This is what hot rodding is all about by Rose Kellar

This is What Hot Rodding is All About
By Rose KellarOwner/Partner R & R Fiberglass

R&R Fiberglass has been in business for nearly 30 years. Car Bodies has become a big part of their business as well as selling Fiberglass body parts for cars and truck’s from the late 20’s to 70’s Clyde Hollar’s story is an interesting story they wanted to share with other Hot Rodding enthusiast.

Hot Rodding in the 50’s meant you used what you had or could borrow. Clyde Hollar’s story required some real creative thinking on his part when it came to building his most recent Hot Rod.

Clyde visited R&R Fiberglass in Decatur, TN with Nick Pharr in January of 2007. They wanted to check out the quality of the 1926-27 T Roadster body and a 1930-31 Ford Model A Roadster Body. He liked the way they were built. The doors and trunk lids could be hinged. The floor was heavy duty. And they had all the Fiberglass Body parts they needed to complete their project if needed. They loaded up the two car bodies and off they went back home to Statesville, NC.
Clyde put his thinking cap on and knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to build a low buck rod. One that would bring him lots of fun and enjoyment. Five months later Clyde was running around town nights to car clubs showing off his newest project.

If you are a purist you may not like Clyde’s Ford but I think all will agree that it’s interesting and building it required a lot of creative thinking. He didn’t use any restorable cars for parts to build his hot rod. It was constructed from parts removed from parts cars years ago and aftermarket parts for items he didn’t have. The results is a one of a kind unusual hot rod that contains lots of British car parts, you cannot go to a parts supplier or kit builder and get a car like he built. Clyde is a good craftsman so he decided to build something a little different, make that a lot different. Not only did Clyde build the car from ground up, he also did his own painting so it’s a total house build for less than $3000. Clyde gets as much fun out of this low buck car as the big boys do and maybe more.

Why use British parts to build his fiberglass 1927 Ford T? Guys asked him why he didn’t put a Chevy 350 V-8 in it his reply was “I didn’t have one” Clyde had collected British parts for years. Here’s what so unique about this hot rod. The body is mounted on a 1951 MG-TD frame. A complete cross member assembly from a 1969 MGB is used for the front end. The steering is a 1969 MGB rack and pinion assembly with a 1964 MGB steering column, the gas tank is from a 1964 Triumph TR-4, seats are from a Geo Tracker. The list goes on.

The beauty of this car is that all the parts are integrated with other parts to neatly tie it all together into a functional car that can be driven. The car not only sounds good but is track straight. How many could assemble a working car from what looks to be made from a Johnny Cash lunch box kit of parts. I commend Clyde for making something that is so interesting, very functional and an attention grabber. Nick Pharr who purchased the R&R Fiberglass 1930-31 Ford Roadster body is still working on his project. It will be interesting to see his project when it is finished.

If you are interested in information on Fiberglass Car Bodies or information on Body parts for Chevy Ford, Plymouth and Dodge 1920’s to70’s, you can contact R & R Fiberglass at 423-334-4455 or email them rrfiberglass@aol.com or check out their website at www.rrfiberglass.net
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