Mad Mod GalaxieWe've been pleased to bring you some of Brian Stupski's artwork in our "Stylines" column over the past couple years. You may recall in the January 2006 issue, Brian sketched several versions of a '63 1/2 Ford Galaxie. As always, we thought the images were cool, and apparently Jeff and Jason Allen agreed, because they commissioned Brian to visualize a '63 Galaxie that will be the next project at their shop, J2 Speed & Custom in Omaha, Nebraska.

Small & MightyTuff Stuff Performance Accessories is making engine swaps easier with mini gear-reduction starters for Ford, Olds, and Pontiac engines. Not only are these starters up to 1/3 smaller and 40-percent lighter than stock units, but they allow multi-indexing, meaning the starter can be positioned on its base and rotated to whatever position works best for you. This makes them problem solvers for tight clearance applications. Available in up to 2.6 hp, the starters were developed for high-compression race engines and will spin anything from a 260ci small-block to a 455-incher with ease. They're unaffected by heat, can be ordered in a chrome or black finish, and are made in the USA. For more information, call Tuff Stuff at (800) 331-6562, or visit www.tuffstuffperformance.com.

Small & Mighty
Tuff Stuff Performance Accessories is making engine swaps easier with mini gear-reduction starters for Ford, Olds, and Pontiac engines. Not only are these starters up to 1/3 smaller and 40-percent lighter than stock units, but they allow multi-indexing, meaning the starter can be positioned on its base and rotated to whatever position works best for you. This makes them problem solvers for tight clearance applications. Available in up to 2.6 hp, the starters were developed for high-compression race engines and will spin anything from a 260ci small-block to a 455-incher with ease. They're unaffected by heat, can be ordered in a chrome or black finish, and are made in the USA. For more information, call Tuff Stuff at (800) 331-6562, or visit www.tuffstuffperformance.com.

Gear Vendors, Inc., manufacturers of the popular UNDER/OVERDRIVE brand of auxiliary transmissions has announced the availability of their new T-10 Manual Transmission kits. Chosen at SEMA as one of the best new Street -Performance products (runner-up), the kits make it possible to adapt a Gear Vendors unit for use on the ever popular T-10 trans. The Gear Vendors UNDER/OVERDRIVE is a 2-speed planetary gearbox that bolts to the vehicle's existing transmission allowing the driver a direct drive (1:1) or overdrive (1:1.286) option in any gear, at any moment. With manual transmission applications such as the T-10, not only does the Gear Vendors add a fifth gear of overdrive to your classic muscle car transmission, its gear splitting capabilities enables you to make full throttle, clutchless shifts into overdrive. Kits are also available for Muncie M20/21/22, Ford Top Loader, and Mopar 833 four speed manual transmissions. If you are tired of being beaten by automatics, this is the solution. You can now have the thrill of driving your muscle car with its authentic, original manual transmission and the added ease and quickness of clutchless shifting as well as increased fuel economy and a more pleasurable highway cruising experience. A race proven winner in CORR, the Paris-Drakar Rally, Baja 1000, Bonneville, and NHRA, all Gear Vendors come with an unconditional 30 day money back guarantee and limited two year warranty for any non-commercial application regardless of horsepower, application, or race usage.

Hot Off The PressesWe keep hearing that print publishing is going the way of the dinosaur, yet we continue to find paper-based materials in our mailbox. Many of the recent arrivals may be of interest to Custom Rodder readers, particularly as the holiday season approaches.

Phil Hall is a fine-art photographer from the San Francisco Bay Area who recently began turning his attention toward cars--and caught our attention in the process.

Effective this year, the National Street Rod Association is changing the vehicle manufacture eligibility requirements for the Northeast Street Rod Nationals, the Golden State Street Rod Nationals and the Southeast Street Rod Nationals. These three events will join the Milwaukee Nationals and the Richmond Nationals in accepting vehicles thirty years old and older for participation. Reflecting the eligibility change will be a name change for each event. They will now be known as the Northeast Nationals, the Golden State Nationals and the Southeast Nationals respectively. Many of the street machine, muscle car and custom enthusiasts have expressed an ongoing interest in being a part of the type events that the National Street Rod Association produces. The NSRA has developed a reputation for producing the highest quality events during it's 38 years and our desire is to continue to develop our enthusiast base. Our motto will remain "Fun With Cars" as we move into 2007 and welcome the addition of the later model vehicles at these three events.

The final Twilight Cruise Night of 2006 -- Wed., Dec. 6 -- is shaping up to be the premier event of the season at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. Auto lovers will unite to view a special car unveiling, see hundreds of classic hot rods, mingle with friends and share some holiday spirit by donating toys to a worthy cause. The event is free and runs from 4 - 8 p.m. at the Fairplex in Pomona.

Shop SeenOn a recent trip to Indianapolis we stopped by to see upholstery whiz Dave Martinez and metal master Gary Brown over at Brown's Metal Mods. As always, there were interesting projects going on in both shops, but we particularly liked a couple in-progress customs at Brown's place.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world's largest charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research, announced an exciting new fundraising initiative with Ford Motor Company and Hot Rods & Horsepower, LLC, manufacturer of the Dearborn Deuce. For 2007, Hot Rods & Horsepower is producing, under license from Ford Motor Company, a limited edition 75th Anniversary 1932 Roadster -- which is known today as the "Deuce." There will be 100 75th Anniversary Deuces produced, with the entire proceeds from the sale of the first issued vehicle benefiting JDRF.

The 58th annual Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) is proud to honor Pinkee's Rod Shop owner and founder, Mr. Eric Peratt as "Builder of the Year" for 2007. Peratt will be presented with this exclusive award at the show this year, which will be held January 26-28, 2007 at the famous Fairplex in Pomona, California.

Fueled by growing legions of fans and cars, the 2007 Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont Automotive Finishes, is moving from Bowling Green, Ky. to a new, larger home in Columbus, Ohio. After a 4-year-run in Kentucky, the Reunion, June 15-17, 2007, moves from one historic drag racing track Beech Bend Park to another National Trail Raceway.

Get A Handle On ItClayton Machine Works has teamed up with upholstery master Paul Atkins to create the Paul Atkins Signature Series line of interior accessories. Products include pedals, dome lights, and these stylish interior door handles. Chrome plating eliminates tedious aluminum polishing, while adhesive-backed bezel inserts provide several styling options and conceal the mounting screws. Sold in pairs, the handles are available in three styles-ball-end, open ellipse, and ribbed-with three bezel insert options (carbon fiber-look, brushed aluminum, and black). For more information, contact Clayton Machine Works, 3414-C Governors Dr., Dept. CRM, Huntsville, AL 35805; (256) 489-2450; www.claytonmachine.com.

NHRA Salutes CustomsTaildragging customs may not come immediately to mind when you think of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California, but even racers have a soft spot for well-done boulevard cruisers. With that in mind, the museum's newly appointed executive director, Tony Thacker, recently announced the California Custom Cars exhibit, which will run from June 3 through October 9.

Automotive.com, an online division of Primedia's Automotive Enthusiast sites, has the following positions open and invites qualified applicants to submit their resume indicating their interest in the following position:

Twenty years ago Ken and Jane Callison decided to make steering columns for more than just their local car club friends. Joined by son Scott and daughter Kimberly in their two-car garage, they started making the first of many aluminum steering columns. Now, with 35 employees, 32,000 square feet and state of the art equipment, ididit has produced over 170,000 steering columns of many styles and finishes for the best vehicles on the road. Actually, not just on the road, but on the golf course, at the airport, and even in the military! You would be surprised where you might find an ididit steering column!

Continuing with its popular Saturday morning events, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, will host a panel of legendary custom car builders on Aug. 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Stanford Art Coming To LifeBy the time you read this, a piece of artwork that Steve Stanford penned in Custom Rodder a decade ago will have finally come to life in steel under the guidance of Pennsylvania's Penfound Design. Slated to debut at the 2006 Detroit Autorama, this '63 Impala SportsRoof is bound to generate many double-takes.

Have A BallNow you can show off your personal style by topping a Lokar automatic transmission shifter with almost any aftermarket shifter knob. The company's new Shifter Knob Adapter allows the use of virtually any 3/8-16-threaded shifter knob on top of a Lokar shifter, while still maintaining safety features like positive lockout in Park and Neutral. It's designed with hidden jam nuts for a flush fit against the shifter knob, and has a chrome finish (black is also available) to blend in with the shift lever. For details, contact Lokar Performance Products, 10924 Murdock Dr., Dept. CRM, Knoxville, TN 37932; (865) 966-2269; www.lokar.com.

The red, raked and bad-to-the-bone '33 Ford three-window coupe of Lemont, Illinois' Greg Gilbertson was crowned Goodguys 2006 Hot Rod of the Year presented by DuPont Hot Hues. The award was presented Saturday night, June 10th at the Goodguys 18th Hot Rod Nationals in Indianapolis. For this year's Hot Rod of the Year competition, Goodguys devised a special criteria for contestants which involved driving their cars around the city of Indy, up Highway 31 sixty miles to Kokomo, then back to IRP for a mandatory 1/8th mile pass down the quarter mile.

Billy F Gibbons has great timing. The legendary ZZ Top guitarist and noted hot rodder chose the Wed., June 7th Twilight Cruise Night to do a signing for his new book, "Rock + Roll Gearhead." Not only will there be hundreds of cool rods on display in the Fairplex parking lots at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum along with a few thousand fans, it's also Ladies' Night. Good thinkin',Billy!

Master The MetalThe 14th season of Ron Covell's metalworking workshops is already underway, and may be coming to your corner of the country sometime soon. Consult the following schedule for dates, locations, and topics, and contact Covell Creative Metalworking (www.covell.biz, or (800) 747-4631) for details and more information.

New For OldsMarch Performance recently introduced its latest in a long line of serpentine belt conversion kits, this one for Oldsmobile 455ci big-block engines. Designed to replace standard V-belt pulleys and brackets, the March system includes CNC-machined billet aluminum brackets and pulleys, all of which are clear powdercoated for a "no-polish" finish. Kits also include stainless steel adjustment rods and standard-ratio pulleys to preserve proper cooling and charging characteristics. The kit is shown here with March's Futura air cleaner. For more information, contact March Performance, 6020 Hix Rd., Dept. CRM, Westland, MI 48185; (734) 729-9070; www.marchperf.com.

Flowmaster is always perfecting its products. Sometimes it's done on the dyno, at the track or on the road. To this end, Flowmaster's GTO was used over the past two seasons as a "Test Mule" for their new GTO product development. It was a highlight of the 2005 Hot Rod Power Tour and recently featured in the pages of Hot Rod Magazine with Kevin McClelland's build up story. Now, it can be yours for the holidays!* One lucky winner announced between November 20th - November 25th; all you need to do is enter the sweepstakes for chance to win! Just think, it could be sitting in your garage at Christmas! The Flow's® GTO features Flowmaster's® new 2004 Pontiac GTO system, complete with dual 2.5-inch mandrel bent tubing, a Scavenger Cross-Over™ assembly, OEM style flanges and our new Super 40&trade mufflers. The tailpipes exit in the stock location and are finished off with a pair of 3.00-inch, Flowmaster embossed, stainless steel exhaust tips. The stock, factory LS1 is back under the hood with a six-speed manual transmission, Centerforce Clutch and Genuine GM Performance Parts. Other aftermarket highlights include Budnik "Four-Thirty" Style Billet wheels for style, Nitto Tires for ultimate traction, Baer Brakes to slow you down even better, Hotchkis Suspension to hug the ground, a B&M Shifter, K&N Induction System, and custom body graphics.

We like going to car shows as much as the other guy, but looking at a bunch of cars parked around a fairground, no matter how nice they are, gets pretty old. So when we were informed that Rod & Custom was once again hosting the Americruise (July 28-30) at the State Fair Park in Lincoln, Nebraska, we got together and argued the case that we needed to do something a little more exciting. To our amazement, the suits listened. So, we'll be having a few driving events within the event that'll not only test the driver, but will also challenge his or her ride as well.