Dodge By Jil Mclntoah Doit and Chris Trudeau of Bowrnanville enjoy travelling - tJioy've driven from Vancouver to the Maritimes and aIl through the United States. What sets them apartIs1 that they do the driving ln their 1929 Dodge. Del. 63, has owned the coupe for 20 years and he built every bit of it himsif. 11t was ln really bad shape when 1 got itand I put it on the road veiy quicicly," ho says. "Once it was roadworthy, 1 startod making it loak fthe way 1 wantod it to. That took me longer." Putting 1 togother meant building the car from ground up, including robuilding te motor, adding a chassis and suspension and putting body panais together. Once the car was built, he thon sewed his own upholstery and finally painted nt candy-apple red, ln his garage. "Ho didn't Just buy parts to put it together with," says Chris, his wife of 13 years. "If something was the loast bit difficult to find, ho didn't bother lking for it. He Just made it himself." Oeil, a member of the CANATS host club Street Dreams Car Club, can't rernber a time when ho couldn't work on cars. "My uncle had a garage and 1 would work alongside hlm," ho says. "lThat's where i learned." His mechanical ability took him through sevoral careers, but bis favorite was working as a bush pilotiln northern Ontario. "1 loved flying Up moere," ho says, "but the work just got toc, scarce. At the end, 1 couldn't get in three or four bours a woek and 1 had to givo it Up." Ho continues to build cars, and is currently working on a 1940 Plymouth coupe street rod which will bo Chris's car. "lt's going te have a 327 engine and a four-speed transmission," ho says. "But 'm also building a 1953 Packçard which will bo aIl original." Chris and Dell take turns driving the 1929 Dodge. Either way, the car is takon out every day from May te, November no matter what the Bulmit from the ground U p by Deil Trudeau weather is. It is unbelievably roliable even on their cross-Canada tours. "Only once did wo ever have a problem with it," Dell admits. "We got caught ln tbaffic where the road was being ropaved. The ongine got a littie bot but since if was over 100 (F degrees) outside, 1 didn't roally worry f00 much about trying to fix it." Delli s continuing te build his projeot cars the samo way bo built the Dodge, doing everyfhing himself and fabricating whafever ho can't find. "Anybody can fix a now car," ho says. "mhars nofhing, But having the patience f0 put ono backç on the road thars been sitting for 50 yeare~ riow thars something else." More street rod FLAMES, SCALLOPS: Just liko the name suggests, uflamese are painted on the front of a car f0 look like it is on fire. Scallops are similar, but they are straight linos heading toward the rear of the vehicle and curved between them. Both flames are scallops requiro severai hours of planning and faping before they can bo painted an. SEUDE: You wvill noticeithat a lot of cars at CANATS are stili in primer. No, it cloesn't mean the owner can't afford painti Leaving a car in primer is s0 popular that many people callI if seude% paint. It used f0 ho thaf rociders were limited by the few colors primer camne in, but recenfly a nflattening agente bas been introduced which dulîs paint Mnd mal<es it look Hke primer. As a resulf, primer cars can bo seen in any color imaginable. GRAPHICS: Wifh the rise of %wild calors, graphics weren't far behind. Theso colorful designs can bo linos, splashes, or whatever the owner dreames up. Graphics right now are a peak of papularity and many cars at CANATS will sport them. Custornlzed, louvres, scalîops, Iowerecl: 1953 Pontiac LOWERED: A -iowered- car bas its suspension broughf dloser to the ground. Some cars are lowered s0 much that the back tires are no longer visible. lf's a groat source of pride for Mn owner of a lowered car to say thaf it can -roll a soda-pop with the bumperr- LOUVRES: A special press is used to punch raised slof s into metal; these sMots are known as louvres. When a hood is louvred, the ongine will mun cooler as the louvres allow heaf taoescape. Many owners carry the theme further and punch louvres into splash pans, truck tailgates, even glovebox doors. SECTIONED: Imagine taking a car and cutting a oslicen ouf of it lengtbwise, thon putting if back together -- f haf's sectioning.m This custom trick, intended to make the car look lower, involves more hours and more work than most people 8Canats '90 ' 29 talk