◄ Back to Driving Force, Summer 2014
Summertime...and the Living is Easy!
By Colby Martin
The heat is on! With visions of cruising in the forefront of our minds, mild temperatures have finally arrived for a large portion of our SEMA Action Network community. The cold, wet and otherwise harsh conditions faced by many this winter undoubtedly felt like an eternity. And with the changing season, many state legislatures across the nation have adjourned for the year. An impressive number of legislative victories for the SAN army were gained. Check out all the year’s action at www.semaSAN.com/Alerts.
During these challenging months, hopefully you were able to make progress on your project. I sure did. For the purposes of my own ’31 Ford Model A coupe, the unusually dry winter and spring here in Southern California led to many exciting developments. At this time last year, a slew of modifications were being made to several key parts, all wearing a bare metal finish. As evident in the image pictured below, not only are the parts wearing paint, powdercoating or plating, but the rolling chassis is nearly ready for its drivetrain to be dropped in.
What began as a dropped front I-beam axle, this traditional hot rod slowly transformed into a complete car in the vein of Johnny Cash’s "One Piece at a Time." Luckily, my dad was able to carve out half of his two-car garage for the duration of the "A-bone’s" parts collection and subsequent build. Were the circumstances any different, the guidance provided by this issue’s cover story about inoperable project vehicles would have come in handy.
For those held back by the weather, may you take the stored-up inspiration and channel those energies into your projects. Better yet, perhaps it’s time to stop and smell the rubber meeting the road. After all, summer is "cruising season." Among many great automotive happenings, the SAN will once again embark on the Hot Rod Power Tour in June and promote the national celebration of our hobby’s "holiday" in July, Collector Car Appreciation Day. Your participation is welcome. Have a look at the articles on both contained in this newsletter.
Finally, another project seeing completion is implementation of the SAN’s "Ignited We Stand!" campaign launched last year. With so much effort poured into this entire concept, the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the SAN legion has been encouraging. Significant makeovers to the website, Facebook page and Twitter feed have gone live. If you haven’t checked out these online properties in a while, please take a gander. The final piece in the works will be launching a brand-new Action Alert format, currently under development using a new internal system. Stay tuned for details.
In the spirit of school yearbook salutations, "Have a rad summer!"
–IGNITED WE STAND!