Joe’s love was always his wife Lois who stuck
with him through thick and thin. The two travelled the country multiple times, including a trip to Burlington, VT, raised two kids, loved a bevy of grandkids, and always truly enjoyed each other’s company. Sadly, they passed away about a year apart.
bought by his son (me). Since I’m now guardian of the rod, I’ve tried to walk the fine line of maintaining its history and making the rod mine. I made a few small changes to the driver’s side by making the hood side removable and faux painting the wheels. I have added a bunch of red highlights, cleaned up the underside a lot and completely gone through all the mechanicals. After all these years its character hasn’t changed, and it reminds me of growing up, staring out the passenger window. Many times people have tried to tell me what it feels like to see a car pull up. It’s not a feeling The ’33 continued to be a staple of StreetScene magazine for Joe’s entire time at NSRA (35 years). One of his favorite causes was the NSRA Safety Program and it’s seen here with Jerry Johnson’s ’48 Chevy for a safety article in StreetScene. Jerry, Dave High, Bob Chrisman, Keith Baldwin and thousands of industry insiders all called Joe a friend.
cruise control was slipped in place. The old seats went to the swap meet and were replaced with Tea’s buckets upfront and a hybrid Tea’s
bucket/bench was put in the back. Everything was covered in gray cloth with gray vinyl highlights and the carpet is dark gray out of a ‘90s Mercedes. These seats carried Joe’s kids, his grandkids, and now his great grandkids (with me behind the wheel). I can report that children of all generations love being dropped off and picked up in a street rod. Joe passed away in 2009
easily described, but I know that feeling well from my time in street rodding. I hope these stories remind you of good times with rodders and that bunch of friends you have spent your life cruising with. Joe’s last mod to the ’33 was adding a FatMan Mustang II IFS that’s still under it. This was the seventh suspension on the ’33, so the rails required a little rehab (plating), but the results are far better than anything else that’s been under it (I know because I learned to drive in the sedan).
and the rod went to his daughter and was later
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