Custom Hot Rod Builders at the Jalopy Jam Up

The original hot rods came about in the 1940s and 1950s when young men coming back from the Second World War took the covers off the old cars they’d left in their garages. They’d cheated death overseas and weren’t about to settle into an everyday lifestyle, and so they focused on building cars and stuffed big engines into their coupes and roadsters, and took them to the dry lakes to race.

Then, in the 1960s, customizers looked at the long-and-low cars that automakers were turning out and decided they should be even longer, and even lower. And so lowriders and customs were born.

And all of these came together for the Jalopy Jam Up, an annual event held near Cambridge, Ontario. It welcomes all enthusiasts, but has a special spot in its heart for traditional rod and custom cars – or kustom rods, as it’s often spelled, by customizers and by custom hot rod builders. It’s now in its sixth year and it draws cars that came from as far away as Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Calgary, and all the great people who love, build, and drive these things.

Here are some of the highlights:

1939 Ford, Leroy Junn, Buffalo, NY

Leroy Junn wanted to buy this car in 1976, primarily because it had a 1958 Cadillac 365-cid engine in it, but the owner wouldn’t sell. “He said he’d die with it, and he did,” Leroy said. The car went through a couple of owners before Leroy finally got it a year ago. He plans to keep the Caddy mill but make some changes to the driveline, and add bubble skirts and a new interior.

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1956 Ford Fairlane, Tony Depczunski, Lancaster NY

Tony has owned this car since 1982 and after freshening it up a couple of times, he turned it into a full custom in 1995 “because all my friends have customs,” he said. It carries a 292-cid Y-block from a 1956 Ford with a three-deuce carburetor setup on it. He did most of the work on it, with help from his friends, with the bodywork and paint farmed out.

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1958 Ford Fairlane, Gord Tanton, Long Point ON

Gord has owned his Fairlane for 15 years, and he bought it “because it’s a beautiful car.” The paint is as he got it, but he restored the engine and drivetrain and had the chrome redone. “I found most of the parts online because everything’s going to Europe these days,” he said, which means local swap meets are drying up as a source for parts. “Making sure everything works right is the biggest challenge.”

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1962 Chevrolet C10, Luis Ramos, Mt. Forest ON

Trucks have become extremely popular recently, and Luis bought his because he liked the body style and the price was right. He bought it online in Alberta and had it shipped home, where he put in four-inch drop coils and smoothie rims. It didn’t need anything mechanical, but Luis plans to add a turbocharger for some extra grunt.

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1953 Buick Roadmaster, Sean and Lauren McConomy, Ottawa ON

This Buick is now on its fourth owner, having gone through an estate sale. Sean, who fabricates race cars for a living, has added lowering springs, a Fulton visor and a new exhaust, “but I don’t want to do much more,” he said. “It’s too nice and I want to keep it as it is.” It has its original 331-cid nailhead engine and original upholstery.

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1961 Oldsmobile Super 88, Joe Siclari, Lebanon Township NJ

Joe drove 458 miles to attend the event in a car that was originally built for the show circuit. Its 394-cid engine is original to the car, but it was garaged for ten years before Joe got it, and now he’s working to repair all the issues that gradually resurface when something that’s been sitting is put back into regular use. “The toughest part is working around the parts that are finished,” he said, adding that it’s often easier to build a car from scratch. He should know: he had a 1957 Ford for 18 years, and now he’s building a 1959 Edsel.

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1952 Buick Custom Deluxe, Scott Campbell, St. Thomas ON

Scott wanted a tall, boxy car, and when he saw this Buick a little over a year ago, it fit the bill. It uses its original 263-cid Fireball straight-eight engine; all Scott’s done is lower it, fix a leaky seal, and add the roof rack. He found it online, and it now shares garage space with his 1963 Triumph motorcycle.

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1951 Pontiac, Mike Campbell, Woodstock ON

Mike had a 1957 Chevy pickup, but when he needed extra seats for a growing family, he sold it and went for the Pontiac. It was stock when he bought it; he swapped out the engine for a Buick 401 nailhead “because I love the unique engine look, and I wanted something different,” he said; he also added an air suspension. “I did all the work – the challenge is finding the time.”

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1955 Ford Thunderbird, Jamie Hamilton, Whitby ON

It takes a keen eye to spot all of the custom changes on this car, which was built in 1961 for the show circuit and appeared at numerous events over two years back then. They include leaded-in headlights, custom bumpers, wheel flares, 1956 Mercury taillights, and the gas door removed with the filler now in the trunk. It’s still as it was built, including its original paint. It has 7,500 miles on it, but that’s constantly changing since Jamie drives it regularly.

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1936 Ford, Josh Fernley, Toronto ON

This car is a legend in the Toronto area, built by Josh’s late father Paul some 17 years ago. Paul did just about everything on it, including chopping the top and all the metalwork and adding a 355 Chevy engine. It has more than 100,000 miles on it, and in 2017, Paul drove it almost 5,000 miles to Victoria, British Columbia to attend Deuce Days even as he was recovering from chemotherapy. Josh is maintaining the car as it was built and plans to keep it in the family.

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1930 Ford Model A, Mike Siewert, Calgary AB

Mike and his brother Rob drove 33 hours to get to the show, but they weren’t alone: their late father was on board with them. “Dad bought the body in 1967 and he was going to restore it, but then he drove mine and decided to build it as a hot rod,” Mike said. “It went on the road in 1997 and it was always his until he died in 2012. It has a 1953 Ford flathead that was the last of the three motors Dad put in.” Mike modified a beehive oil filter, bolted it to the firewall, and turned it into an urn for his father’s ashes, so he will always be with the car he loved.

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1951 Nash Custom Wagon, Bill Coulson, London ON

“It’s just ugly enough,” Bill said of his wagon, which he bought because “I was trying to have something not normal.” The car originally came from Nebraska but when its owner did nothing to it, Bill bought it and spent three years adding a fuel-injected Ford four-cylinder, Mustang II front end, S10 rear end, and lowering it four inches. It came into the show towing a motorcycle trailer.

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1930 Ford Model A Sedan, Luke Scanlan, Ocala FL

Yes, this was driven from Florida to Canada, with a stop at a New York show along the way. Luke took four years to build it and it’s now been on the road for five; it has a 350-cid Chevy engine and a five-speed transmission from a 1996 Camaro. Luke bought the body and had a fabricator do the metalwork on it, and then he and his friends did the mechanicals. He’s driven it twice to California, and to events in New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut.

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1936 Ford, Hamilton and Lisa Heuvel, Oshawa ON

When this car went on the market eight years ago, originally from Iowa, Hamilton bought it simply “because it’s badass,” he said. “It was a trailer queen, but I made it more roadworthy.” That included adding air conditioning and better tires to go with its Chevy 350 crate engine.

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