When he is not busy rodding, Charlie helps with an unlimited late-model race car that’s sponsored by his friend (and engine builder) Rick Frankel and driven by Ricky Frankel (Rick’s son). Rick builds engines at Extreme Racing Engines for all types of high horsepower and durability needs. Ricky builds most of the bodywork for UMP late-models in the area, and Rick’s other son, Jason also runs a UMP 604 late-model. If you spend any time with Charlie, you’ll know how the Frankels are doing that weekend and all year.
Charlie bought his ’30 Ford in 1976 intending to build it right away, but things never worked out and he didn’t start the rod until well into this millennium. He built the rod using a Williams Street Rods chassis with a Heidt’s IFS and an Extreme 350/700R4 powertrain hooked to a coil- over bounced Ford 9-inch rear. The 2 1/2-inch chopped top hides a beautiful Nash-crafted interior in cream leather around custom seats, one reason the rod has already logged 10,000 miles.
One thing you’ll hear from all longtime NSRA volunteers and employees is something Charlie told me. He said that one of his greatest gifts has been the friendship he and Janie developed with the Walker family. Since Vernon Walker’s passing, he works
alongside his children Teresa and Vernon Jr. and it’s like he’s part of the family. That’s how everyone describes it, it’s like being welcomed into a family.
wheelchair to get around. Watching Charlie and Janie is about the sweetest thing this grumpy old guy has seen an even grumpier old guy do. Bless you Charlie. Even with all the travel and responsibilities of the National Field Director position, Charlie finally finished the Model A and built this ’47 Chevy pickup that has become a fixture at all NSRA events. Built to promote his business of making pickup beds, Charlie decided right off the bat it needed a big-block, so the hauler sits on a Nova sub-frame up front with disc brakes, a Chevy 10-bolt with 2.42 gears out back and power from a 468ci big-block Chevy built by Extreme Engines. The 200R4 tranny keeps the highway revs low and Billet Specialties hoops finish off the chassis. This combo sets Charlie at about 1,200rpm at 75mph and
he gets 18mpg rolling with a big-block. Charlie used the running boards and bed he manufactured, straightened out the body and laid down the gold over red DuPont paint with flames. The interior is filled with power everything, including Vintage Air A/C, a 2,000-watt Kenwood stereo system, Autometer gauges, all wired together with a Kwik Wire kit. Nash Upholstery custom made a seat and stitched every- thing up in tan leather and then Charlie and Janie took off on the cruise of a lifetime, putting over 200,000 miles on the old hauler over the last 20 years. Hopefully I have given you a good overview of Charlie’s world. It’s a place where everybody shows up, does what they said, and offers help when things get off course. I just wish the rest of the world would hurry up and get on board.
MAY 2026 69
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker