Posts by Kevin Loveday
Street Rodder Road Tour–1951 Ford
Almost a year in the making, the 2013 Street Rodder Road Tour car is complete! We thrashed to get it finished in time for the Hot Rod Power Tour’s visit here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then put the finishing touches on it before it headed out to St. Paul, Minnesota for its first true outing.…
Read MoreMeasuring Wheel Backspacing
We get all sorts of questions here at the Speed Shop, and one of our most common questions involves fitting custom wheels and tires. To get the right look, you really need to study your car, and make some important measurements. It’s also important to know the particular measurements if you’re planning to do your…
Read MoreHot Rod Reunion–Gassers Galore!
We love sneaking off to hot rod events near our headquarters here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We’re just a couple hours away from Atlanta, a couple from Nashville and a little over 3 hours away from Bowling Green, Kentucky, home of the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion at historic Beech Bend Raceway Park. It’s an incredible event…
Read MoreStreet Rodder Road Tour–Custom Trim
With the big stuff out of the way (top chop, body channel, and other body modifications), we could concentrate on some of the smaller details on the car, such as the side trim. In the Eric Black rendering, a thin piece of trim is shown running down the side of the car, with a stylish…
Read MoreStreet Rodder Road Tour–Lead Work
Throughout the metal working process of the Street Rodder Road Tour ’51 Ford, we wanted to experiment with using lead for a filler on some of our seams and body modifications. We wanted to get the true essence of a “lead sled” so we got a lead kit from Eastwood Tools, and started working. They…
Read MorePower Tour Leaves Its Mark(s) in Chattanooga
Wow, what a day! Thursday, June 6th, was quite a busy day here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Hot Rod Power Tour came through town, with an official stop at Chattanooga State Community College. Thousands of hot rods, muscle cars and trucks came out to the campus, along with a number of parts vendors, including our…
Read MoreStreet Rodder Road Tour–Nose Job
Dating back to the ’50s, car customizers have been trying to beautify vehicles in every way possible. Rounding corners, smoothing edges and lowering the car’s silhouette are common goals in the custom world, and one sure fire way to do it is to modify the hood for a sleeker appearance. We set out to do…
Read MoreVisitors from Canada, eh….again? In the same day?
Yep, we had two totally separate visitors from Canada on the SAME DAY! Toward the end of the day, Tom Sorenson and his son, Skylar rolled into Chattanooga, Tennessee in this awesome ’54 Buick Special station wagon. These guys are dedicated hot rodders, all the way from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. They actually flew down…
Read MoreVisitors from Canada, eh!
It’s not often we have guests from Canada, but we were delighted when Jeff and Lori Yorke pulled up in their 1929 Essex hot rod. This husband and wife traveling duo are accustomed to loooooong road trips, and they’re pulling a doozie of a trip as we speak! They are from Nova Scotia, which is…
Read MoreDown and Dirty F-100
Just wanted to drop a note on here to thank Dennis Valentine and Tommy Lingenfelt for taking their day off from work to visit our place. Dennis is the owner of this ’56 Ford F-100 pickup, which he admits is a bit dirtier than usual…but he has a good excuse. He drives it! The truck…
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