Cool McCool's Garage

Continuing our trend of visiting friends shops rather than getting anything done in our own,  we start the new year by visiting “Crafty B Nostalgic Speed” near Caledonia, MI. 

Kirk Brown, aka “Crafty B”, is shown here holding his latest creation, a cast aluminum ’32 Ford grill, and it’s screen inserts, up to his ’32 roadster project.  The car, a long forgotten X-drag strip warrior from the ’60’s, is being brought back to life in Kirk’s shop.  The grill shell is the latest in his line of  cool cast aluminium goodies that he markets.  This car will also sport his own Hallock style windshield, although we didn’t get to see it.  The parts are being cast a local foundry Kirk uses.

Above left, Kirk examines the rear of the much abused ’32’s body, which he relieved of a set of bobbed fenders that had been welded to the quarters.  While it’s fairly rust free, it suffered from a casual approach to metalwork in the past.  In addition to the welded on and mudded in fenders, the car had been channeled by hacking the floor and subrails out with a torch, and rear quarters pushed outward by about 4 inches, again by  just torching away the factory bracing and pushing the sides out with a jack.  Never fear, Kirk and his friends are getting the body squared up, braced up, and getting it ready for street by spring.

Shown above is his ’32 three window, again saved from a former life of drag strip abuse, having more or less been wadded up into a ball and left for dead.  It too will sport LOTS of one-off aluminum goodies from Kirk’s inventive parts inventory, including the replica E&J headlights, matching tailights, an absolutely beautiful tilt steering set up.  In addition to those bits, the car will sport a 6.71 blown Buick nailhead engine and a 5 speed.   Like the trunk-lid?  Kirk also punches louvers on a (naturally), home-grown louver press. 

It’s always fun to visit Kirk’s shop, whether it’s during his every-Friday morning  “Geezer Coffee” and shop open-house, or any weekday when he and his friends are working on the latest projects.  There’s always guys dropping in to help out, get work done on their own, or his projects.  That’s what Hot Rodding really is, good friends getting together to turn neglected junk, and bits of metal into works of art.

Thanks for the welcom, and the  inspiration Kirk!