Holman & Moody Boss 429 – (you should read this)

Posted by pikesan on Jul 14, 2008 in Vintage Rides | 2 comments

The first step in fixing a problem is admitting you have one. Hi, I’m Craig, I don’t know crap about bodywork. (Hi Craig). With that out of the way, I moved onto the next step. That’s seeking help. I turned to my new friends over at Squeeg’s Kustoms in Mesa, Arizona. Squeeg’s has been turning out show quality paint and bodywork since 1964 and Doug Jerger, the owner and Squeeg’s son, has kept the business rolling. One of Doug’s latest paint jobs was for his America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) contenting 32 Roadster. I was in good hands for my shotgun lesson in body work to support the 63 Falcon Wagon project.

When hot rods and custom car building’s in your head nearly every waking minute, hanging out in a shop like Squeeg’s might as well be Disneyland. When I pulled up, Doug and the Jerry Courlton were standing out front marveling at the fresh custom paint on Jerry’s Corvette super gas race car body. Wow. It’s tough to put down this many colors without having that, “I’m stuck in the 80’s” look, but Doug nailed the graphics and stripes, as he said, “Right out of my head.” Then, as if it weren’t one-of-a-kind enough, Doug laid a custom purple to burgundy paint pattern or “paint effect” down the center of the car, including the pro-stock style scoop. “You’d shit if you saw how I did that,” he said, “painters use all kinds of tricks to make effects.” Needless to say, the Jeffy was thrilled and if the rest of the car is half this nice, he’ll have one of the baddest race cars at the track.

There was more! No need for a park hopper pass to find the nearly finished 40 Ford Coupe in full hot rod trim in the next room. Owned by Bill Cromling and sporting custom mixed blue paint and classic orange-yellow flame job with a 500HP/500 Ft-lbs Roush 402IR fuelie motor. This car’s gonna be a real modern-day hot rod. I should have shot more pictures of this car to show the detail you get from a professional build shop. Even parts of the car that will be hidden by upholstery or other panels are neatly detailed to the point it’s almost a shame to cover them! I’ll have to hook up with Bill later to shoot the finished car (Before it’s featured in several magazines…)

Later in the day a trailer pulls up driven by Eric Peratt from Pinkee’s Rod Shop in Windsor, Colorado. Doug’s so busy doing paint and body, he farms out some work to other shops. For this Daryl Wolfswinkel owned super custom 32 Roadster he’s building, Pinkee’s fabbed the rolling frame, suspension and powertrain setup, then the cars on the way to Marcel’s Custom Metal Shaping in Corona, California for a hand made body. The frames as beautifully made as it is stout. The beauty’s most obvious in the motor mounts. Check these out!

That’s why I love shooting a car as its being built. These details, the kind car builders really get into are going to be hidden once the car’s put together. Those mounts hold a beast. With all the custom touches, what else would you expect then a NOS, aluminum headed, Holman and Moody NASCAR Boss 429. This engine has all the Ford tricks available in 1968 and was built for the new “aerodynamic” Torino Talladega. Those tricks include: revised oil system, o-ringed block, special hemi head design, and much more (could be an entire blog!) (More info: LINK, another LINK), Topped by an experimental dual 4 barrel low-rise manifold (maybe-like 1 of 3 made), this motor’s an E Ticket ride waiting to happen (not recommended if you have a heart condition or are expecting).

Last but not least, the one-off wheels are, believe it or not, almost as cool as the engine. Made by Mike Curtis (the machinist you know from Boyd’s TV show and Overhaulin’) conceived and rendered by Jimmy Smith and then designed by Mike with a Halibrand-like twist. Doug put on the finishing 5 extra ribs and requested real knock-offs. These wheels are the perfect combination of high tech and hot rod. I’d leave them just as they are, with the ball mill tool marks, but they’ll be polished. Too cool. (more on these wheels and Mike’s new line of wheels soon)

This won’t be my last visit to Squeeg’s. They’re so busy though, I’ll have to come back at least every other week to catch the latest builds. But, I’ve got a lot more to learn about bodywork, so I’ve got the perfect excuse!