I am recreating my first car and hotrod for my high school days in Houston Texas. I bought the original car when I was 14 and over the next two years I installed a 283 Chevy V8 with heads off a B Gas dragster and two-fours and a Chevy Duntov cam. We installed Corvette 11.5 to 1 pop up pistons. It had custom headers made by Bobby Knighton...he won the A Fuel Altered Class at the 1958 NHRA Nationals...He has a 32 Ford coupe with an extended nose and it ran two fuel burning small block Chevy engine...end to end. Bobby was a real old time hot rodder. The car had a Corvette three speed standard shift transmission and a 1949 Mercury Station wagon with overdrive...Bobby told me to go find the Merc in the wrecking yards of Houston. The rear came with HD 456 gears. With little work we slipped the rear-end on to the springs and all we need was a drive shaft. This I feel was the best part of my very limited budget hotrod. Bobby got under the car and measured for the driveshaft from Yoke to Yoke. 56 3/4 inches he instructed me to go to a certain junk yard all ask to see their 1950 ford drive shafts...and measure until we found one that exact measurement. I asked aren’t they all the same? No, he said they are not. We found the driveshaft and pressed on new U Joints and it slipped right in. The car turned out to be incredibly fast. I never lost a drag race on the streets of Southeast Houston. I kept the car until my second year in college and have missed it for 50 years.

I have always wanted to recreate it. Last October I found a great 52 on EBay in Kentucky and "Stole" I think. The original car was named Alley Oop for the 1958 hit by the Hollywood Argyles. I have dubbed this new one Alley Oop II. I just ordered all the new front and rear suspension and brakes (Phase I). I will install a 350 SB Chevy with a 700R4 Transmission tied to the Ford 9 bolt rear-end with 4.11 gears. I can't tell what an absolute rush it is to drive the car now as it is stock. It is like a step back in time. I will keep you posted on the progress. Tom -Dallas, Texas  
PS: Phase II is complete and the car is now drivable…wow it is like an new car. Fast and smooth!!!