Step-by-step photo report on the assembly of Hot Rod Factory Five (20 photos). DIY Hot Rod. New and old metal hot rod drawings

Traditionally, hot rodders subscribe to a fairly strict set of rules, and I'm going to refute that thesis right now.
I can understand the mantra of “doing it like it used to be,” but personally, I think it's fundamentally antithetical to “hot rodding.” "The way they used to do it" depended on creativity and maximum use those parts that were readily available, except for the expensive parts that were not available in the sixties.

I've never been a guy who differentiates every turn signal by year and model, nor did I know which cylinder heads were the most preferred. I'm a hot rodder because I like things to look right. And ordering spare parts from a catalog never guarantees that your car will look good.

In short, I like "hot rods that can do IT" - because to me, a true hot rod is just an old car with soul and it's something that everyone - car enthusiast and otherwise - will appreciate.

Jared Seganti's '37 Dodge pickup did just that when I caught a glimpse of it on Instagram. It was one of those cases when you repeatedly look at an object that interests you, then evaluate it by squinting, and eventually begin to study all the details. Fortunately, Jared was easy to contact from there, and since he is a fan of Speedhunters, he was delighted that Sean Kinglehofer himself offered to capture the features of his work.

I guess I should give you time to digest what you see because this is a special type of project. It all starts with a 37' Dodge truck cab that was part hot rod, wrapped in sheet steel to fit the Sandrail - a symbiotic combination of various parts racing cars, all mounted on a chassis based on the Trophytruck SUVs. It's a pretty serious hybrid of styles that are fundamentally completely different, and yet it works.
This, my friends, is what I call “hot rodding.”

You see, Jared first got his first work experience at the age of 17, sweeping floors in a manufacturing plant. From that moment on, he was hooked by what he saw and never looked back. Since then he has worked for Predator Sand Cars, Alumicraft Racing, Racer Engineering and even had a brief stint with West Coast Choppers. Apparently he'd bent enough metal into the silhouettes of a Sandrail or Trophytruck that when he set out to build a hot rod, it basically worked out.

Things like the rear-mounted radiator with ported mounts come straight from the off-road world, where you need to keep the cooling system out of harm's way. For Jared's pickup, it was more of a tribute to the old days.

The advantage is the clean face of his hot rod, free of body parts. Instead of the front part of the body being purely mechanical; the tubular structure, suspension and engine are all combined to create a form whose function is purely design.

Row six-cylinder engine of the old Chevy, this is really the only standard part of that same truck, besides the cab. The engine is located in its original position, parallel to the chrome-molybdenum frame tubes. Note the radiator cooling system, which follows the same pattern.

The first thing that caught my attention about Jared's 37' Dodge was the body, to which he added original sheet metal. The style and quality were such that I could say it was as if it had originally been manufactured in a special factory.

If you've ever spent time around Sandrails and Prerunners, you can feel their influence too. Tightly fitting aluminum panels, Dzus locks, metal perforations - it's all there.

Like the half-covered front, the chrome frame is only partially covered at the rear.

Plus, Jared built a working car from scratch, which we'll get to shortly, the styling is truly an amazing thing - a car designer can absent-mindedly draw while daydreaming. The most ingenious part is the way new aluminum panels are sourced from Dodge's factory lines and then quickly converted into an aggressive, angular, layered shape. When creating a car design, the concept of "angle of attack" is used, and this car has a lot of them.

If you walk around the machine, you will begin to see the levels that come into play. I've never seen a hot rod that had this depth and size of the rear quarter panel, if you can call it that.

The renovation work continues inside, where Jared handcrafted nearly every detail. Look at a gas pedal taken from a sprint car or late model. This is an example of the use of a cool detail, the installation of which Jared skillfully played around with. The origins of all this are almost irrelevant, because this idea has now found its place.

Jared seems to know all the tricks to using his sheet metal like a pro.

Not only did he use quality stainless steel fasteners throughout, but he was able to add aesthetic beauty to it. Jared made excellent use of his experience; he knew that a 4-inch spacing between screws would be sufficient. When the rivets move away from each other, the sheets of metal will begin to knock, and when more frequent interval there will be too many rivets.

Of course, you can be considered a talented car builder if you can combine an old truck cab with a hand-built chassis, not only visually, but also ultimately produce a mechanically sound, working vehicle.

So, many of these great visions turn out to be just dreams - projects locked up in someone's garage, never to be completed. That's why I couldn't help but smile when I saw Jared Seganti's little truck kicking up dust under its own power.

Everyone has their own reasons for not finishing these “dream projects”: maybe due to lack of funds, or maybe simply due to lack of time or motivation. I suspect one skill Jared learned from working in these amazing off-road shops is the ability to see a project through to completion. It would be a gross and oversimplification of things for us to look at the photos of this hot rod and think that creating it would be as easy as shelling pears.

Of course, Jared learned many useful skills from working in the shops, including welding and pipe bending, which he used to create his chrome chassis. Sheet metal processing is another feature from the exciting world of off-road vehicle construction.

Jared built the front suspension from scratch using A-arms and coilovers. But what really surprised me was that he built all the geometry at fixed lengths and angles - with zero adjustment. The only thing that can be changed is the toe angle. Instead of threaded tie rod bearings, his suspension pivots on brass struts, showing that he has the experience to design suspension as well as crack nuts.

For the rear suspension, he used a different set of coilovers and triangulated the four links to install the axle. The key here is how everything works in tandem. A crossmember ties the sides of the chassis together, as well as a radiator that only leaves room for the top coilover mounts.

We're back inside, where the frame integrates with the old truck's sheet metal, but also meets the bottom of the dash nicely.

I barely mentioned the cut-out roof, which is usually an important part of a Hot Rod, but with everything else going on here, it's an easy detail to miss. Looking through the shortened rear window opening, you can see another attached racing part something you don't usually see on a Hot Rod: a Momo suede-wrapped steering wheel.

This is the same mixing of styles that I mentioned at the beginning of this story. And it works, doesn't it?

Since he built everything else from aluminum and welding rods, Jared went ahead and styled the seats.

For all the wildness of this amazing work, I may have missed something that I don't think anyone would have noticed. Of course, those are eight-bolt, three-piece Humvee wheels with small street tires mounted on them. But did you know that Hummer wheels came in 16.5-inch diameters, and you'd never be able to find street tires that fit? That’s where Jared shrugged and went to work: he cut the wheels, removed a couple of inches from the circumference, resulting in 16”.

What kind of confidence do you need to have to take on building a Hot Rod for the first time... And fearlessness to look at a piece of metal and see something more in it. In this case, nothing will stand in the way of its creation. When talking with Jared, I noticed that he was a little shy that we wanted to talk about his car. He sees everything he could do better in his own thoughts. But I'm standing next to this hot rod with my mouth open.

I was already telling Jared that I would be very happy to see this thing in action, and suddenly it occurred to me to ask if this car was even finished. It turns out this little Hot Rod pickup is only half finished. Jared plans to completely disassemble the car into parts for painting. Now he enjoys and enjoys the car in motion, looking at his work in bare metal.

Keith Charvonia
Instagram: SpeedhuntersKeith
[email protected]
Photos by Sean Klingelhoefer
Instagram: seeklingelhoefer
[email protected]

Jared Seganti's 1937 Dodge Pickup
Engine
1968 Chevrolet inline six cylinder, 250ci, fabricated engine mounts, custom black braided fuel hoses, custom fabricated exhaust system, two Optima six volt batteries wired in series, two Spal 14″ radiator fans, remote mounted radiator, inline Meziere thermostat housing, scratch built wiring harness, small forklift alternator, marine grade battery kill switch

Driveline
Chevrolet TH350 transmission, 14 bolt eight lug rear differential from a motorhome, 4:10 gearing, custom driveshaft from Driveline Service of San Diego, B&M Quarter Stick shifter

Suspension/Brakes
All front suspension links except toe are non-adjustable, front suspension bushings are brass, rear chromoly four link with 5/8″ heim joints, adjustable aluminum shocks, BRT sprint car steering box, four piston Wilwood front calipers with 13″ GT-48 slotted rotors, two piston rear calipers, CNC master cylinder, custom routed 3/16″ copper nickle brake lines, custom pedal box, scratch built black brake hoses

Wheels/Tires
Hummer H1 wheels, changed from 16.5″ to 16″ diameter, front wheels narrowed from 9″ to 7″, rear wheels widened from 9″ to 11″, cheap 205/55/16 front tires, Mickey Thompson 315/45/16 rear tires

Exterior
1937 Dodge truck cab, hand formed aluminum body panels by Jared Seganti, 4 1/2″ chop, shaved door handles, LED tail lights
Interior
Hand formed aluminum interior panels by Jared Seganti, aluminum seats, chromoly roll cage integrated into chassis, Momo steering wheel with Sweet Manufacturing quick release, sprint car gas pedal, Mil-spec switches

Original article on the team website SpeedHunters- #chapter -built-to-drive" >www.speedhunters.com

Typically a yard or garage project called a rat rod is often made from scratch or by combining parts from two small cars to make vehicles as small as possible. The perfect rat rod looks like it shouldn't stick together, much less move. Both aesthetic and practical significance are taken into account here. Rat rods are in constant need of adjustments and tweaks, making them a fun project for garage hangouts with extra parts and spare time. See Step 1 to learn more about what you need to create your own rat rod.

Steps

Part 1

Preparing the frame

Buy an old car. Visit your local salvage yard to check out old cars that aren't too damaged and might be good candidates. Some rat rodding websites also provide links to where you can find them. Look for one that is not particularly rusty and the body shape remains unchanged. Typically, rat rods are made from American cars, often pickup trucks, manufactured before 1960. Popular rat rod models include:

Mid-Century Chevrolet Pickups
Fords from the 1930s, especially the Model A.
Early Chrysler engines with hemispherical combustion chambers, as well as flat V-8s, were popular.

Remove all interior items from the car. To strip the car of everything and start from scratch, you need to remove all the seats, lights and other accessories from the car. As a rule, cars used for retrieval are in pretty bad shape from an interior point of view, so this step is necessary.

Drain all gasoline from the gas tank. Place a container under the drain valve or remove one of the fuel lines and collect any gasoline remaining in the fuel tank. This is an important step when preparing a car for rodding, as a lot of welding will need to be done and any remaining traces of gasoline will pose a fire hazard. Keep a fire extinguisher ready in the garage at all times while you are working.

Make the frame size whatever you want. Measure and mark where you want the axles and wheels for your new vehicle so you can go and cut the frame to the correct length using a power saw.
- Usually for reet-birth it is typical to shorten back car to place the axle and remove any coverings, such as roofs and hoods, that you will no longer need. Cut off anything that may no longer be useful to you.
Improvise. Alternatively, you can create your own frame using approximately six meters of rectangular steel pipe, cutting it into two equal parts. Weld them together in a ladder shape as evenly as possible. Use one cross member at the front, one at the back, and cross the workpiece in the middle to support the body. Match the width of the frame to the cabinet you plan to use.

Install new axles, shockproof systems and suspension systems. You can customize your suspension using the latest modern technologies, which makes the rat rod a hybrid of an old and a new car. Do you want to get a car that will travel by rail? Yes please.
- Start by measuring the rear width or rear body width and find the appropriate size axles. The axle needs to be somewhat wider than the width of the body, and rear axle springs tend to be very popular because they are easy to modify. Any parts from the 60s - 70s can also be used, depending on the price.
- Install the springs in the blank on each side or parallel weld the top cross-joint fasteners at the rear bottom of the fasteners to the axle body. To avoid spending a lot of money, use direct front axle, written off or new.
- Suspensions from a Mustang II/Pinto, AMC Pacer, or Corvair are popular and useful options, although ready-to-weld suspension kits are also available, sometimes for just a few hundred dollars, complete with frame and axle in brackets, and as blanks. This is a good investment if you need new parts.
Install the housing onto the frame. Old bodies are by far the most popular choice, but you can also use more modern fiberglass that is easy to work with. Customize your body and make the rod you want by cutting it up to create a stylish and rugged Rat Rod, then weld the body to the frame.

Remake existing engine, or install a new one. Try it and remember: reet-rod is semi-legal vehicle, so it's not worth spending a lot on the engine. An old Chevy 350 or Ford 302 are both the most typical and usually the cheapest options you could use. Just get a working thing. The great thing about hot rods is that if you want to use an engine that doesn't fit the size under the hood, there's nothing stopping you from making your own through creativity and ingenuity. Place the engine. Remove the hood and do what you want.
- You might consider selling the block from the car you got initially, especially if the block is worn out, then use the extra money you got from the sale to get something from the same era that actually works.
- Install any new starters or alternators when you install the engine in the frame. Make sure you remove all the grease you can from the engine before installation, and then install the transmission, drive shaft and a radiator. Connect the steering wheel drive and install the pedals, welding any additional connections that will be needed to hold it all together.
Finish your work. You'll be close to finishing at this point, but you should still install the brakes and tires to try and make the ride as safe as possible. It might not be entirely legal to drive one on the streets, but eventually you need to stop working on it. Install seats, or insert a sofa and use something interesting and fun. Rat rods lend themselves to any weird ideas you have regarding automotive aesthetics. Have fun with him!

We recently talked about the popularization of customization in an article dedicated to George Barris and his brother Sam. However, the culture of original automobile “alterations” existed before them, albeit in a fundamentally different way. If the Barris brothers built their concepts based on their aesthetic qualities, then a parallel branch of custom processes came from speed. And her name was - .

In interpreting the meaning of “hot rod,” the last part of the word plays a key role. Some experts argue that this very “rod” is an abbreviation of the term roadster and indicates the body type required for modifications. Others say that this is a designation for the connecting rods, the parts that were the first to be replaced during the construction of a “hot” car. This is how garage craftsmen increased the engine capacity of their hardware. And although, in general, hot rods were a wild “bush,” from time to time, genuine masterpieces arose among them, which conceptual designers still look back on to this day. This article is devoted to several similar works.

Classics of the genre

Hot rodding originated in the USA in the 30s of the last century, gaining popularity rapidly and everywhere, becoming perhaps the main male entertainment. What else can an unemployed man do on a Friday night if not drink bitters and rush through the streets in half-dismantled carriages? The governmental ban on the sale of alcohol, as well as on driving fast on public roads. Therefore, in order to find an underground brandy market and escape from the cops if there was a raid, the guys desperately needed fast wheels.

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Hot rod based on Ford Coupe 34’. Equipment: the front axle is borrowed from a Ford 48' with Posies springs installed on it and levers from a Ford 32'. The frame is modified and the rear crossmembers are removed from the Ford Model A and Model T. The wheelbase is 114 inches (289.56 cm). The trunk has a 15-gallon tank of fuel that is fed to a 59AB block from a 46' Ford. Engine modification: Isky 400 Junior camshaft and Stromberg 97 carburetors. Also installed is a 5-speed transmission from an S-10 Chevy pickup. The radiator and front grille are handcrafted from aluminum.

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But rusty carts like the Ford Model A or B didn't exactly please their owners with their dynamics. To increase speed characteristics, they tore off everything unnecessary from the cars: fenders, running boards, casings engine compartment, even the roof! The loss of body rigidity did not worry the craftsmen too much. The main thing is that the car flies like the wind. In this she was helped by the eight-cylinder engine, promoted by Mr. Ford on all mass models of his company. Thus, by the will of chance and many-armed masters, whose names were lost under the soot of hundreds of carbon dioxide evenings, the appearance of a classic hot rod was formed. The most ardent admirers have elevated it to the canon and even now reject any custom built on the basis of a car older than 1945.

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The interior retains its sporty asceticism: no unnecessary upholstery elements, door cards or other decorative elements. The dash has been redone with Stewart Warner indicators and the four-spoke steering wheel is from a Ford 40' along with the bench seat. The entire body of the car, even in the roof, has multiple “gills” for ventilation, which gives it speed. Lateral and rear windows this hot rod does not provide for it at all.

Over time, hot rodding has grown from a semi-handicraft hobby to a high-status and expensive hobby. When America stopped being in a fever from mafia showdowns and legalized military conflicts, the rich flocked to exotic alterations. Speed racing was no longer a matter of survival: it moved from the streets to sports tracks and specialized arenas. The famous Lake Bonneville became the largest of these sites. And of course, the studios of the surrounding regions have long become champions in the construction of hot rod classics.

For example, the Rollings Bones studio is famous for making hot rods that are closest to the original. In a modern interpretation, they look like the creations of Dr. Frankenstein, as they are assembled from dozens of parts belonging to different cars. However, forced engines and aggressive appearance making them the same evil bastards who tore through the salt expanses in the 50s. Experienced craftsmen know that no matter how ambitious the project, the main thing is to pay attention to detail. Only then will a simple metal trough on two side members and four wheels truly come to life.

Peculiarities:

Clyde Barrow, a notorious Prohibition-era gangster, admired Ford cars. He even addressed a letter to the president of the company, where in a half-joking tone he promised to steal only Fords. But among American bandits, Clyde was no exception. The criminals preferred Henry Ford's products for their cheapness, simplicity and power. Custom conversions of such equipment have become a kind of side effect of this popularity. So Mr. Ford is responsible for many things that happened in the States in the first half of the twentieth century. And the second one, too.

Red Baron

The unusual appearance of hot rods began to attract bohemian people. Artists, musicians, and most importantly, filmmakers, driving such equipment, were included in a closed club, a kind of secret lodge with its own customs, laws and rules. In America in the 60s, there were not many specialized publications that covered the projects, competitions and workdays of real hot rodders. The most authoritative of them was the magazine Hot Rod, owned by Robert Petersen. But when Monogram became interested in “hot roadsters,” this subculture received its own pop star.

Box cover with model Red Baron Monogram

The Monogram Models formation was very popular in the States for providing leisure time for millions: everyone, young and old, liked to assemble kit models, turning a pile of plastic into a perfect example of motorized technology. Representatives of the auto industry seriously monitored the Monogram assortment, because if the next creation of one of the Big Three was reproduced on a scale of 1:48, then its success was not accidental. However, the path of the hot rod named Red Baron turned out exactly the opposite.

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A total of two Red Baron hot rods were recreated. Another replica was made by the famous Hollywood customizer Jay Orberg. In his project, he used an eight-cylinder Big-Block engine from Chevrolet.

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A total of two Red Baron hot rods were recreated. Another replica was made by the famous Hollywood customizer Jay Orberg. In his project, he used an eight-cylinder Big-Block engine from Chevrolet.

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A total of two Red Baron hot rods were recreated. Another replica was made by the famous Hollywood customizer Jay Orberg. In his project, he used an eight-cylinder Big-Block engine from Chevrolet.

Tom Daniel was a freelance designer. He worked with Monogram Models only once before it dawned on him: it is not necessary to draw sketches of real-life equipment - after all, you can invent a machine that never existed! To do this, Daniel studied the rating of prefabricated models, highlighting those that sold better than others. They turned out to be fighter planes from the First World War and... old Fords. Putting these two images together, the designer got a distinctive hot rod with a Kaiser's infantry helmet instead of a cockpit and Albatros D. II war paint. The car was named “Red Baron” in honor of the best ace of the war, Manfred von Richthofen, who shot down 80 enemy aircraft.

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Currently, the only surviving example of the Red Baron is located at the Museum of American Speed at the Speedway Motors studio in Lincoln, Nebraska. And only the most skilled hot rodders dare to create their own replica of this car.

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The model hit the shelves in 1968, creating a real sensation among kit collectors. In just a few years, Monogram Models has sold more than 3 million copies of this construction set! And when they were offered to embody an unusual hot rod in metal and in life-size, no one was particularly surprised. Chuck Miller, an engineer at Detroit's Styline Customs, took on the job, meticulously restoring all the parts. The Red Baron was built in a Bucked T body, the most classic hot rod design using the underpinnings of one of the 1917-27 Ford T models. release. Trying to achieve maximum consistency, Miller wanted to install an aircraft engine from the specified era into the car, produced by Mercedes-Benz or BMW, but was unable to find a suitable copy - I had to settle for a 6-cylinder Pontiac OHC racing unit.

Peculiarities:

The Red Baron was to the world of hot rods what Bon Jovi was to rock music. His appearance is like the imperishable single It’s My Life, sounding non-stop. Even Chuck Miller receives awards for creating this machine with the same regularity with which the famous musician receives Grammy awards.

Greetings from Roswell

"Mischief managed!" - Harry Potter's satisfied friends repeated, conjuring over the magic map. The same can be said about the work of “Big Daddy” Ed Rott, a legendary figure for several generations of hot rodders. Many of today's masters were inspired to get down to business by the extraordinary author's thinking and philosophical view of this man. Ed Rott came up with a lot of things that made this subculture meaningful. He is also responsible for the creation of such symbols as the pot-bellied rodent Rat Fink - the emblem of independent customizers and the Beatnik Bandit car, the wonderful appearance of which enthusiasts are still trying to outdo.

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The life of the car was long and eventful. From time to time it was even painted a different color and tuned. In 1970, Ed Rott became so disinterested in Bandit that he sold it for $50. A strange decision, considering that the peak of its popularity occurred at this time: the Beatnik Bandit toy accounted for 16% of sales of the entire Revell range! Fortunately, the “real” hot rod was not lost, but was restored, and now resides in the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.

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The story of the orange striped Bandit followed the fate of the previous hero, Red Baron, almost to the letter. It all started the same way with a tiny scale model Hot Wheels from Revell, for which Ed designed. He then created a "full-size" hot rod based on a 1955 Oldsmobile, shortening the chassis to just over six feet.

The master sent the original body to a landfill, melting something out of fiberglass that looked like the skin of an alien ship. To match the image, a transparent bubble was installed in place of the cabin/roof. To make it, Mr. Rott stuck a piece of plastic in a pizza oven, and when it was hot and soft, he inflated it like balloon. Even though the master was not the first inventor of such a roof, he was definitely a popularizer of such “soap bubbles” - many of his subsequent models had this signature touch.

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The body of the Roswell Rod was handcrafted from fiberglass over several years. The car is built on a shortened Oldsmobile Toronado 68’ chassis. With its twin headlights, the hot rod's face is reminiscent of a Corvette. The rear lights are borrowed from the Chevy Impala. The cockpit of the Roswell Rod also contains all the necessary controls: a steering wheel stylized as an airplane steering wheel, a gear knob and on-board instruments.

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The “cheated” 5-liter Beatnik Bandit engine was equipped with a Bell Auto supercharger and a dual Ford carburetor. When assembling the exhibit, Mr. Rott did not seriously think about hundreds Horse power in it, but I was still afraid to drive this hot rod. The machine he built was perhaps the only one that moved exclusively on a carriage. After all, she had no steering wheel at all: control, acceleration, braking and gear shifting - all this was displayed on a metal steering wheel. The latter, oddly enough, worked, which horrified everyone, including its creator.

Big Daddy passed away 15 years ago, at the age of 69, but his works still have a magical effect on people. Most of Ed Rott's cars are in private collections, but there are also some in museums - for example, the Beatnik Bandit. This strange device has such a stimulating effect on customizers that they borrow its touches in their projects. But only a few people like Fritz Schenk, an inspired enthusiast, manage to build the ideal new Bandit. He named his car Roswell Rod, and it has a number of serious differences from the original. Firstly, you can start it and drive without risking your life. And secondly, Schenk is sure that he built exactly the device that the FBI found in Roswell in 1947.

Peculiarities:

Ed Rott left behind not only cars, but also several books, in fact - practical guides for one action or another. “I worked with a whole bunch of cool stuff that no one wanted to know about,” he wrote. “And then he took it and built a car out of it all!” Great way to attract attention, by the way. Moreover, not only to yourself, but also to what worries you, as, for example, Fritz Schenk did.

Vagabond/Marauder

Lewis Carroll, author of “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” was not in vain admiring English language: It contains a huge number of words with double meaning. The so-called “words-words” very accurately characterize processes and phenomena, especially if they end unsuccessfully. Take, for example, the Prowler model - its sketches have been approved and passed around for so long that you can’t call it anything other than “Tramp”. But when she nevertheless established herself in the production of Plymouth and for five years did not bring her native company a dime, her hidden essence came to light - the Marauder. Yes, it’s not good to rob your parents, but the Prowler is perhaps the only hot rod launched into production, for which a lot can be forgiven.

The idea of producing a retro car in the hot-rodding style first came to the mind of Bob Lutz, president of Chrysler, in 1990. Its marketers have calculated that this subculture costs several million of its admirers a tidy sum - $10 billion! Lutz, himself an avid racer and retro fan, rightly decided to lure this audience to the side of the “five-pointed star” and launched a corresponding project. A concept car, vaguely similar to the current Prowler, debuted at the 1993 Detroit Motor Show and shocked absolutely everyone. But its adaptation to the production chassis lasted for another five long years, after which it was decided to assemble the roadster by hand.

Peculiarities:

Even though the Plymouth Prowler is not a “true” hot rod, this model is unique in its own way. Yes, the manufacturer failed to combine retro aesthetics with racing characteristics"hot roadsters". But this project is one of a rare number of cases when genuine emotions prevailed over cost calculations. Although Chrysler didn't make any money, it managed to make some of its customers really happy.

Hot Nord

Oddly enough, hot rodding has gained close attention among Scandinavian craftsmen. Admirers of their own traditions, they suddenly willingly adopted the American style in the construction of custom cars. True, in some ways the northerners departed from the canons. They liked the aggressive looks of hot rods and the huge dynamic potential. But a lot of hanging trinkets seemed unnecessary to them. The Scandinavian public, who revered order and precision, began to build “hot roadsters” in their own way, and Lief Tufvesson, who succeeded in this, even received the status of a demigod.

Mr Tufvesson worked as a designer at the Volvo Concept Center for six years before opening his own auto tuning business. Cars bearing the hallmarks of his Caresto workshop are rightfully considered the best representatives of hot rodding in Sweden. Wherein Volvo Cars periodically resort to the services of Lief if they need original developments. And he, in turn, is agitating the flagship of the Swedish mechanical engineering to switch to producing hot rods on a serial scale.

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The Hot Rod Jakob concept was built in 2005 to celebrate the brand's 80th anniversary. The car is painted in a dark blue color similar to the one used on the original Jacob models. The hot rod's interior matches the exterior exactly. The interior features a 1962 P1800 steering wheel, brake pedal and main brake cylinder from 140 Series.

This example is not the only hot rod with the Volvo logo on the hood, but it is certainly the most iconic. Lief Tafvesson named it Hot Rod Jakob in honor of the very first car of the Swedish brand, which, by the way, was also created on Jakob Day (July 25)! The five-seater Volvo OV4 was equipped with a 28-horsepower engine and sold 293 copies in the first year. Behind the scenes, mechanics called this car with a removable top... Jacob.

The new Jakob is powered by a turbocharged 5-cylinder engine producing 265 hp. With. (borrowed from Volvo T5). It is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission M90, which was used on the 960 sedan. The chassis is the same as on racing cars, made of carbon fiber, steel frame, aluminum body, and dependent suspensions. Braking system with huge discs with a diameter of 450 mm at the front and 515 mm at the rear and 4-piston calipers all around. Mechanisms hidden in grandiose rims AEZ Forge (19" front and 22" rear). The wheels are shod with special Pirelli tires with a signature Volvo sign. Perhaps there has never been a more original exhibit in the Volvo factory museum in Gothenburg!

Peculiarities:

The spar frame and spring suspension are far from the only technological solutions adopted by the Scandinavians from overseas. Thanks to the efforts of Lief Tufvesson, the small-scale production of Volvo hot rods is just around the corner. He has already created more than a dozen powerful concepts in this style, and the public idolizes them. If the industrialists from Gothenburg do not surrender, those descendants of the Vikings who fell in love with hot rodding will take their factories by storm. Sooner or later.

Epilogue

The popularity of hot rodding waned with. Compared to these sleek beauties, the modified Fords seemed like hulks. In the mid-60s, hot rods went underground, which was not the first time they had done so. However, complete oblivion did not happen: now many retro fans are ready to overpay for new cars in top trim levels, just to have an iconic and unique device in your collection. Which, in general, is gratifying and increases my faith in a bright, non-standardized automotive future.

Steps

Classics of the genre

Red Baron

Greetings from Roswell

Vagabond/Marauder

Hot Nord

Epilogue

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