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Gerry's Garage Talk: A Tale of Two Cars
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Posted by nwv_admin Sun Jan 16, 2005 20:58:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Hello again, street rodders. This week I'd like to share the stories of the longtime owners of two cars who have lovingly restored their vehicles over the years.

The first car is a 1949 Lincoln two-door sedan owned by Don and Marsha McKinney. They have owned the sedan for 35 years and just completed a three-year reconstruction of the car. The car was stripped down to the bare frame and the body was de-chromed with more a hundred holes filled for the "smoothie" look. The door handles, hood ornaments and trunk ornaments also were removed. One thing Don didn't do was chop the top; he wanted to keep the stock look.

The restoration started with the frame being rebuilt using the latest in air ride suspension, both front and rear. The original steering was replaced with power steering, and the brakes were converted to power disk brakes. The original front end was replaced with new heavy duty Mustang II suspension parts for the smooth ride. The rear-end was replaced with an eight-inch Mopar rear-end with ladder bars.

The car has all of the modern conveniences such as air conditioning, heating, a modern Chevy 350 cubic inch engine and automatic transmission, Auto Meter gauges in a custom dash panel and even visor mirrors. The car sits on 17" billet wheels with 8" wide tires to give it the low and lead look.

The second car is a 1940 Ford Deluxe Sedan Delivery owned by Bob Halbrook. Bob has owned this car for 25 years. The Sedan Delivery has shaved doors and hood, with hidden door hinges. The running boards have been specially fabricated for the Sedan Delivery and there are power windows on the driver and passenger sides. The electric rear window glass is a unique feature on the Delivery, as is a rear back-up camera attached to the fold down license plate.

Underneath the car, the suspension has all been powder coated with Mustang II front end with coil- overs/ Wilwood four-wheel power disk brakes supply the stopping power. Power comes from a Chevy 350, 400 HP engine with tunnel-ram intake manifold with 24-barrel Edelbrock 500 cfm carburetors and all brackets are billet aluminum. All this power is transferred thru a Chevy 700-r4 overdrive transmission to the Ford 9" posi-traction rear-end.

Exhaust mufflers are Flowmasters that give the car that low rumble sound. A Walker Cobra Radiator helps to cool the engine and air conditioning. The gas tank is made from stainless steel, and it is under a specially-made rear floor pan grafted to the rear of the sedan delivery from a GMC Yukon with removable rear seats and storage deck with stainless steel strips.

The interior has red leather seats, vintage air conditioning and Ford Motor Sport gauges with gold accents. The steering column with windshield wipers and billet controls is from Ididit, and the steering wheel is from LeCarra. Stereo sound comes from an Alpine stereo unit and DVD player.

Boyd Coddingham wheels and 17"x7" wide tires on the front and 17"x8" Goodyear eagles on the rear round out the exterior for that nice ride. Tail lights are flush mounted with third brake light. The exterior paint is a flawless black.

Dennis Harris of Hot Rod Garage has done work on both of these cars.

I also wanted to mention the Pontiacs of Bakersfield Car Club, which meets every Thursday night at Chuy's on Rosedale Highway from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. They have about 50 members and about 30 cars. The club also includes classic Oldsmobiles, Pontiac GTOs, Firebirds and Trans Ams of all years, including the 1960s and 1970s. Their cars have a designated parking area at Chuy's so everyone can stroll by and enjoy the show.

The club is a family-oriented and open to all cars, and the group welcomes everyone to stop by and join in a fun evening with them at Chuy's. For further information call Chuck or Kellie Thompson at 589-1335.

Until next time, Gerry.

E-mail Gerry at gwbyro@yahoo.com.

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