Ron Pope Motorsports                California Custom Roadsters               

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO CAL AUTOMOTIVE

2012-11-24 09.40.45.jpg Heres a better pikky of the rusty Topo we found. They are incredibly rare down here so beggars cant be choosers, so its just a case of if you want it, pay the man and dont moan about the rust.

Sorry I guess Im a bit off topic arent I!!
 
Oh Man, that'd make one good street rod! Use It!
 
Mike, the chassis shown under the tupperware body came from under another Topo. Its got mounts for a BBC and glide, tho I will run a 350 Chev and use the extra space out front for a 3 inch blower belt. :):) I have a spare 671 and I also have a new Hilborn 4 port EFI set up that came off a mates blown 350. It will more than cover my need for streetable horsepower.

We need to rebuild the chassis that I have, as the front end is a bit "heavy" and I want to get the car a bit lower. Heres a couple of pikkys of a finished Topo thats been my inspiration for the past few years.
Bad News (1).JPGBad News (3).JPGView attachment 8042View attachment 8042Bad News (8).JPG
 
Theres not a lot of room in them for a big guy either, and even less if you aim to have the car sitting low. Fortunately, my wife has a fully fendered Topo for her hot rod (I really bought it to build my street legal altered, but she thought it was cute so I gave it to her one Christmas and she never ever gave it back) so I can use that for some of the measurements. I also have some 10 spoke Rocket wheels for the front of the car. Just need to find some 16*11 5 spoke rims for the back (Torque thrust style) so if anyone can point me in that direction that would be great, and I recall that BFG make a tall light truck tyre that will fit the rim nicely.Bad News (6).JPGFamily Camera May 2012 021.JPG
 
I found out thru Curt that there a guy that has his original molds plus the Tex molds is here in Ca. He is making bodies and also fixing them if you know him or someone that does. He has like 45 bodies hanging around,,,, This guy is super nice and he is an older gentelman and is very fair for the extreamly good work he does, so it isn't cheap. However very worth the money spent I've seen his work personally And I personally am having him finish my fiberglass body, & so is my father on his other T.
 
I visited Curt"s shop in Van Nuys on my last trip to the States, (October last year). Very friendly guy and thrilled to talk about the early days of building T's. Some of his old cars are coming back to him for updating and rebuilding. He still makes a living rebuilding and modifying Jag rears for kit cars and T-Buckets. His son builds steel electric guitars next door. http://www.hamiltonsteelguitars.com/about-hsg.html
(my brother paints some of them and did all the artwork in Curt's shop) Both shops well worth a visit if you're in Ca.
 

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