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We’ve all seen the cheesy Thunderbirds and Monte Carlos painted up to look like NASCAR Sprint Cup cars, but this is something completely different. This is the Super Street Series (SSS) produced by Jeffrey’s Custom Conversions (www.jeffreyscustomconversions.com), and it’s no OEM stocker parading around like a racer. In fact, this is a nearly purebred race car tuned down enough to make it survivable-and legal-on the street. Jeffrey’s builds every car to order from scratch with 60 percent of the same components as the Cup guys use, and each gets its own VIN. That means there are no hassles trying to get a VIN transferred from an old donor car. Each tube chassis is constructed by a Nextel Cup chassis builder somewhere in South Carolina (Jeffrey’s won’t reveal who) before it is shipped to Jeffrey’s for completion. The front and rear clips are almost exactly the same as a Cup car; only the centersection is changed to move some bars around to increase creature comforts.inline_mediumwraptextrightLots of people spray-paint street cars to look like Sprint Cup racers, but this is a real Cup car with just enough done to make it legal to drive on the street.25335725/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0911_super_street_series_nascar_cup_carhrdp_0911_02_z+street_legal_cup_car+driver_side_view..jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: Super Street Series – Street-Legal Stock Car From Jeffrey’s Custom Conversions – Hot Rod Magazine

You’re not going to believe this, but this stellar ‘30 Model A is Bill Steele’s first complete rod build. We’re not suggesting that Bill just fell off the truck yesterday with a crescent wrench and a claw hammer-the 38-year-old collision shop owner is a hands-on bodyman and painter and an accomplished custom bike builder as well. He’s done a number of partial buildups, “cars already started by someone else-that kind of stuff,” as he puts it. “But this one is my first car done completely from start to finish,” he swears up and down. Nice work, rookie: Goodguys selected Bill’s coupe as its ‘09 Hot Rod of the Year.inline_mediumwraptextrightBill Steele of Oakdale, Pennsylvania, built his Model A coupe around his vision of the perfect hot rod stance.25335488/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0911_1930_ford_model_ahrdp_0911_01_z+1930_ford_model_a+front_view.jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: 1930 Ford Model A – Goodguys 2009 Hot Rod Of The Year Award Winner – Hot Rod Magazine

Photo Gallery: 1930 Ford Model A – Goodguys 2009 Hot Rod Of The Year Award Winner – Hot Rod Magazine

After attending the ‘08 Power Tour(r) in Little Rock, Arkansas, hot rod builder Dennis Taylor (Dennis Taylor’s Reproductions) and his wife, Debbie, decided they wanted to be part of the fun. Unfortunately, they didn’t own a good road trip-ready rod. Noticing how easy it is to become lost among the thousands of similar muscle cars and hot rods on the Tour, Dennis decided to be as unique as possible and resurrect a ‘53 De-Soto wagon. Dennis fabricated a new chassis, building everything from the control arms to the rearend housing. To get it as low as the rendering by Brian Stupski of Studio PCK (problemchildkustoms.com), the body was channeled over the new frame, and Air Ride Technologies bags brought it the rest of the way to the ground. Though we would have had a hard time leaving out the original 276ci Firedome, at least it will keep it in the family, thanks to a 6.1 Hemi crate engine and five-speed automatic, which should have it cruising the freeways like a Magnum.inline_mediumwraptextrightThe ‘53 DeSoto wagon has a ways to go before completion, but the stance is perfect.30763593/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0911_1953_desoto_station_wagonhrdp_0911_03_z+1953_desoto_station_wagon+driver_side_view.jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: 1953 DeSoto Station Wagon – Late-Model 6.1L Hemi-Powered Custom Firedome – Hot Rod Magazine

An all-new Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) will join the ranks of law enforcement departments across North America in 2011. It’s a modern, full-size, rear-drive sedan that will offer both V-8 and V-6 engines, as well as a host of specialized equipment and features.

Photo Gallery: New Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle to Hit the Streets in Early 2011 – Hot Rod Magazine

Photo Gallery: New Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle to Hit the Streets in Early 2011 – Hot Rod Magazine

Online auto auctions are a crapshoot, since you have to trust that what the seller describes is true. Often, it’s not. But Dave Sherer and Anthony Musilli of DNA Restorations (Dave and Anthony, get it?) got lucky when they decided to roll the dice on a ‘69 Chevelle project car located in Colorado (they’re from New York). Because it had no engine, trans, or rearend and lived in a snowy climate, it was a risk, but when the Chevelle was delivered, they happily found it wasn’t a wrecked rust bucket. It wasn’t exactly nice, either. “It was a pretty shoddy body,” Anthony told us. Up-close inspection revealed that every panel from hood to trunk needed some filling, sanding, and straightening-but all in all, it was workable. The shell went directly on the rotisserie, where Dave and Anthony welded up unnecessary holes and massaged the panels while the frame was blasted clean and reinforced for strength.

Photo Gallery: 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle – 582ci Big-Block-Powered Chevelle Show Car – Hot Rod Magazine