February 2011 Hometown Hot Rodding

'53 Lincoln Capri
Uncle's Gift
It all started when Larry Warpula's father purchased a '58 Ford Fairlane back in the early '60s. Growing up around his family's Ford cars in the '50s really made an impression with Larry, and proved to remain his favorite for decades to come. The '53 Lincoln Capri you see here was purchased by Larry's uncle from a little old lady in Minneapolis. He drove it until he finally agreed to sell it to Larry in 1981 for $50. Obviously uninterested in making a profit on the car, his uncle just wanted to make sure the '53 would go to someone near and dear.

Larry drove it for a couple years, and then it went into hibernation until 2009. By then it was badly rusted. The floors, fenders, and quarter-panels all needed work. His cousins made a habit of playing on the roof back when it was still his uncle's, so even that needed work. Reproduction panels aren't popped out every week like those of a first-gen Camaro, and originals are a rare find, so Larry had to fabricate all the missing pieces himself. Along with the body rebuilding, he completely rewired the car and installed custom carpet from a bulk roll.

The idea was to build a cruiser that looked good and was powerful enough to run 13-flat at the dragstrip. It took Larry a month of night-and-day thrashing to wake the '53 Capri up from its 20-year nap. Since its last day as a nonop, he hasn't had a single problem, and even broke out with an e.t. almost half a second faster than he was hoping for!

'70 Chevelle
High Failure Rate
"When I was old enough to work on real vehicles and put the models aside, it was all about how things looked. I would paint the car first and worry about mechanical issues after I thumbed a ride home," Chevelle owner Scott Kehir says. Obviously something has changed in the years since, as he has done just about everything you can do to a '70 Chevelle, minus anything cosmetic. "It took a long time to learn that you get more satisfaction from something that has a strong foundation than something that only looks good on the outside," Scott says, but admits he would like to get around to putting some paint on this car someday.

In 1987 this Chevelle cost $500, purchased from a young couple who had used it to travel across the country to Boston after their wedding. With a tired 307 coughing out large amounts of oil past its stained and faded white paint body, it was a perfect start for Scott's project. The car had acquired absolutely no rust, a huge plus for Scott. A small speed bump in getting the car home cost him $350 to an impound lot after the local cops busted Scott for tugging it home with a towstrap. A whole magazine could be written about the trials this car put him through over his journey across the country back to Southern California.

The last years building the car have been a learning experience for Scott; he got his feet wet in everything from fabrication to brake systems, and he is now well practiced in the art of spray painting.

'64 Nova
Changes
Being a young hot rodder at just 26, Joe Seeno doesn't have the usual stories of buying a first car for less than what a carburetor costs today, or that he regrets selling this or that. At 10 years old, Joe got the idea in his head that he needed to have a '66 Nova. As soon as he could, he scouted the Northern California Goodguys show in Pleasanton for one he could call his own. Daunted by the staggering price tags on decent cars, and the terrible condition of the ones in his price range, he broadened his year search to any pre-'68 Chevy II. He spotted this '64 with no motor or transmission, but a straight body and a price he could afford. The seller kindly trailered the car to Joe's house and the transformation began.

He started with a 283 and T10 four-speed to get it going under its own power. The next project was to strip the body of all decorations and fill in the leftover holes for the smooth look he sought. During this process Joe came across a 350 that took the place of the 283. The first paintjob was a two-tone blue and silver adorned by flames to break up the contrast. After five years, the four-speed was traded for a more freeway-friendly five-speed, and the two-tone was stripped and repainted in the single-tone blue you see here. Since then, the 350 made way for a more sophisticated 400. Lucky for Seeno he's a do-it-yourself kind of guy, so all of these changes didn't cost him bank.

Mothers Picture Perfect Award
This is the place to show off your pride and joy to the rest of mankind, so we figure those readers who took the time to capture a really cool shot of their hot rod should get a little bonus. Mothers agreed, and decided to come to the party with some freebies for the best picture submitted to PHR.