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We had a great weekend at the 2010 Portland Roadster show. Every car we took won Best of Class and the 1933 Dodge Ram Rod won Best of Show!!! |
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The creative pride and joy of Steve’s Auto Restorations is this one-of-a-kind roadster designed by Chris Ito. Initial plans called for 12 fendered and 12 fenderless examples to be available for commission, with car number 1 reserved for Steve himself. Plans have changed, however, and only one steel body was produced. Every inch of the one-off roadster has been completely hand formed and fabricated. The sleek and refined body as formed by hand over wooden bucks that were translated from a full scale drawing. The hand built chassis with tubular cross-members appears to consist of a simple dropped solid axle front suspension, but is actually much more complicated. The dropped axle is not a solid tube, but rather a split unit that allows the front wheels to articulate independently of each other. Each half of the axle is mated to a cantilevered push/pull rod that runs inside the frame rails to horizontally mounted coil-over shocks mounted beneath the passenger compartment. A Mustang Cobra IRS transfers the power, but does so through handmade upper and lower control arms with a cantilevered coil-over shock arrangement. Although a potent choice for motivation, the supercharged Mustang Cobra 4.6 liter engine created a packaging nightmare. The under-hood dilemmas were resolved by clever problem solving that resulted in stylish and symmetrical solutions that utilized every inch of usable space. A truly cutting edge rod!
(Click image for build photos) |
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What started off as a relatively small project of minor rust repair and a chopped top has turned into a full custom build. This project will culminate in a car which will be both shown and driven. Its design is Harley Earl inspired and has all the modern advances and conveniences. The owners had their own vision of what they wanted the car to be, and the SAR staff helped guide them in the right direction.
The car is custom from the ground up, starting with an Art Morrison chassis and IFS with power rack-and-pinion steering. Out back is a triangulated four-bar. The rear end and axles are from Strange Engineering, as are the shocks. Stopping is by drilled 13 inch Wilwood brakes. The wheels will be 18” and 20” ET 5-spoke.
Keeping with the old-school theme, the car gets its power from a Z-11 style 409 producing 450 horsepower and 560 foot pounds of torque. The engine features components from COMP Cams, PML, Lamar Walden, Edelbrock, Moon, Billet Specialties, and Sanderson. The transmission is a Chevrolet 700R4 with 4L65E internal parts and manual overdrive. The converter is a 12 inch GM with 2000-2200 stall and a manual, adjustable lock-up component; the shifter is from Lokar.
The body is the star of this build. It is all steel, and with the exception of the running boards, is all original. The floors were in perfectly good shape, but were replaced to better fit the new frame and the wheel tubs. There are many, many modifications including: chopped top with reshaped back portion, back window leaned forward, rear side windows shortened, slanted “B” pillars, wing windows removed, hood openings moved, one-piece custom grill/chin/trim, lowered taillights, and 1939 Buick headlights are moved forward and lowered into the fenders. The front bumpers are handmade, as is the rear bumper with license plate surround. All the handmade trim will be chromed. The trunk and interior is SAR design. Stereo components will be located in the trunk and wireless controlled. The original gauges and clock will be restored and rebuilt to modern calculations. There will be AC and cruise control. The steering column is from Flaming River and will use a reproduction ’59 Chevrolet steering wheel.
This project will be something special from SAR. Besides being a “head turner”, it will be a precision work of art. Look for it at the beginning of 2011. |
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Another California car for another California customer. |
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This will be the frist 1934 Real Steel Coupe to stay at SAR for a complete build! |
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