CHUCKLES GARAGE

2012 Events!

2012-01-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

February 17-19, 2012
Sacramento Autorama
Cal Expo Fairgrounds, Sacramento
http://www.rodshows.com/sa/index.html

March 1-4 2012
March Meet
Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield, CA
www.famosoraceway.com

Santa Rosa Custom Auto Show

http://srautoshow.com/

Friday March 9th 1:00 pm until 9:00 pm
Saturday March 10th 11:00 am until 9:00 pm
Sunday March 11th 11:00 until 6:00 pm

March 11, 2012
Road Lords CC
6th Annual Scarlett Fever Benefit
DNA Lounge, SF

May 19, 2012
Eagle Field Fresno Dragways Reunion III
www.eaglefielddrags.com

June 9, 2012 (tentative)
Road Zombies CC 17th Annual BBQ & Car Show
Elks Lodge, Santa Clara, CA

July 2012 (TBD)
Gambino Kustoms
The Sit Down 3
San Jose, CA

July 7, 2012
3rd Annual Nor Cal Knockout
10 AM - 5 PM
Solano County Fairgrounds, CA
www.norcalknockout.com

July 8, 2012
Strangers CC
13th Annual BBQ & Car Show
Kelly Park, San Jose, CA
www.strangerscarclub.com

August 2012 (TBD)
Skoty Chops
The Shootout 4
Redwood City, CA

September 15, 2012
Billetproof
Antioch Fairgrounds, Antioch, CA
www.billetproof.com

Meet Carl

2012-01-31T09:25:00.000-08:00

We don't just do hotrods and customs....This is Carl. We built him from a rusty old east coast short bus, and he is now the proud mascot of Three Twins Ice Cream. Carl sports a custom raised roof, stainless planter boxes, all aluminum diner style interior, and solar cooling system.

FYI...this ice cream is really tasty.

http://threetwinsicecream.com/carl

Strange Bird on the Cover of Powerglide Magazine!

2011-12-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

Strange Bird Gasser in Gasoline Magazine!

2011-11-19T14:38:00.001-08:00

Coming soon.......

2011-10-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Tasty.

2011-09-30T11:45:00.001-07:00

Just a Reminder.....Chuckles Garage is an Alliance Vendor!

2011-09-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Save big here with a HAMB Alliance membership!

XL Chop

2011-09-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

Blowing Off Some Steam

2011-07-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Events!

2011-07-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

Chuckles garage and the Strange Bird will be at these upcoming events. Come schmooze and buy a T-shirt or something.

Our welds don't suck.

2011-07-05T17:42:00.001-07:00

NEW Strange Bird T-shirt NOW AVAILABLE! with art by Jeff Norwell!

2011-06-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

ORDER HERE!

Gooney Bird Front Graphic Only (Preorder)

Strange Bird Tee Front and Back Print

I will be shipping these late next week!

Sizes available are Small thru XXL $20 shipped to your door in the continental USA. I love typing USA. USA.USA.USA.USA.USA. I also ship worldwide.

Blap Blap!

2011-06-28T21:35:00.001-07:00

Photos By: Kleet Norris and Dan Bowers

Good Friend and Fellow Hot Rodder Steve Jensen, Godspeed.

2011-05-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

The Strange Bird goes to Eagle Field, and breaks a crank.

2011-05-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

I took the car to the Eagle Field Drags yesterday for its first trip down the strip.....

I was too busy to get any pics, but my buddy mike got a couple clips....one is the Birds first run, and second, is the unfortunate crank snout breaking last run.

Took it real easy off the start, but then had some fun with it. Very little traction at all....I need more weight in back. The Hemi next to me was a good match until I got too excited and bounced it off the rev limiter forgetting to shift into 3rd. The announcer called it a "lean misfire" hahaha. Good times. The crank snout broke in the second video....overtightend pulley tensioner by a crew member. BUMMER.

Ouch.........

New T-shirt art by Jeff Norwell!

2011-04-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Jeff just finished this awesome art for my next batch of shirts.....

Check Jeff's stuff out here:

www.drawnandquarrtered.blogspot.com

www.jeffnorwell.com

The Strange Bird Does Vegas

2011-04-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

INJECTION!

2011-04-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

Rod Powell stops by for a visit

2011-04-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

One of the greats stopped in for a visit today....Rod Powell. Super cool guy, and I was honored to have him at the shop.

MMMMMMM....Fenders!

2011-02-25T23:14:00.000-08:00

40hp of AWESOME

2011-02-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

27 T Modified on a 30 A chassis, banger powered.

My buddy Casey came and helped me bang this thing out in 3 days. He's a ruler. All the body blocks, floors, woodwork etc are by him. I did the rest. Probably the easiest thing I've ever put together, almost no fab work. The column drop and hood latches aren't done in the pics, but you get the idea....

Hotrod Havoc 4 Starring the Strange Bird!

2010-12-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

Get your copy here: HotrodHavoc.com

New Web Store

2010-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

http://chucklesgarage.bigcartel.com/

Modified.

2010-12-15T21:07:00.000-08:00

This one will be a prewar banger powered modified.....

HH4 WORLD PREMIERE Sat. NOV 20th Santa Ana at the Galaxy

2010-11-12T15:19:00.001-08:00

1938 Chevy Hotrod Truck

2010-11-10T11:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a 38 Chevy we just finished up. It's for a customer in Texas, and we are delivering it to SEMA on tuesday. The customer called me up wanting to buy the 36 Dodge I built about 3 or 4 years ago. I told him it was sold to a guy in Germany, but I could build him a better version. The only catch.....we had 3 months to build it in time for SEMA. It looks very close to the Dodge, but it is better in every way.

Strange Bird Photos by Mitchell De Moor

2010-11-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

Chuckles Garage is now a H.A.M.B. Alliance Vendor!

2010-11-10T11:39:00.001-08:00

Low and Slow 51 Plymouth Cranbrook

2010-09-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

threw this together in about a week for my wedding. Pinstriping by Mr. Wim

The Shop

2010-09-28T09:13:00.001-07:00

Hotrod Havoc 4 Shoot

2010-08-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

Marky and Arie, the brothers that do the Hotrod Havoc and Two wheel terrors videos, shot the Strange Bird during the Shootout by Skoty Chops. Unfortunately, the tranny vaporized under the might of the Nailhead's power when we were doing action footage. Lame. Hope the shoot makes the cut...

"Strange Bird" Goes for a DRIVE!

2010-08-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Details.....

2010-07-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

The Strange Bird in Traditional Rod and Kulture

2010-07-05T23:07:00.000-07:00

The Strange Bird snagged a couple photos on the VLV feature in Issue 22. Cool.

Everybody Likes Pictures....

2010-07-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

Some of the work from the shop over the last few years:

Strangers car Show and BBQ

2010-07-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

Come to the Strangers car show and BBQ on July 11th and check out our booth! Steve Caballero and his wife Rachel will be selling their art, and I will be hustling my shop Tshirts and displaying the Strange Bird gasser. Good times.

New T-shirt Graphic

2010-07-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

These will be available by the 10th of

July. $15 shipped to your door!

Skoty Chops Shootout...GO!

2010-06-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

Chuckles Garage is sponsoring the 2010 Skoty Chops Shootout on August 15th! Come check out some cool cars and stop over to my booth and buy a Tshirt and take a look at the Strange Bird gasser . See you there.

CHUCKLES GARAGE 62 Ford Falcon Gasser with BLOWN NAILHEAD Power!

2010-05-01T01:24:00.000-07:00

CHUCKLES GARAGE 62 Falcon Futura Gasser First Run #2

2010-04-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

IT'S ALIVE!

2010-04-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

There are still some fuel issues to solve, but IT'S ALIVE!

"Strange Bird" Visual Tour

2010-04-10T22:46:00.001-07:00

Click on the video twice to see the full view.

"Strange Bird" Paint Concept

2010-04-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

I figure since I'm stuck at home,and not at the shop, I might as well do something other than geek out on the internet.

The Strange Bird Goes To Vegas, and Scotty Almost Dies.

2010-04-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I've been on the internet. On Friday morning, I woke up with a sore thumb at 5:30am. I told my wife I must have hurt it in our mad rush to finish the Strange Bird the night before (Casey and I worked on it until 3am) I got up, put on my duds, and drove to the shop to meet casey and load up the car.

We got the car all loaded and drove back home to pick up my wife.....everything seemed fine but my sore thumb. I drove for about 5 hours until I started to feel REALLY tired. I just figured I was feeling that way because I had just worked 18 hours straight with only 2 hours sleep.

I handed the driving duties over to Casey and took a nap in the back seat. About 10 minutes later, I woke up shaking uncontrollably and barely able to move...I told Casey and my wife Julie that I needed a hospital RIGHT NOW. They took me to an ER in Bakersfield that treated me like a second class citizen.

Now, before I rant about how I was treated, I do thank the final ER doc that treated me, he was awesome...and a bike guy to boot!

I was "checked in" by four different "nurses" who asked the same 6589 questions, and typed it in to a slow computer system "hunt and peck" style. This took about an HOUR! By the time they were done "checking me in" I was in complete muscle failure, and could barely breathe or talk. My wife and I pleaded for a doctor, and I was then placed in a wheelchair and rolled out into the hallway where there were several nurses gossiping and chatting on the phone with their friends laughing and having a good time.

The nurse that pushed me into the hallway then told me to get up and get into the bed....that would be cool if I could actually move!! I asked for help, and she proceeded to cheer me on. Wonderful. I asked the nurses that were standing around for help, and they stood there and stared for a bit. Finally....two male nurses came over, one was talking on his phone laughing while he was "helping" with one hand, and the other actually tried to help.

At this point, I snapped and started saying not so nice things which I later apologized for.

Finally I was on the bed, and another half hour or so passes before I get an antibiotic drip and some pain meds. From what my wife tells me I was out cold for the next 45 minutes to an hour. During that time, I was given a tetanus shot, and a blood sample was taken. My wife, at this time was scared to death that she might be widowed soon. She gave the nurses her two cents worth as well.

The whole time this was happening Casey is out in the truck waiting patiently, and getting texts from my wife on my progress. He's the man.

I woke up soon after, and could not comprehend who I was, where I was, or what the bloody heck was going on. It took my wife talking to me and feeding me countless apple juice pouches to get back to my senses. She is awesome.

Finally, 3.5 hours after my arrival, the doctor gets there and Immediately determines that the wound is necrotic, and removes all the affected tissue. Tests pointed toward a Brown Recluse spider, which the doctor confirmed with me. He worked on cleaning it a while, and somehow we started chatting about motorcycles, this was soothing to me. He was a cool dude. He then told us that if I had waited an hour longer to come get help, that I would probably be a dead man because the poison had entered into my body so badly. That's really nice to hear when you just spent 3.5 hours laying in a hallway!!!

Anyways.....on to the good stuff!

If it wasn't for my wife's amazing cell phone navigation skills and Casey's help driving/lifting/pushing/waiting/etc... I would be in a world of hurt. I thank the Lord for them, and for the doc that fixed me up.

Although I was almost a corpse a bit earlier, I decided to tough it out and push on to Vegas.....Julie was looking forward to it for weeks, and Casey and I had put way too many late nights and hours into getting the car ready not to go. I felt like crap the whole time, but we made it! Heres some pics..

Nic......Thanks for letting me mooch the trailer again!!!!

Loaded up and ready for the trip:

See you in Vegas....

2010-03-27T23:37:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago I was invited by Axle from the Shifters car club, to bring the Strange Bird to the Viva Las Vegas Car show they put on in vegas. The Strange Bird will be showcased alongside select Gassers and AFX cars in the "Gasser Reunion" area. I've been working nonstop along with plenty of help for the past couple weeks. Crunch time! Heres some updates.

SEE Y'ALL IN VEGAS!

Here's what the paint will look like (more than likely)

Wheels Make the Car.....

2010-03-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

15x3.5 American Racing Magnesium spindle mount wheels. Rad.

"Strange Bird" sees the light of day.

2010-02-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning the shop, and decided to roll the Strange Bird outside and snap some pics. It was so cool to actually walk around it, and see it from a distance, not 5 feet away in the shop. So stoked!

Update#4 The "Strange Bird" Gets a Huffer and an Altidude Adjustment

2010-02-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

Look what showed up at the shop today courtesy of my friend Greg.

Nice Littlefield blower that is completely rebuilt. It was his dad's and it has quite a pedigree. It's been on the strip and on the salt as well. I'll post the whole story later.

I flipped the front axle too.....it looked too high. The Hurst racing Super Cushion front tires are all mounted up too.

This is getting wild.

Chuckles Garage T-Shirts, Sweatshirts and Stickers by Steve Caballero

2010-02-06T19:28:00.001-08:00

Steve is rad for designing these for the shop. Buy one. They are available in mens and womens.

CLICK HERE TO BUY!

62 Falcon Update #3

2010-02-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

Finally got all the spot welds drilled out for the suspension mounts. Man thats ugly!

Cleaned up the rails for the addition of a curved piece of 2.5x1.5 3/16ths box tubing. This will give the wimpy rails some much needed strength.

Cutting the square tube to conform to the factory rail. this will be welded and ground smooth before it is then clamped to the factory rails.

Welding the square tube on. I also filled the spot weld marks

Cleaning up the filled spot welds...

Rail support all welded in place...

Front and rear spring hangers welded in place....

Finally! On the wheels!

The front wheels will NOT stay red, I will most likely just paint them black or white. They are only temporary till some spindle mounts magically show up on my doorstep. The gross tires will go away in the next couple days as well, and be replaced with a set of Hurst Super Cushions.

The front of the car will drop an inch or two when the powerplant gets dropped in. Oh ya!

Update #2 62 falcon Futura Gasser "Strange Bird"

2010-01-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

Some neato parts showed up on my doorstep.....

I canned the econoline axle and purchased a new tube axle with no drop.

An awesome pair of 30x10x15 HURST slicks. I love me some piecrust!

They stick out the perfect amount out back. mmmmm.

I scored a full set of 15x8.5 Shelby Cal 500 Slots on CL for a good deal. Anybody looking for a pair?

I'm looking for a set of front 15x4's to match. In a perfect world it would have some american mag spindle mounts, but unless I trip over some at a garage sale or something, it's not likely. I have a pair of ford steelies that will work for now. The front will have Hurst super cushions.

Got the shock towers cut away....still a bit of trimming left to do.

Trim all pulled off....

More to come.......

Off to the UK.....

2010-01-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

I recently found out that one of my early builds is now owned by a guy in the UK. It's a 57 Ford ranch wagon. Kinda miss it....

New cards for the shop

2010-01-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

These came out pretty good..... The photo on them is courtesy of www.chriskiker.com and the cards were done by Signs Now in Santa Rosa.

Old Stuff: The Vegas Chevy featured in Smokin Shutdown Magazine

2010-01-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

Update #1 62 Faclon Futura Gasser "Strange Bird"

2010-01-17T17:05:00.000-08:00

Pulled the Strange Bird into the shop to finally begin work. Interior is gutted, drivetrain removed, and the trim is coming off. My shop monkey Nic has been a big help.

As soon as all that is done, a transverse leaf setup, will be mocked up, and I'll start building the 2x2 frame to beef up the undercarriage. This will have long ladder bars and leaf springs in the rear with a panhard bar, and radius rods with a panhard holding the front.

Found a little rust in the B-pillar.....no big deal

Beezer

2010-01-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

This is my personal BSA Project. It started out as a clapped out beater I bought on craigslist, as you see it in the first pic....gross. I threw out the frame and started out with a better (but still rough) frame my friend Zane gave me. I chopped the frontend 5", made a custom oil tank from a 61 electra vaccum can and swapped the rear wheel for a 16". Alot of metalwork will be done on the frame as the whole bike will be done in bare metal. Peep it.

The Freeman Tudor

2010-01-04T19:32:00.000-08:00

This is a 30 Ford Tudor I'm building. It's got a 401 nailhead set waaaay back into the firewall with 3 deuces, custom frame with 4 link in the rear Hurst Racing tires in the back, and special arched front crossmember. Its in the style of a 60's drag car. Dig it.

The Caballero Roadster Pickup

2010-01-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here's some shots of the roadster pickup my homie Steve and i are putting together at the shop. Its a 27 T RPU on 32 rails with a slick 59ab flatty.... Rod and Custom here we come!

check Stevie out at: Cab's Blog

Old Stuff: Saved From The Derby, 1965 Crown Imperial

2010-01-03T22:54:00.000-08:00

Definitely not your average 60's Kustom. This one is from 2008. I bought it on a tip from my wife...she saw it on the side of the road with a for sale sign, and HAD to have it. Alot of rust repair and a few million gallons of paint later.........

Hurst Racing Tires Front Page Featured: Vegas Chevy

2010-01-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

The Vegas Chevy is featured on the Hurst front page. Pretty cool. These guys make good stuff. Hurst Tires Website

Motors

2010-01-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

These are 2 of the motors at the shop, one is a full race 401 nailhead for my Falcon gasser, the other is a flatty for Steve caballero's 27 T RPU. Enjoy.

62 Ford Falcon Gasser "Strange Bird"

2010-01-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

I will preface this with thread this statement:

I am not of sound mind.

Now that I've got that out of the way.......I have found a new use for the Chuckles Sedan's old motor. I'm going to put it in my 1962 Falcon.

I am going to make this as period perfect as I possibly can, and yes.....it will have a plate.

spindle mounts
6x2 Nailhead
4 speed
2x3 ladder frame
9 inch
econoline front axle
fenderwell exit pipes
radiator in the passenger footwell area
no hood
no interior, just a dash pad a seat, and some period instruments.

Build Thread on the H.A.M.B.

The third pic is the inspiration for the project....

Burnout Magazine Visit

2010-01-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Nash from Burnout came to shoot Stevie cab and the shop. He's a rad guy thats totally commited to Hot Rodding.

Burnout Magazine

Old Stuff: The Vegas Chevy at Billetproof 08

2010-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

Road Zombies Pavilion at Billetproof 08. Thanks to my homie Steve Caballero for loaning his Beezer for display.

24 Hours Of LeMons / Chump Car Volvrolet Team Rubber Chicken Piccata

2010-01-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

My friend Jim and I are well....certifiable. We entered the 2009 Arse Freeze-a-palooza at thunderhill raceway with this gem. Its my buddy Justin's old 88 Volvo 740. After some suspension wizadry, a welded diff, and some decent brakes, I managed a 2:26 and some change on the long course at Thunderhill. Things didnt go so well on my second stint out when the all powerful 94hp stock motor decided to go poof. It now has a mild Chevy 350 and a 700r4 tranny and is almost ready for the Chump car race at Infineon raceway (sears point) on Jan 8,9,10. Please note the wild wing....its funny.

http://www.chumpcar.com/

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

Hotrod For Geeks: 69 N360 Microcar

2010-01-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, I admit....I'm a bit of a geek. This is a 1969 Honda N360. It will be FAST. I'm going for a, early 80's group B rallycar vibe. Imagine a 950lb car with Twin Turbocharged Honda VFR800 motorcycle engines to the tune of 300+ BHP. Oh ya. I'm a geek for sure.

Spotted In Germany..... 36 Dodge

2010-01-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

Heres some various photos of the 36 Dodge I built taken by hobbyist and professional photographers in Germany....

Crossmembers C.C.

2010-01-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

My homie Lance designed this page for our C.C. Check it.....
Crossmembers Website

The Vegas 41 Chevy

2010-01-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

This is a 41 Chevy I built for Ron Olson in Las Vegas. Its a hotrod with a purpose....a bike hauler. Pictures are courtesy of Chris Kiker Photo www.chriskiker.com Models are my beatiful wife Julie, and her good friend Briana.

Old Stuff: 1965 Chevy Nova

2010-01-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

This is a car I threw together in 2008....Its my version of a hot street car from the mid 60's. I sold it to my buddy Jim a little over a year ago. Fun Car.

Old Stuff: 1936 Dodge Smokin Shutdown Feature

2010-01-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I had the pleasure to meet Thom Piston and Tina Straub on the way to the Paso Robles show. They run Smokin Shutdown Magazine out of Germany. Cool People...Cool magazine

The Chuckles Bobber

2009-06-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

I've been getting alot of questions and interest on this bike, so I'm making it available for sale. Starting at $10999 Lead time is 8 weeks.

THE CHUCKLES BOBBER
NO BILLET. NO IRON CROSSES.
NO SKULLS. NO TRIBAL. NO BS!
Specs:
Carolina Custom Hard Times rigid frame
Fresh 1200cc Harley Davidson Sportster Engine, no off brands. Buell Lightning Spec (101hp) Available if you like (add 1200).
Harley Davidson narrow glide frontend (DNA springer add 500)
Drag bars or apes...your choice
Harley 40 Spoke or Mag wheels
Harley rear disc caliper and rotor (Brembo or PM add 400)
Sparto style taillight
Jockey shift with hand clutch is an option, if you dare.
Bike comes finished in BARE METAL! No hidden welds or bondo jobs here.

$11799 As shown in the pics below.