THE READIO ‘34 FORD SEDAN
damaging the left rear fender lip. When Skip got home, he bought a set of coupe fenders, had Jack Woodcome widen them, laid down some red oxide primer, and put the old sedan fenders away. Numerous little changes happened in the ‘80s, but in 1992 Skip wiped a couple of lobes off the Crower cam and the engine needed some help. Ultimately Crower welded up the old cam, Skip got a newly machined block and put everything back together. The new engine needed something cool, so Skip slipped on a Weiand four-carb manifold with a quartet of Stromberg 97s. The car ran great, getting mileage the same as the four-barrel, but the straight linkage meant the engine was a bear in stop and go traffic. The old manifold was replaced with a Cragar intake and progressive linkage. At the same time as the engine rebuild a new Magnum I-beam was slipped into place.
Almost immediately after Skip finished the ride, the Arab oil embargo mess of the early ‘70s started so he decided to upgrade his gas tank. Skip built a massive 53-gallon tank to replace the rear seat (that he didn’t have anyways). The tank not only provided Skip a way to store gas during the ordeal, but he helped other rodders many times in his yearly treks across the country. The rod now looked like it does today, but there have been a bevy of changes since 1972. In a classic ‘70s move, Skip added a CB radio he ran using an inverter/12-volt battery combo. Eventually he updated half the car to 12-volt, with an alternator/generator combo and eventually even the lighting was converted. Skip has attended the Street Rod Nationals every year since 1974. The run to Saint Paul in 1982 resulted in a ‘road gator’ (a piece of truck tire retread)
38 JUNE 2025
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