Dec12 by Bob Derr

Firing Order Magazine

Publisher: Old Tripper Media Editor: Robert Derr Art Director: Paula Collins Writing Director: Karen Derr Phart Horn: Johnathan Ryan Staff Photographers: Robert Derr Mike Rogers Jeremy Derr Contributing Writers: Rodger Evans Billy Etie Advertising Directors: Karen Derr Komania

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Notes from the Ol Tripper... Well... issue #2 is in the can & we’re headed on down the road... again! I want to thank all the koool peeps I met along the way & the kats & kittens who sent in their koool stories, photos & encouragement! Hot rodders are indeed a very koool & sharing group and most have never met a stranger. I had a great time meeting so many of you & rockin’ my cars out on the open road & yes...I saw some of the USA in my Chevrolet!!! Can’t wait to see what’s up just around the bend so until next time... keep the shiny side & the rusted side UP! ; - >

Contents 6 8 10 12 18 20 22 26 28 30 32 34 38 40 44

Rat Patrol Reader’z Photoz Off the Wall Rumble In The Park 1936 Diamond T PU 1964 Ford Fairlane Burnout Houston Reader’z Ridez 1955 Lincoln Capri 1955 Ford F-100 PU Garage Scene Chad Hiltz & Friends Demons Car Club Bonehead Tech Calendars Cover Photo: Morgan Phillips (Yep Graphix) All content herein is Copyright by the publisher (Old Tripper Media). All rights reserved worldwide. No part of the publication may be copied or used without prior written permission from the publisher. We reserve the right to edit, comment, title and departmentalize submissions. Submissions are considered copyright assigned to the publisher for publication. The publisher is not liable for claims or statements by contributors or advertisiers. For questions or comments call the Ol Tripper directly at... 713.875.7049. Firing Order Magazine

l o r t a P t a R hillip’s Donald P

Owner/builders: Donald & Nichole Phillip

Photos: Morgan Phillips

Donald Phillip found this 1933 Ford truck cab on a farm in Starlight, Pa.

He stopped to ask about it then managed to buy it and put it in the back of his buddy’s truck. The project really began as a father / daughter project. He had just gone through a divorce and had full custody of 3 young daughters. His middle daughter Nichole never left his side and always wanted to be in the garage with him. He taught her how to weld when she was just 9 and she helped him with every aspect of the truck (chopping, sectioning, wrenching, painting) Nichole would sit for hours looking thru magazines, watching car shows with her dad and searching eBay for the latest parts they needed throughout the project. Donald started the project with the idea he would chop and section the cab and sell it on ebay, but his daughter fell in love with the project. The more involved she got the harder it became to flip it. Once they finished the truck Donald found an old Coke ice box from the 50’s that became their next project as a trailer for the truck. The whole family is totally involved in showing the truck now. 6

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Bench bomber seat custom made by Frank Wallic

The truck is built on a modified TCI frame, chopped 4” and channeled 4”. Runs a Chev 350/350 back to a Jag rearend. The bomber bench was custom made by Frank Wallic of Denver, CO & has over 1500 brass rivets. It has Dolphin gauges, a B&M shifter, has a camouflage headliner and his Grandfather’s Purple Heart is proudly displayed inside the cab! Firing Order Magazine

Photo: Flipper

Readerz Fotoz

Snappin' Old Tin Every Day!

Photo: Gary Bagley Photo: Justin and Kristin Sprague

Photo: Heath Hartwig ~ Bombshell Art Studio

Photo: Jacob Graham

Got a kool foto to share? Send it to... FiringOrderMag@gmail.com

Photo: Eric Miller

Photo: Moose Jones

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Photo: Monica Strong

Photo: Billy Etie

Photo: Mark Fiorella

Firing Order Magazine

Off The Wall

Marc Petiet’s Rusty Rocket Marc Petiet hails from Wijk aan Zee, Hol-

land, home of the oldest running soapbox race in Holland since 1947! When his daughter wanted to enter the race he built her a soapbox car and decided to built one for himself as well. He actually had to compete alone that first year because his daughter was one year too young. His first effort didn’t work out very well and was slow because the wheels he used didn’t spin freely enough. Then a colleague told him that they were parting out a ‘59 Olds ragtop that they kinda accidentally won on eBay and BOOM... the idea for a ratty soapbox rocketship with chrome and fins was born! That winter he cut his old frame in half, shortend & mounted “new” wheels that came from two wheelchairs that where scraped by a local rehabilitation center! 10

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Owner/builder: Marc Petiet ~ Wijk aan Zee, Holland

Marc worked hard to fit the pannels he had to make the body and used parts of the front fenders, rear fenders and tailights and parts of the bumpers and parking light to form the body and bumpers.

W ijk aan Zee, Holland

The seat is from an old couch, the steering wheel is an old sportstering wheel from a Volkswagon rabbit, and an old angle-grinder head was used for the side steering construction. The build was done over a period of four years, mostly in winter or shortly before a race and like most projects is still a work in progress! A custom trailer was built for the soapbox so Marc and family can enter more soapbox races in Holland in the future. Marc’s son will soon be of age to race the downhill so expect a new built in the near future! Marc calls it his creation the “Rusty Rocket”! Firing Order Magazine

accomodate multiple styles of cars. The main area was for hot rods, ratVictoria and my truck was running tys and kustoms but there was also a like a top! I didn’t know what to exnice section for muscle cars and anpect out of the first show the Victoother for 4-bys & lowriders. The venria chapter of the Hellions Car Club ue had a large stage where bands was having but I’m always game & rocked the day away with a parade set out to have a good time! I was of beautiful Betties! ; - > Besides the pleasantly surprised when I got car show they had Extreme Midget there. The event was held at Riverside Park which is a perfect descrip- Wrestling, a scavenger hunt, swap meet, battle of the bands and the tion... a beautiful park by the river crowd favorite... Miss RIP pinup conside, a killer venue IMO. Instead of test! It was family friendly with lots of a hot parking lot... it was on a huge stuff to keep the kiddos happy. I was grassy area with lots of trees & the shade was welcome because I forgot surprised how successful the show to bring my tent. The show was very was and definitely can’t wait till next organized and had several areas to year! Kudos to the Hellions CC!!!

It’s a easy drive from Houston to

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Rumble In The Park

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Tom Massimin’s

Shovelhead

Duane Meyers’ Owner/builder: Tom Massimin ~ Houston, TX

A few years back Tom Massimin was havin’ a few beers with a friend when his buddy said he had an old shovelhead just gatherin’ dust in his garage. A few beers later... Massimin was the proud owner of a HD shovel. He’d always wanted one and like so many projects... then it sat around in his garage collecting dust for 4 more years! Vacations, Burning Man. Colorado on his newer Evo... things just seemed to get in the way. Finally, around the first of 2006 he decided to start building the shovel, thinking “How hard can it be”? Just get a frame, rebuild the motor, stick it in the frame, go for a ride... right?! Massimin had the motor completely rebuilt with double plug heads and some other lil tricks to bring the shovel to life. Since he always wanted an old school bike he decided to go with kick-start only and a jockey shift, which then of course required a foot operated clutch. Now this all sounds easy but making all the pieces fit together proved to be quite a chore but Massimin was not to be denied! Then... an accident! After the wreck, the bike was a mess! Handlebars destroyed, pegs bent, gas tank badly dented, kick starter broken and worst of all... oil was leaking from the engine cases. What to do?! Rebuild man, rebuild was Massimin’s mantra. So the engine was back off to the machine shop where some S&S cases, S&S double plug heads and S&S dizzy were used to bring the engine back from the dead. Tom says the bike runs like never before and starts on the first kick (usually), gets 50 mpg and would cruise at 100 all day long if his backside could take it. He also says the bike doesn’t drip a drop of oil from engine, tranny or chain. Can this be a real shovelhead? Haha! Massimin is currently working on a ‘36 Ford coupe... stay tuned! 16

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Duane Meyers was nine when he saw a rusted out Mustang

fastback and it was love at 1st sight. As he got older he was torn between a fastback or convertible. His best friend, at the time, said “You can get more girls into a convertible”, so convertible it was! With a little help from his mother and grandfather, he was able to buy this car right before his 16th birthday in ‘85. His friend was right! He drove the cheerleaders in several Homecoming & Go Texans parades in his hometown of Willis, TX. Yep.... you CAN get a lot of girls in a convertible! During his college years the car went into storage. It wasn’t a matter of reliability but rather his folks were afraid he would spend more time on the car than on books (they were probably right). After college, Duane relocated to Austin and shortly thereafter, the car was relocated to Austin too. While getting the car back roadworthy, one thing led to another and he ended up tearing the car all the way down. Problem was, having the time and money to put it back together. In ‘99 he had a career change and it was packed up and went untouched for several more years.Then came marriage and a baby carriage. In 2008 he started working on the car again but soon realized he needed help and took the car to Classic Mustangs of Houston. Finally... after 26 years he drove the Mustang of his daydreams home in late October 2011. Next he installed a T5 to back up the balanced and blueprinted 302ci. Now the car is a delight to drive! What’s next? His grandfather’s ‘41 Chevy Special Deluxe Business Coupe. Hopefully it won’t take 26 years to finish this time!

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On weekends Mike Tyler’s parents used

to stop at an old farm house to buy county butter. In a shed beside of the house was a model AA Ford truck and he had daydreams about fixing it up. Fast forward 30+ years, Mike and family enjoy camping at the beach and other places in their travel trailer. A lot of people start out with a pop-up camper... then something a little larger and then a little larger still. Keeping up a vehicle that will safely tow your rig can be a challenge so Mike started searching on eBay for “Trucks” and began to notice old Diamond T trucks that seemed to look similar to the AA Ford but were a little more streamlined. He purchased the 18

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truck on Ebay for $1500.00 and took possession. It sits on a Z’d 92/P-30 motor home chassis. The Cummins 5.9 motor came from a donor 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 and continues to run well, uses no oil and pulls the family camper very easily. Mike stretched the hood four inches and the cab six inches for legroom. For comfort it has Vintage Air A/C and Ride Tech front bags as well as their RidePro e3 Control System and compressor. The rear end is a Dana 70 with disc brakes and the truck currently rides on 19.5” wheels and tires. The truck has extendable mirrors for towing as well as power windows. Sweet!

Photos: Michaelia Tyler

A lil sumpin’ to pull your travel trailer!

Owner: Mike Tyler

A monster bed is currently being fabricated. Firing Order Magazine

e n a l r i a F 4 6 19

h’s c n u B y e r Jef f

Owner/builder: Jeffrey Bunch

Jeff Bunch has owned this car for 22 years now. When Jeff

was 16 he had a Falcon but things never seemed to go right with the car so his father bought him this ‘64 Fairlane as a surprise. The car only had 49,000 original miles and ran like a top. Jeff loved the Fairlane so the Falcon slipped into the background.

Jeff wanted it lower so he immediately cut the front springs and put blocks out back but the pipes kept scraping on Baltimore’s bad streets so he knew something had to change. Then he met some local guys who had hydraulics on their cars. That seemed problematic for a unibody car but wasn’t gonna stop Jeff. To solve that problem he built a full frame under the car and installed hydraulics. He drove it like that for a while but eventually decided more power was needed! Enter a Mustang 5.0/T-5/8” posi with 3.73 gears. Jeff then drove this configuration for several more years. As he got older and had kids... the Fairlane started to sit around the garage more and more. About a year ago he decided a major face lift was in order so he gutted the interior, ripped the wiring out, pulled the trim, 20

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Photos: Dennis Greensfelder

and started redoing everything better than the first time. Next he ripped out the hydraulics and put in an Airpod... more reliable for a “family” car! He never really liked the taillights so he split the rings and dropped them in deep. He freshened up the motor, hid all the wiring and updated the stereo. He had two Harley gas tanks laying around and decided to build a console out of them. His best friend came over and thought he was on drugs but ended up really liking the final product. The PPG basecoat/clearcoat with pearl and silver micro flake paint job had held up really well over the years so Jeff just wet sanded the car top to bottom and buffed it out. He then acid dipped all the trim, grill and bezels to remove the anodizing from the factory and polished everything. Next he had the interior done in all white with green stiching and chrome piping and added pinstriping. He struggled with wheel selection but finally decided on stock wheels with a small green pinstripe accent and 1” white walls. Finally... he and the family are ready for the 2013 show season!!! Firing Order Magazine

Burnout is sort of a tradition here in H-town. Burnout is put on by the very active Los CoChinos Car Club and is open to cars and motorcycles... pre64! The venue is cozy and mainly inhabited by locals and local car clubs. It’s a pretty informal show and tailgating is par for the course but they also have yummy food for sale and this year even a desserts van... sweeeet! And what would a show be without bands, bands & more bands who rocked the stage all day long!? The 22

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Los CoChinos rock tons of shows in force and have some very beautiful cars (see above), most of which are old-school taildraggers. They have quiet a following and always draw a crowd. And there’s always plenty of action on the perimiters of the show and a constant parade of kats crusin’ the party to see and just been seen on the street out front. Like... I DID get it running but I’m just passin’ through suckers! And yes... even a lil obligitory ‘Burnout’ now & again! Firing Order Magazine

Burnout

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Reader'z

Ridez

Reader'z Ridez

Wade Hugoe’s dad passed away in 2009. His

‘41 Chevy pickup Owner/photos: Wade Hugoe

‘59-’70 Volkswagan Beetle Owner/photos: Jason Haas 26

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dad always loved old trucks so when Wade started to build a ratty in 2010 he knew he had to build a truck and found this cab in the local paper for $200 dollars. The ‘41 Chev is chopped 5 inches and sports a homemade 2x3 tube frame, 10 bolt rear and Speedway front axle kit. Wade’s dad had a 1950 dodge panel out back so that’s what he used for his hood and the grill is from a Case tractor. The drivetrain is a Chev 350/350/10 bolt and seats are from an old VW. He bought the hub caps at a thrift store for 10 bucks and added the spinners. The tonneau cover is old S&H Green Stamp sign. He used head lights from an old Kenworth and ‘59 Cadddy tail lights.

Jason Hass bought a partially chopped bug pieced together from a ‘59, ‘68 and a ‘70 from a friend of a friend. It has a built and stroked 1600cc motor and an 8” front extension with no brakes. Like an old school race car it has rear brakes only. He started the bomber theme with an aluminum and plexiglas roof panel with scaled down 50 caliber machine guns that he made from aluminum tubing. He got into Volksrods like most guys, a love of ‘30s and ‘40s American cars, but with an extremely limited budget VW’s were the ticket. His rule is pretty much... if he can’t fab it himself, the car doesn’t need it!

‘46 Ford Truck Owner/photos: Blake Kelso

‘66 Chevy Sport Van Owners/photos: Paul & Tyler Walsh

It was love at 1st sight for Blake Kelso when he saw this ‘46 Ford PU. He said he knew he was on the right track when his son didn’t really care for it! It sits on a Z’d Model A frame with TransAm disk brakes & manual S-10 steering box. It’s powered by a Chev 305/T400 combo back to a 10-bolt Poncho rear with ladder bars & air shocks. The bench seat is from an old Blazer, the floors are old road signs & license plates. It has a B&M shifter, cup holders, house hinges on the doors with dead bolts, and old wrenches for door handles! The bobbed bed is from a ‘55 Chev sporting a fuel tank made from an old fuel barrel.

In late 2006, Paul Walsh’s son, Tyler, spotted this van on the way home from hockey practice in a driveway near their house. Paul eventually stopped by to ask the owner what was up with the van. After hearing it’s storied past and helping the elderly owner get it running again, he wound up purchasing the van and Paul and his son brought it back to it’s current condition with the help of the Vanners Car Club from Chicago, Peoria, and Wisconsin. Last season Paul and Tyler racked up over 20,000 miles in 6 states attending car shows and cruise nights, earning 30+ dash plaques and a good number of trophies. The van is currently at a custom/van shop in St. Louis called Rt.66 Ridez getting the front end rebuilt as well as several other projects in hopes of making a good showing at the 2013 Van Nationals in Old Washington, Ohio next July. Firing Order Magazine

Michael Riley’s

1955 Lincoln Capri

Michael Riley of Houston, Tx has loved 50’s cars since he was a kid. His 1st car was a ‘50 Ford 2 door sedan. His 2nd car was a ‘54 Lincoln Capri 4-door sedan, almost like the one he has now, but with a Continental Kit. He was 15 at the time, slicked his hair back and wished he could have lived in the 50’s. He always loved the era, with the cars, clothing, hair, and do-wop music. Kids at school teased him saying... dude its not the 50’s any more.

So when this ‘55 came up for sale on Craig’s List a few years ago he didn’t quite have the money but went to look at it anyway! After constant negotiating... 3 months later he was able to get the asking price down and strike the deal! Michael hasn’t done much to the Lincoln, but knew he wanted it to be a Mild Kustom. He pretty much went through the whole car and rebuilt the brakes, carburetor, generator, starter, new exhaust, water pump, put on new wide whites, painted the wheels 28

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red then added some cool bullet center caps and lug nuts. His friend Frank Palmer, a member of the Beatniks, shot the scallops and the roof with a single stage dark blue hue, and accented them with bright red pin stripes. Next up was the interior. Michael shopped around to have the seats redone like original and finally chose B & B Custom Upholstery who did a fabulous job, Next up is new carpeting. The engine’s a stock 341ci V8 with 225 HP from the factory and has the 1st Ford built Automatic transmission. ‘54 and earlier were all GM Hydros. The car came with power steering, power brakes, power windows, 4 way power seat, power antenna, brake indicator light, window washers, dual heaters, automatic lubrication system, and Factory Air Conditioning which is in the trunk. The A/C vents come up though the back into the headliner to chrome vents! The car also retains the original 6V electric system! Ridin’ Old skool! ; - >

Dude... It’s not the 50’s any more! Firing Order Magazine

Don Pitt’s

on Pitt of Houston, Tx has owned this truck a long time! He purchased the ‘56 Ford F-100 in March of 1976 just two days after moving to Portland Oregon from Southern California. He went looking for work a few weeks before moving and a friend mentioned he had seen an F-100 big window, well you could say it was love at first sight! He had to have it! It was in rough condition and the 390ci Ford motor was blown, it didn’t have a hood, had lots of bondo but he towed it home anyway, He thinks the guy he bought it from felt sorry for him because the next day he gave him the drivetrain from a ‘66 T-Bird, all he had to do was get it out of the car himself and then return the T-bird. His good friend Bruce Cormack helped with the motor/ tranny change and he drove it just like that for 6 years. In ‘82 I moved to Houston and towed the truck there where he’s been making improvements every since. Don and another friend, Bob Leslie, did the frame work in his driveway in 1985, and Jay Harington helped with installing a big 30

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block Chevy that same year. Tim at T & M Performance did a lot of work on it in 2005 such as Gas Tank, Steering Box, Front Disc Brakes and Oliver’s Transmission did the 350 Turbo transmission. David at Dutchman Kustoms did the Body work and Paint, Craig Duron did interior at Texas Upholstery in Tomball. He’s enjoyed this truck immensely over the years and continues to drive it as much as possible, He enjoys taking it to car shows like Lone Star Round Up in Austin, Burnout Houston, Niftee 50ee’s, Texas Hoedown and other car shows in Houston area. Don also thanks Bruce Cormack, Bob Leslie, Jay Harrington, Tim & Scott McLauglin, “Dutch” and Roger Martinez for all their help over the years! Firing Order Magazine

Garage Scene Luke Seltvedt ~ Rapid City, SD

Larry Parks (l) & Scott ”Hillbilly” Koelle (r) ~ Altoona,PA

Kenny Allen ~ Chesterfield, VA

Jeff Lyons ~ Chappell Hill TX

Kevin Czarnowsky ~ Woodbridge, VA

Philip Arrington & Reno DeBon ~ McCloud, CA

Ronnie Perrin ~ Elwood, IN

Micah Supanchick Harrisburg OR

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& FRIENDS!

Friends & Models: Mary Jane Forrest (l) / Heather Reed (r)

Chad Hiltz didn’t always want to be a custom

car builder. As a teenager Chad’s main pastimes included collecting antiques (today, his barns are covered with dozens of cool, nostalgic signs), looking at antique cars, fighting, and getting kicked out of school. Chad’s first antique car, at the age of 14, was a ’46 Dodge pickup. At 16, he entered a vocational school to learn bodywork - this lasted 3 months. After bouncing around the streets of Nova Scotia for several years, and getting fired from a local chicken processing plant, Chad decided it was time to do something he truly enjoyed - working on cars. He started doing bodywork 34

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repairs, and slowly became interested again in antique cars. In 2008, he heard that Gene Winfield was coming to Dartmouth Nova Scotia to give a custom bodywork workshop - roof chopping. This was to become the turning point in his career and life. With the skills he learned from Gene, as well as hearing that Gene was coming to the 2009 Atlantic Nationals in Moncton, NB, Chad took to customizing a 1960 Chrysler. He chopped the roof, added two giant 50’s styles fins, lake pipes, whitewalls, and named it “The Bat Out of Hell.” Unfortunately he ran out of time and could only get the car in primer. Chad drove the

‘Story & Photos: Rodger Evans ~ “HiDefRods”

Chad Hiltz

3.5 hours to Moncton, was able to show Gene what he had accomplished, and came home with two trophies!!! From that point on Chad was hooked on building custom cars that were different than everyone else. Since then he has built some of the most original hotrods ever produced in Atlantic Canada. His next project started as a ’39 Plymouth four door humpback that was given to him for free. He chopped and modified the body into a two door, suicide coupe named “A Way to Heaven.” Chad’s further twist on the traditional hotorod? The ’39 rakes backward, rather than forward like many hotrods you see. (cont) Firing Order Magazine

Model / Ray Gun Sharpshooter: Mary Jane Forrest The car is powered by a Mustang 302, has a Jeep Cherokee rear end (his favourite because of their gear ratios), and an original 40’s front end that he cut out of a car he found in the woods on its roof. Although the interior is a little sparse (two tractor seats), the car is built to drive with power disk brakes and power steering. Chad’s next project started as a steel ’34 Ford stock car body that he found chopped in half in the woods. Chad built a custom frame, installed a Volvo independent front end, Jeep Cherokee rear end, and powered it with a flathead from a ’50 Merc. To 36

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“top it off”, Chad made a home made mold and heated a 3/8” thick sheet of plexiglass to 375 degrees for 30 min. The result was what Chad thinks is the first (and maybe only) hand blown bubble top in Canada. The final futuristic touches on “The Canning Kid” were to place two headlights vertically in the custom grill shell, and build a custom dash using parts from a 1962 Chrysler. What’s next for Chad??? He’s just finishing an all steel (15 sheets of hand-rolled 18 gauge steel) two door (suicide), removable hardtop coupe that’s his interpretation of James Hetfield’s “Slowburn” fiberglass Auburn Roadster. It’s powered by a 300

Buick Nailhead with three deuces, has a completely custom frame that rides on a Camaro rear end and Heidt’s Superide front end. Ride height and stance are controlled by Hairpins and an Air Ride system. When asked where his ideas come from Chad says “I see the cars pictured in my head and they look cool.” His then begins the build process by making sketches on the wall of his garage. His next project has now reached “stage two”, right next to the garage light switch...

Photography: Rodger Evans ~ “HiDefRods”

Chad Hiltz

Chad Hiltz as himself Firing Order Magazine

The Demons Car Club Houston Chapter

Founder ~ Richard Seibert

Current Pres. ~ Dennis Hom

Conroe, TX I kept seeing the Demons at shows all over Texas

and finally got to meet all of them at a lil get together & BBQ... these hot rodders can BBQ up some really tasty ribs... Tejas style! I have to say... the Demons really show up but I wonder if it’s not just for the BBQ!!! ; - > Richard Seibert founded the Demons in 1957 in Cahokia, Illinois while attending high school. The original 15 members all lived in a neighboring town called Maplewood Illinois where Richard created the Demon’s logo and made the first Demons plaque. As the original bi-laws read, the club was founded out of the love of the automobile and to promote safe driving practices due to the bad reputation teenagers were currently being given. To date it is thought that approximately 4-5 original members are still alive across the country. The Demons Car Club was resurrected in April of 2007 when Richard’s son-in-law, Danny Verinder, completed the build on his ‘28 Ford Sedan. Upon completion of the sedan Richard gave Danny one of two plaques that he still had from the original club, along with the original bi laws. At that time, The Demon’s - Houston Chapter, was born. Since that time the club has grown to 21 members 38

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(spouses included)….and 13 cars. The club has one President and one Vice President. The President helps to lead the direction of the club. Presidential terms run for 2 years and then either a new President can be voted in, or a past President or even the current President can be re-elected and only current and past Presidents can vote. Requirements to join the club are simple. You must love cars, own a currently operational American made car ‘57 or older, believe that you should drive your car more than trailer it, as trailer queens are not allowed in the club. Paint is optional. You must be willing to help other club members on projects whenever possible, attend at least 2 club functions per year as well as be willing to help out potential future members of the club work on getting their own car together so that they can join. Their goal is to have fun and share their love for old cars with each other and the general public. Original rules fined members 25 cents for not coming to meetings! ; - >

Past & present Presidents...

(L-R) Richard Seibert, Dennis Hom, Danny Verinder, Dave Smith

Members are... Richard & Lucy Seibert, Danny & Audra Verinder, David & Melinda Smith, Andy & Karen Lloyd. Steve & Georgia Whitt, Richard Whitt, Dennis & Kerri Hom, Edgar & Tiffany Grace, Mark & Donna Poindexter, Ledell & Bernita Lewis, Mr. & Mrs. David Coffee. Firing Order Magazine

I love to DIY and it just makes your car look more unique when you do so I ask one of the best fabricators and welders I know to show how he builds basic brackets & stuff. He has more welding machines than I have cars! See Jeff’s ad on the back page. - Editor -

Drilling holes

Bonehead Tech ~ Bracket building 101 Seems more and more homebuilt hot rods are popping up all over the place. Many builders are learning to weld during this process. Today, we will go through the build of a basic bracket. Well as basic as I can do it, anyway. Sometimes I’ll start with a template. Foam board works great, but an old cereal box works pretty well for getting a basic shape. For this bracket, I just need a shock bolt sized hole in the top and two bolt holes in the back to bolt on to an existing hole set. I used the drill press to make all the holes. The extra holes are purely decorative. I used a center punch for all the holes, but the ones that have bolts going through are the most important to get right. I left the back plate as it was, 2 inch by ¼ inch strap. For the sides, I used the same material, but I sheared it with my iron worker to an angle. You could cut the angle with a plasma, torch, angle grinder, or even a hack saw, if you are ambitious. Now it’s time to fire up the welder. If you are shopping for a welder, I suggest a 220 amp, name brand, wirefeed, with mix gas. Sure, there are a million other ways to go, but, that’s my version of the best set up for hot rod/garage use. When you “tack” metal together, with those small round welds used to hold everything in place until you can lay some beads, you create heat, and as the tack cools it contracts, and will pull your project out of square. I like tacking on the ends, because the leverage of the pieces will help hold everything from moving with heat. When I tack something like this, I put the bolt through the bolt holes to make sure they will align later. For this bracket, I put some spacers in between the two outside plates, after it was tacked, and clamped it together. This keeps the brackets from not being square after it is welded together. I stepped the plates at the corners, and welded them inside and out. The step lets me leave more weld, if I grind the corner smooth. There you have it, a simple bracket.

1/4” strap stock cut to size, marked & center punched for drilling

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Clamped with spacer & bolt to maintain alignment

Tack welded

Fully welded

Finished and installed

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