This Tasca tribute is a 1964 Ford Thunderbolt. Ford made 100 Thunderbolts that were a factory lightweight for drag racing based on the Ford Fairlane. There were 11 burgundy Thunderbolts, and the rest were Wimbledon White. A fact unknown to most people is that 2 Ford Thunderbolts were adapted for circuit and NASCAR racing. Even though it set a lap record at Charlotte, due to the success of its bigger brother, the Galaxie, Ford dropped the Thunderbolt for circuit and NASCAR racing to use it only in drag racing. 10 cars were given to Ford dealers who already had successful racing teams; number 6 was given to Tasca Ford in Rhode Island. Although being famous as one of the best presented cars in its class, the car only raced for two years before being cut up and run with a tube chassis and altered wheelbase. Tasca Ford are still racing today and we are grateful for all the help and information they have provided for this build. It is being built by the Valley Gas founder Jimmy and will be powered by the legendary 427 FE Big Block Ford connected to a Jerico 4-speed transmission and 9-inch Ford rear axle. The rear suspension is a custom design 4-link with Watts linkage, and at the front is a custom A-Arm suspension set up with coil overs. It is being built for historic circuit racing and will also get some drag strip action from time to time. There are lots of killer and rare parts on this Thunderbolt that makes it well worth a look, even if you are (unfortunately!) not a Ford fan.
This truck was in a very poor condition upon arrival into VGSS, with no engine or gearbox. We have now repaired the chassis, fitting an IFS with new 9″ Ford rear axle using a four-bar set up. This truck is also running a BluePrint small block Chevy Crate Engine kicking out around 380 BHP. Whilst the underpinning will be new, along with some creature comforts and a 700R4 trans for highway cruising. We have also had to fit new floor pans and repair various body damage and rust issues. The overall appearance of the truck will however keep its aged patina look. Look inside and under the bonnet though as it will be a different story as this will all be repainted in gloss and trimmed in leather.
Some would say there was no way forward after seeing the body falling off the chassis on this rare Dodge Route Van. This soon to be restored van which will be running a SBF just because of its size and dimensions, an AOD transmission, Ford 9” rear on coil overs and 4-bar. Plus, with a Kugel IFS she will be driving better than she ever did back in her hey day. This is being built to be a towing vehicle for our customer’s trips to Le Mans and Spa with his Mustang and Datsun 240Z race cars. Keep your eye out on those circuit tracks.
This car has an interesting history, as it has completed the Paris-to-Peking Rally. Now it will have a new life as a street rod, with many
cool modifications, such as; pillarless doors, side mounted rear boot, flush fit fuel filler and smoothed out running boards. The bonnet has been shortened and nipped in too. The front wings have been reshaped as well as the rear arches, which have had the rear flicked out at the back. The rear bumper has had a lot of work including the exhaust exiting through the overriders. Also on the outside, you will notice the trick grille shell which will have pop out headlights. When you get inside this car the modifications do not stop there! There is also a custom dash and center console, as well as all new floor pans. This body sits on a VGSS Kustom made chassis with IFS and 4 bar rear, whilst
running a Jag V8 under its hood. There are so many killer touches on this car you need to see it to believe it.
This Volvo was already extensively modified including the roof chop prior to arrival with us. Under the hood you will find a TVR V8 3.9 Rover and 5-speed Transmission. It has now been painted in Ford Roman Bronze by our very talented team at our paintshop. It will be reassembled with a custom dash, centre console and have lots of creature comforts inside. It will also roll on vintage daisy mags and will get its V8 sound through a custom made stainless steel exhaust system. We have also made a one-off stainless steel grille. There are lots of cool modifications on this Volvo so when you see it, don’t think this is just your normal ‘old man’ Volvo you would see at the local grocery store.
We’re especially excited about this build. This MK4 has had a custom built IFS along with an E-Type Jag IRS, it will also sit on E Type wire wheels with the beautiful knock off centres. The car will sit a lot lower than standard with big 14″ custom made brakes. All of this is to help stop this Jag, with it’s Daimler V8 built by the legendary Russ Carpenter, however our team here at VGSS will be adding a supercharger too. Estimated power will be 300bhp+ which will make this luxury cruiser stop and go and keep up with today’s traffic. Inside will be fully loaded with every extra adding to the luxury flavour of this Jag. There will be all the usual touches you get out of VGSS including our custom stainless steel headers and exhaust system, and custom-made aluminium radiator. It will also be painted and trimmed by our very talented team here at Valley Gas Speed Shop.
Showing that Valley Gas is open to all challenges we have in, this Datsun 720 Kingcab with a SR20 turbo motor and 5-speed transmission. We have now also fitted a trick 5 link coil over suspension set up. As well as a fully adjustable A-arm front suspension with coil-overs. We have fabricated new inner wings and there will be lots of Kustom tricks done on this little Japanese truck which include moving the arches up and flaring them, fitting a steering rack to get rid of the horrible steering box. We will also de gutter the roof – all these mods will be done before we send her off to our body shop for her new paint job which will definitely make this truck stand out.
Phil’s gorgeous 1955 Ford F100 in this eye-catching turquoise and black colour scheme has come into us at VGSS for a new Mustang II front end, new front suspension and brakes from Scott’s Hot Rods and a full overhaul before it gets sent to the body-shop for a new paint job! It is a beautiful truck already, and we are excited to see what she will look like after the overhaul and paint.
Have you ever seen the film Cobra with Sylvester Stallone? This is what is destined for this super cool Mercury. The first big job we will be doing is chopping the roof. The chop in Cobra is slightly different than our traditional roof chop on a Mercury as the window is slid up and it has a seam round the bottom edges of the screen. We will also be frenching the lights front and back, De chroming, modifying the grill and altering the fender skirts so this car can look as close to a Cobra clone as possible. We will paint this car in satin dark grey, then the next steps will be making this car go as well as it looks, this will end up with a SBC with Nitrous. Once finished you will have to have sunglasses and a toothpick in your mouth to drive this cool car.
If you take an MR2 Turbo and a stock Renault 5 with a little bit of magic you can turn it into a Renault Turbo 2, like the ones we all remember as the group B rally cars. The difference with this one is that it will get the Japanese reliability and extra power, but with the crazy looking group B rally look. The first thing we did was work out all the wheel bases and track, and we then slowly cut away the body on both cars and dropped one on to the other. It was then the case of working out the best way to get the strength back into the car. We have now got the front and rear wings, bonnet and light pods all in GRP, which will be fitted to the car on this visit – then the customer will wire the car and paint it in one of the classic Renault race colours.
This 1932 Ford Model B 5 window Coupe with fibreglass body is currently with us in VGSS to undergo an engine and gearbox transplant.
It is currently running a Pinto with P100 axle, and it will eventually be converted to run a 305 Chevy SBC and 700R4 transmission. It will also gain an i-beam front axle and steering and suspension work.
Stay tuned for more updates soon!
This 32 has travelled all the way from France to be here with us at VGSS. It is powered by a SBC which is currently undergoing a full
rebuild with Eagle cams and uprated pistons. It has a 9” rear axle and a dropped I-Beam sat on 32 rails and a Rod Line body. A long term project that should be getting a lot more updates soon!
This beautifully unique Dodge B-Series truck has come in to VGSS for a full overhaul to make it into a show-winning work of art. A few of the jobs we have been entrusted to do include – but are not limited to:- relocating the fuel tank to the rear of the bed, new bed boards and running boards, custom grille, interior trim and overhaul and work on the engine. Keep an eye on these pages for future updates!
Another build for the team at Burlen Fuels. We can’t wait to see this trade van finished. It will carry the Austin J40 Pedal company logo and be used to transport the pedal cars to events like the Goodwood Revival. This ambulance will sit on a custom fabricated VGSS chassis, using new Kugel IFS and a Ford 9″ Rear on 4 bar and coil over. Power will come from a new 302 with AOD Transmission that will be mid mounted. Inside there will also be a polished wooden floor all the way through with a Kustom dash and clocks to keep an eye on all the vital statistics of the engine. Keep your eyes out for this one, further tricks to come.
Hearing about the Andover Soapbox event at the last minute, The Unhinged crew at VGSS stepped up and decided to build a soapbox with only 3 weeks before the event. The body for this was a childrens Totrod, which we cut into 4 and then used our skills as Ally workers to English wheel all the panels to stretch this body to the size it is now. We then set about making a chassis which some will say is probably over engineered, but when you build Hot Rods as a living, it was never going to be the standard 2 pieces of wood you would normally see in this sort of competition. We also then fabricated the front and rear axles and hubs, and used BMX stunt wheels with 14mm axles. We then painted this little sprint car in Orange with white scallops. All the little finishing touches, like exhaust, carb scoops, roll bar, grille shell right down to an orange perspex screen were included too. We think it looks fast just sat there! So after many late nights we finally got this little racer ready and went off to come 2nd in the 1st Andover Soapbox Derby. Next year we WILL be 1st!! watch this space!!
As well as all our projects in the workshop – in our engine shop we build engines from Mild to Wild. Whether it is a street engine or a blown and injected race engine VGSS and the team will get you the horsepower that you need. We also have a machine shop which works very close with us for Rebores, Balancing, and hardened seats etc. We can also Port & Polish your heads, and test your engine on our engine stand to ensure everything is correct before fitting into your project. Remember we are also main agents for Blueprint engines, where we can supply any of their crate engines. Please inquire for more details on engine builds or crate engine requirements on 01264 353 646.
Here you will see some of the other cars we currently have in at the VGSS. We don’t just cater for turn key builds, we also do servicing and small jobs, including engine building and general maintenance.
