Harwood

We'll blend the best of the old and new in our hot new project. Hang with us

today on horsepower TV.

We'll kick off a retro street ride project first at the body and chassis shop, then in our shop as we start a build up on a cool three window, 32 coup from suspension and brakes to dumbing up the engine and tram.

We'll also take you to one of the nation's premier rod runs. Shades of the past the Smoky Mountains, featuring thousands of the finest 49 and older street rods.

So hang on for horsepower TV.

Hi, welcome to horsepower TV. Well,

there's no doubt about it. Hot rides are hotter than ever

whether you're blown away by something like this. Cool 47 Blue Chevy

or the more traditional street ride like this 34 Ford Roadster. Now, one of the hottest trends we've noticed lately is the interest in nostalgia cars.

That's right wide white walls on the outside

road and plead upholstery on the inside.

And of course, retro gauges are definitely back in vogue.

Well, today

we're gonna kick off a nostalgia street rod build up of our own and we said, Chuck to the right place to get us started. Harwood Street Rods in Tyler, Texas.

That's right, Joe. Now, this 32 Roadster might look familiar to many of you. In fact, it's very similar to the one that we built on the show a couple of seasons ago,

but

as much fun as it was to go topless. Well, this year we're gonna keep a lid on it and build a quintessential coup.

The 32 3 window,

of course, our coop needs a solid foundation. So we're gonna use a Harwood chassis a lot like this one as the basis for our build up. Now, we like it because it draws heavily from race car technology like this tubular K member construction.

And if you look down here, well, there's

plenty of room for the exhaust to pass through. So we'll be able to get that low stance. We're after and back here. Hey, Chuck Chuck, I just flew in from home and man, are my arms tied. Oh, man. Would somebody take my co-host, please? Better yet. Let me take you next door where our body is being built.

Harwood started manufacturing its 32 Roadster replicas in the early nineties

and they quickly became a hit with street riders who wanted the look of an original open high board.

All the body components begin with carefully crafted molds sprayed with gel coat.

Then after layer upon layer of fiberglass material and epoxy.

The pieces are put together

cured

and released from the molds.

Of course, it takes many skilled hands to ensure that every door

and every truck are smooth and fit perfectly.

Gary Harwood says adding the closed 32 was a natural new step for the company. We've had so many people ask for a closed car and a three window coupe is the most popular closed car in the street line industry, especially at 32.

We offer par windows, heat, air defrost ducts, closed car, all weather car, a great cruiser.

Ok. Now that we got our three window body, what do you say? We check up on Chuck, who's on a little shopping spree?

Well, I'm just trying to put together a pile of parts that'll be appropriate for our retro rod. Well, like this I beam axle. Now this is just like they used in the early days of hot rodding.

Yeah, it sure is.

Hey, how about these cool headers now? Bill

a national

ST

and

since they didn't use four links until recently,

we better stick with these hairpins. Well, they'll work great with his eye beam.

You know, shopping in the show room really makes it easy to find just about anything that you need to bolt together your street rod

like this stainless steel reproduction gas tank. Now, since our 32 isn't gonna be using a roll pan. Well, this thing's gonna fit perfectly between the rear frame rails and of course, while we're shopping for things out back.

I kinda like this eight inch rear end.

Now we're gonna fill this one with some 350 years.

There are a lot of ways to light up the road, but we're gonna use these original 32 style lamps to stay loyal to our look. Now,

check out this grill shell insert. This thing still has the crank hole in it.

Well, how about I crank up the truck so we can load up this pile of parts and head for home. Good deal. We'll meet you back at the shop to start to work on our rolling chassis right after this.

And later in the show, a visit to Street Broad Utopia in the Smoky Mountains. You'll have a blast at shades of the past

for the latest news on horsepower TV. Check us out online at Horsepower tv.com.

All right. Welcome back to the shop and we're back from hardwoods where we've got just about everything that we need to put together our 32. Now we're gonna start this build up with the chassis

and while we're doing that, the painter is gonna get going on our body and we'll visit with him later on right now though. What do you say? We jump on that front suspension.

Yeah. And it's easier to install that front end when everything's preassembled like this. Now, since we're going with that nostalgia theme, we're also gonna use the stock type I beam axle rather than a tube or independent front end

up here. We have a transverse leaf spring and we're holding everything together with these hairpin radius rods. Hey, Chuck, give me a hand, getting this thing to the chassis. All right, here we go.

Ok.

Let's drop her down to give a little more clearance here. Ok. Straight back

here

we go

out of the money.

There we

go.

The first step is to attach the radius rods to the frame using these big through bolts.

Then we jack the axle and spring into place.

There we go

and attach it to the perch with this retaining plate

and we can tighten up the four knots.

Choosing the front brakes for our retro rod proved to be a bit of a dilemma.

After all, we want the stopping power of disc brakes, but hey, we want to keep that nostalgia look alive too.

So to get the best of both worlds, we ordered this beautiful set of binders from SOCAL speed shop. Now they use will wood disc brake components housed inside of this beautiful polished aluminum drum that looks just like it came off of a mid fifties buick.

Well, I'll get it started by first sliding on this backing plate over the spindle.

Just let it rest there for a minute.

Then comes the caliper mounting plate.

It installs the special tapered screws

and lock nuts.

Next we install the hub and rotor assembly.

Ours came with the bearings in place

and already packed with grease.

Then we install the caliper and brake pads,

they attached with just two bolts.

Now we slide the backing plate back over the spindle,

it attaches with four screws

and finally everything gets enclosed with the aluminum drum

man. That is one cool look and check this out.

They went so far as to duplicate the cooling scoop from the Buick brake as well

because of its compact size. The Vega steering box works well in a 32

but rather than try and scavenge one out of the bone yards, we went ahead and pop for this new reproduction.

Now, our frame has already got the mount for the steering box and what it attaches with these three bolts

with that box bolted up. We're ready for the steering rod. Now it connects

the steering knuckle here on the passenger side

to the Pittman arm.

It's pretty much old tech, but

hey, it works. And after all, we are building a nostalgia rod

as usual. My partner has me bringing up the rear and in this case, it's a curry eight inch forward, rear end. Now, before we start building it up though, I got a trick that I wanna show you what they've done back here is welded up the rear of the housing and gotten rid of all the pimples and dimples. Now, that smooth look

is gonna look great

once we get paint on it. Now, later on, we're gonna drop in this third member. And as you can see, it's already got this 350 ring and pin in it

before we drop it in though.

We're gonna go ahead and add a little bit of silicone

right here to the gasket surface to prevent any leaks.

Now, we can slide the third member into place and to the nuts down to 45 ft pounds.

Next, we can install the backing plates with brake assemblies,

then we can slip the axle in the housing.

Once the axle retainer knots are tight,

we can go ahead and install the drum.

Hey, this bad boy will be ready to bolt into the chassis

that ought to do it. Yeah.

Well, now is a good time to bolt up our ladder bars and I think this one goes on your side. Chuck, thanks.

These are pretty traditional in keeping with our theme, but here's an update that makes a lot of sense. Harwood installs these urethane bushings and well, that tightens up the handling and eliminates suspension slop that you get with rubber.

Well, next we install this track bar and of course, it keeps the rear end centered up on the chassis.

The final phase of our rear suspension assembly is installation of these aluminum coil overs. Now, these things are adjustable here for ride height

and this knob on the other end controls, rebound and compression for the desired dampening of the shocks. Now it should come as no shock to you that we've got to take a little bit of a break right now, but we'll be right back with more of our street rod build up right after this.

I like him top section and I'll put on the ground

and he's not alone. We'll join up with a horde of hot riders and their slick street rides at shades of the past a little bit later.

Hi, welcome back to the shop and our street rod build up. Well, while you were gone, we decided to turn our chassis into a real roller by mounting up our wheels and tires. Now, what we got here is a set of BF Goodridge extra wide white walls that we got from Coker tire and we mounted them on some hauler brand smoothies. Now, once we get them all on,

we'll cap them off with these nostalgic knockoffs.

Well, now we can go ahead and install this replica engine and trans.

Of course, once we get it in place,

we can get the drive shaft measured and get it on order. Plus once we start bending those fuel and brake lines, we'll be able to check everything for the necessary clearance

to get an accurate drive shaft length. Most shops want you to measure from the back of the tail housing

to the center line of the yak Tron.

We've got 37 inches.

What I've been doing is adding a couple of tabs here to the frame. They're gonna let us hang the exhaust, a trans

cooler and even some handbrake hardware. Now, what I've been using is just some flat steel stock that's been drilled in one end for the attaching hardware.

We'll attack the brake pedal and master cylinder. Next,

the brake pedal assembly mounts to the frame at this pivot point

just slides through here

and it's held in place with this locking sleeve.

The master cylinder here attaches to this special flange

with a pair of three eights bolts,

plumbing. A brake system isn't that difficult?

In fact, we're gonna use these steel tubes that we got at the parts store. Now, when you start bending and routing them, make sure that you keep them away from any heat and moving parts.

For those of you who've never bent any fuel or brake lines before. Here are a few tips to help make the job easier. First, you position the line where it needs to be, then you make a mark

right where you want your first bend,

then to make the bends, make sure that you use the right tools like this tubing bender. Now, you don't want to bend this tubing by hand

otherwise could kink or collapse the tubing

once your tubing is bent,

cut it to the right length with a cutter,

use a flaring tool to make a double flare. Now, to do that position the tubing

in the clamp,

adjust the height of the tubing using the adapter as your guide,

then insert the adapter in the end of the tubing.

Next. Put the flaring yoke in the position

and tighten the pointed end

until it centers itself on the adapter.

Then tighten the yoke until the adapter bottoms out.

Then you can back off the yolk and remove the adapter.

Then put the pointed end of the yolk back into the partially formed flare,

then just tighten the yoke

to finish the flare.

Now that

will never leak.

Well, thanks for feeding us that line about two bending. Chuck. Not bad. Huh? While we finish plumbing the brakes, you stay put. When we come back, we'll meet you in the Smoky Mountains at a place where street is neat and cool rides. Rule

what's hot from the aftermarket? We've got you covered

and we'll steer you toward hot parts later on horsepower

for more horsepower. Join us online at Horsepower tv.com.

All right. Welcome back to Horsepower TV. And to a Smoky Mountain motorhead tradition called the Shades of the Past Broad Run a

place where you'll find some of the country's coolest. 49 and older street rides. That's right now. There's over 50 acres of shiny sheet metal here and I'll tell you what, there's a lot of great ideas and if we're gonna see them all, we're gonna have to split up, I'll bump into you later on.

Now, this is what I call a real hot rod. In fact, here's how they used to build them back in the old days. Check out the wide whites and the megaphone exhaust. Hey, he's even got an old Chrysler Hemmy there. He's topped it off with a whole six pack of Strombergs on an Edelbrock intake.

I like them chop sex and I'll put on the ground.

Hey, no doubt. After Bob Whittle got through whittling on his rod, the most frequently asked question was, what is it?

You really can't tell what kind of car it is other than the grill, you know, if you can look at

it, you can tell it's maybe a 40 Chevy.

Sure. I knew that.

But I also know that some riders like radical power as much as they like radical looks. Yep. This is a 41

whers what a blown big block.

That power

man. Can you believe it? Little termite delight here at the Shades of the past show. Now,

this is a 34 and well, from the looks of things,

hey, I believe he might have drove this thing all the way in from California

now, among 3000 unique and cool cars. Can you imagine picking the top 25? Well, fortunately for us, that's the job of the judges. But what's it gonna take to make the cut? Well, we look for cars. It's got the right look. That's something it's hard to describe, but it's cars got the right stance, the wheels and tires, set up the paint job,

the interior, a real good quality interior.

And uh

it's something that everybody's got to tries to be a little bit different with.

And we started with a 37 512

and we put longer sedan doors on the car.

We used a few pieces off of the Lincoln Zephyr

roof to get the roof line that we want on the car

to achieve the three window look with it that we want.

Wow. What about the interior?

We fabricated the dash for the car garnish moldings. Uh The Art Deco grill in the center of the dash. It hinges down to

re build the stereo and air conditioned control

man. There's a whole slew of 30 twos like the one we're working on back in the shop. And if you think this aluminum rear end is cool. Well, just check out these tail lights from a Cadillac

Ka. Hm. I wonder if I can put that idea to use on something else we're working on.

Of course, shades of the past is also a great place to find your future project like this 32 Pontiac.

Now, if you started right away, you could be ready for next year's event.

I think I'd start with a new roof.

Hey,

how you doing?

Hey, what is this thing? It's a 1934 buick buick,

man. I love that long look. Big old fat boy like me. Get right in there and ride. What do you got under the hood. That's a 425 buick nail head. No kidding.

Lots of torque, tons of torque. Listen, the guys and I are gonna need some limousine service later on. Are you available? I sure am. I'll tell you what

you load them up and we'll haul them out.

Let's go.

Had so many beautiful cars and so little time you never know what you'll bump into next.

Hey,

where you been here? I've got us a limo ride set up for supper tonight. We better eat fast. We gotta get back to the shop with hot parts and

we'll see you there after this. Yeah, it, first

I got something else. I wanna show you right over here

and now hot parts brought to you by car parts.com, everything for your car, truck van or SUV,

as they say, one good turn deserves another. And we'd like to turn you on to

LA Carr's new Mark four L, the wrapped wheel. The popular three spoke model is available in several slot styles 12 to 15 inches diameter and you can even order your own custom horn button with choice of logo,

man.

Now, we wouldn't steer you wrong for 100 60 bucks. You can take a turn for the better.

Well, what do you say? We take a turn down a different road with Holly's new multi point projection system for big and small block Chevys. Now they use a single plane intake and down here we've got an isolated plenum for a dense fuel charge

up top. You'll find billet aluminum fuel rails and throttle body. And of course, they also use high flow injectors.

Now, the digital computer is fully laptop programmable and it comes with a wiring harness and all the hardware that you need to install the system.

So, hey, you can quit fueling around. Now, you can pick one of these up for about 2500 bucks.

So we got you small black Ford guys cover today too. That is with tricks,

new powder coated cast aluminum valve covers. Now, they're available in both short and tall styles for stud girdles and roller rocker systems and they even have the cast in knockouts for your.

Now, you can get them in silver like this, uh black or blue and the only green you'll have to come up with is $90 for the short pair,

100 for the tall. Well, for a short look at next week's show, you don't have to go anywhere at all. In fact, here's a quick look.

Blue Thunder's back and we'll put it through a suspension and break upgrade,

including everything from motors and sway bar to springs and a new steering box.

Plus we'll pump up the power in our project Firebird by installing a one shot ni

setup that ought to be good for 100 and 30 extra horsepower. All right. I think we're ready

in a couple of weeks.

We'll build a small block Chevy motor for our Retro Street Rod, adding a three Deuce carb set up and a turbo 350 tranny

plus spins are in on the oil pan and the valve covers.

We'll head to the shores of Mississippi for an annual cruise in the coast celebration

and show you how to upgrade your old classic machine with a new custom steering wheel.

And remember, high performance fun is what this show is all about.

Ready to take Big Blue for a spin. I'm ready if you are. All right.

Oh, yeah,

man. This is a great car. I love the pipes on it

for information about the products used in today's show and more. Check us out online at Horsepower tv.com

Horsepower TV is an RTM production.