Ford Falcon Gas Door Relocation - No More Gas Cap As I continue to fill you in on the progress of my 1963 Ford Falcon wagon build/restoration/customization/marathon, feel free to follow along here:  1963 Ford Falcon Wagon Build I had someone ask me about what I did on the gas filler door on my 63 Falcon Wagon after seeing it painted. Here's the update on that... Could there have been a worse place to put the factory filler tube? The filler was relocated on my 63 Falcon Wagon before I bought it, up onto the top of the rear quarter panel. The original owner shaped a piece of sheetmetal, then threw a hinge on it with a cabinet "pop-lock" thing to keep it shut. It looked bad... lots of bondo and for some reason, the door opened "suicide" or the hinge was on the back. I was afraid it'd pop up at speed. See below. Rather than try to fix what was there, I searched around and when I had the body work done (one of the only things the guy did well) I had this pop-up filler installed....

1963 Ford Falcon Power Tailgate or Squire Trim For those of you following along at home, I've been SLOWLY wrenching on my 1963 Ford Falcon wagon in between creating the website you've found here, MyRideisMe.com. I decided to fill you in on a couple details of what I've been up to. (see, I'm doing something!) On display this time is the crown jewel of my Falcon wagon, the chrome tailgate bezel found on Falcon Squire models and on some sedan deliveries. Even before I had it restored and re-chromed, it was my favorite part on the whole car. It oozes cool! Taking you back a few steps, here's what I originally purchased: (click to see larger pic) Sexy as hell, but pitted and in need of restoration. This is what happens to pot metal, so no need to panic. I did call in the help of an expert though, Norm Huie at Shine on Me Automotive Trim Restoration. Norm had a flawless 1965 Falcon Wagon I called, "Plain Jane". If you're a Falcon guy, it's worth a look. For a very reasonable price, Norm fixed all the pitting in...

Tim Strange's Hot Rod Reality TV  Season 2 Update Back for season 2 is Tim Strange's take on reality TV car building. Tim's a unique guy not short on opinions and always telling it like it is. Sound like every other TV car show? It doesn't to me. I caught up with Tim and asked about Season 2 and the first build of a 55 Chevy Handyman Wagon. To catch up from Season 1, check out our other interview with Tim Strange. Since I'm late getting this story up... watch the build of the 55 Handyman Wagon here Heading into season 2 what was the biggest lesson learned from season 1? Probably the amount of time it takes to set up the shots and set lights. I still get a little crazy when we're trying to get a project done in four weeks, but we sometimes have to stop and set lights for different angles. In the long run, it's worth it when the show is all done. Also the amount of film they record and what they use. Each build gets almost 400 hours of film and edited...

Steve McQueen Charity Car Show As "Lt. Frank Bullitt" Steve McQueen shredded the streets of San Francisco with his 68' Mustang Fastback in THE best car chase scene ever filmed! In just over two weeks fans... Steve McQueen and the movie "Bullitt" will return to Chino Hills, CA for another go round of the "Friends of Steve McQueen" Charity Car Show benefiting the Boys Republic. This year's show spotlights "Bullitt" and will include special events based on the film. So if you're cruisin' the SoCal area on June 2nd, stop by and join 200+ hot rod Mustangs and cool custom cars from the International Mustang Bullitt Owner’s Club and the Porsche 356 Registry, as well as several cast members of the film and even the stunt drivers from the Fox show "Alcatraz". I will also be there with my Mustang, my camera and rockin my MyRideisMe t-shirt and I hope to see you there. - Ben...

Trend Pushrods - New Ways to Combat Pushrod Troubles Seeking and finding stories about great engine builders and the high performance parts they use, every once in a while, you find yourself asking. "What makes xyz so special?" In this case, I got to talking about high performance pushrods and didn't know much about them. Luckily, Trend Performance makes pushrods for everybody from the weekend warrior to the best of NHRA and NASCAR. So I asked a few questions... An interview with Bob Fox, founder of Trend Performance By Sam Logan with photos by Moore Good Ink Today the Michigan firm Trend Performance is the largest manufacturer and supplier of pushrods in racing and the performance aftermarket. But in 1988 when Bob Fox founded his pushrod company, after working the phones as a tech rep at Diamond Racing, things were different. During his time at the piston company, he noticed that the performance of competition pushrods was little better than adequate—their lengths varied and their ends failed—both ends! Manufacturers would reduce the material thickness of the cup ends in order to form them, and as a result they would...

Cylinder Head Innovations for 302w Heads & 351w Heads I made an appointment with the Engine Doctor, Jon Kaase. The good doctor told me about a new set of 302w or 351w heads that are ahead of their time like morphine to a cheap bottle of whiskey. Before we trust any doctor, it's best to look'm up and see where they come from. Kaase, as fate would have it, is the self-described "black sheep" in a family full of actual medical professionals... Kaase, on the other hand, "...liked mechanical things from the time I was little, and I never gave it up." Sound like anyone you know? With references checking out fine, let's learn about the new  P-38 canted-valve Windsor cylinder heads. (Text and images provided by Moore Good Ink) Small Block Ford Aluminum Heads with Better Cylinder Filling Jon Kaase keeps his eyes peeled. Over the years, the engine builder has seen an endless string of improvements and aftermarket components visited upon the 302 Windsor heads but he was woefully aware that there were no real advancements beyond the original cylinder head configuration. He thought he could produce...

Hot Rods, Custom Cars and Rockabilly in Burlingame, CA For all of Nick's great pictures from the show, visit the Hot Rod Car Show Picture Gallery (click to see these pictures full size) The Embassy Suites in Burlingame, CA played host to this year’s 14th Annual Booze, Broads and Hot Rods (BBHR) sponsored by Kool Cat Kustoms and Hermans Barber Shop. The BBHR show has skipped around locations in the past years, due to its rising popularity, originally starting out in South San Francisco 13 years ago. This show has grown over the years to "mark your calendar status" and has also added Rockabilly Festival to its title in recent years. Rightfully so with the talent this show has provided for your listening pleasure. Burlingame is just south of San Francisco and lies right along the bay, so on a beautiful mid-April day like, you will get that soothing, cool breeze coming off the bay all day long. If you plan on attending a BBHR's show, plan for an all day and night affair because when the Bombshells say it's a festival they mean it. The show is slated...

Camshaft Assembly Lube & Break in Lube Part of my 1963 Ford Falcon engine build is researching how to build and break-in the engine... the right way. To get great advice, I asked the experts at Edelbrock. They've been building engines and hot rod parts forever... not to mention they've been very cool helping me with my engine build and with MyRideisMe.com. Hope these tips are helpful! Tech with Edelbrock: Camshaft Break-in for Hydraulic Flat Tappet Camshafts Upgrading your hydraulic, flat tappet cam is a very popular performance upgrade. In many cases, cam changes happen independently of a complete engine rebuild. With or without engine rebuild, when changing cams, proper steps must be taken to ensure a hassle-free installation, break-in period, and of course, good cam and lifter life. The following are the basic steps for camshaft break-in. Read and follow the included instructions with every Edelbrock cam and lifter kit. We're skipping the assembly and disassembly steps because there's too many variations to cover it all. 1) Always use new lifters with a new camshaft. Do not use existing lifters with a new camshaft. Cam lobe wear is...

Car Show Pictures from Kansas Clint Powell over in Enterprise, Kansas was kind enough to grab some pictures from the McPherson College Car Show and load them up here at MyRideisMe. Clint says, "I was an amazing show! Every year that I have gone there always seems to be a few exceptional works of art that not everyone can get this close to. And the rich history behind these cars. The Purple custom was the first that I laid my eyes on. No information. Unfortunately most owners were not around there cars. More than likely some where in the one of the schools buildings or taking one of the tours that they give through the shops. This is a must stop or show to make at least once. C.A.R.S. Club." The C.A.R.S. Club, or College Automotive Restoration Students, is a student led club open to any McPherson student interested in antique and collector cars. The club gives students an opportunity to get together and share their passion for automobiles outside of the classroom. Club members are able to participate in numerous events throughout the year, including car shows, cruises,...

Points Conversion for Distributor or Stick with Points and an MSD Box Sometimes simple is best. Or sometimes... we're low on cash! So when it comes time to upgrade or convert your points distributor to electronic type, maybe you can wait on the distributor mod, pickup the MSD box and still get all the benefits of an MSD box. Sound good? Read on... For those of you who simply can’t find an aftermarket distributor or the conversion parts needed for you nostalgic distributor to upgrade from points, the MSD box will work well for you too. When you install an MSD to your points distributor, you’ll still receive the powerful, multiple sparks that MSD is known for along with the performance that comes from it! Specifically, with an MSD installed: The points will last much longer Adjusting or "gapping" the points isn't crucial to performance You'll rock MSD’s multiple sparks and Capacitive Discharge (CD) power The points will last much longer It is true, that a magnetic pickup distributor is much more accurate than a points distributor, especially when it is complemented with an adjustable advance, sealed bearings and...

Hot Rod Tires How-To - Gotta Drive Fast! Simple question: What's wrong with this photo?   If you answered, A) Dude's running Centerlines on a hot rod (What a loser); Well, you'd be part right. Why would I do such a thing? Does the car look better like this:   Take your time.... YES!! Much better. The bias plys on Bonnie make the vintage look, just like bias plys do on tons of other hot rods going for a straight out of the 50s, nostalgic look. (I'll also agree the backdrop of the Bonneville Salt Falts doesn't hurt!) So why have I replaced my bias plys with radials? Simple: I want to drive... drive fast on the freeway.   I originally had a set of white wall, radial tires on my roadster. I dig the white wall look, but like I said before, I wanted my roadster to be more early 50s looking. Plus the blackwalls look more hard core hot rod to me, like my main focus is running fast, not looks.   Anyway, I had the radials on before, and when people asked, "How fast is it?"...