the original Model T, hot rodding remains alive and well in the Australasia, Europe, and (of course) its birthplace the US.
Learn from the best and get started building your affordable hot rod today!
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Billy F Gibbons
Chapter 1: Background
Chapter 2: Where to Start
Purchasing a Car
Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)
Buy a Kit
Time and Materials
Change Orders
Read Your Bill
A Basket Case
Start from Scratch:nA Bare Frame
Registration and Titling
Bill of Sale
Certificate of Origin
Title
Non-Op Registration
Chapter 3: Tools and Equipment
Chapter 4: Make It Your Own
Chapter 5: Frame, Chassis, Steering, and Suspension 41
Purchasing a Frame and/or Chassis
Building a Frame
Front End
Mike Williams’s Model A Frame
Dick Wade’s 1932 Frame
James Jard’s 1936 3-Window
Chassis, Steering, and Suspension
Rear-End Redo
Steering
Brakes
Chapter 6: Powertrain Choice
Mock-Up Block and Transmission
Ford Model A and B and the Russian B
Ford Flathead V-8 and the French Block
Ardun 97
Ford Y-Block 98
Ford 289
Buick Nailhea
Lightweight Buick/Oldsmobile/Rover
Cadillac 331 Series
Chevy Big-Block W-Head
Chevy Small-Block
Chrysler/Dodge Hemi
Lincoln Flathead V-8
Lincoln Flathead V-12
Oldsmobile
Transmission Background
Adapters
Adapter Plate
Bellhousing, Clutch Can, or Scattershield
Clutch Pressure Plate and Disc
Flexplate
Flywheel
SFI
Transmission Options
Rear Axles
Additional Information
Chapter 7: Wheels and Tires
Backspacing
Balancing
Bias-Ply versus Radial Tires
Bolt Pattern or Circle
Chrome Reverse Rims
Dow 7
Ford Welded Wires
Ford Wide Five
Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Co. and Motor Wheel Corporation
Milk Truck Wheels
Moon Discs
Mock-Ups
Offset
Rollers (Mock-Up Wheels)
Rim Diameter and Width
Scrub Radius
Spindle Mounts
Stagger and Stance
Tire Shaving
Chapter 8: Body
New versus Restored
Top Chopping
Chopping Dick Wade’s 1932 3-Window
Assembling a 1934 Roadster
Chapter 9: Electrical and Wiring
Ballast Resistor
Batteries
Charging System
Coil
Fuses
Alternator versus Generator
Distributors
Distributor Cap
Fuel Tank Sender
Ground
Horn
Instruments
Kill Switch
Lights
Points
Magneto
Plug Wires
Starters
Switches
Wiring
Rewiring a 1936 Ford
Chapter 10: Details
Chapter 11: Interior
Seats
Seat Belts
Steering Wheels
Instruments
Pedals
Chapter 12: Paint
Aluminum
Bare Metal
Primer
Red Oxide
The Painting Process
Source Guide
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