PAT GANAHL: OLD SCHOOL HOT RODS

A scavenger hunt – PAT GANAHL: OLD SCHOOL HOT RODS – uncovers photos and magazines showcasing hot rodding’s golden years, including a 1961 issue CUSTOM RODDER edited by CGC Editor, Marty Schorr!

PAT GANAHL: OLD SCHOOL HOT RODSWhat does Sailor Bob’s ’27 T have to do with this? Serendipity. I showed one of these non-color-shifted Ektachromes from ’58 recently, asking where did this one go, and why has no one built another like it? Well, I was paging through my May ’56 copy of Car Craft because it was supposed to have something on Dietrich’s Chevy. Nothing on that, but look at this:

Yep, exact same car. Only difference being Ford caps instead of “baldies.” Plus, while the HRM story inaccurately credits Bob with building the sprint-type headers, it does state, “much of his investment lies in the lavishly chromed chassis and engine components.” But here we discover that it was a San Diego truck driver named Carl Burnett who actually built the car in his home garage, using “a ’27 T body, ’32 frame, and ’48 V-8 engine.” I had wondered what was different about the turtle deck, and it states, “a Henry J deck lid [was] welded to the trunk.”

PAT GANAHL: OLD SCHOOL HOT RODSWhat I didn’t notice until I saw this high front angle is how obviously he widened and lengthened the cowl to fit the body over the ’32 frame. Both the deep blue paint and bodywork look flawless. One caption here notes that T’s only had one right-hand opening door, and it was welded shut because of the pipes and for seamless upholstery. So my question remains: why does it have chrome door hinges on both sides? Plus I further note the car has no license plates, here, or in 1958.

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