Motorhead

Michael Kamalian: is owner of Revolution and the man who figured out how to make extremely light wheels and frames from Carbon Fiber
Hard to believe it’s one month later, the trip to California is ancient history and my little Ranger truck has another 1400 miles on the clock. Cincinnati, you see, is 700 miles from Minneapolis and though it would likely make more sense to fly, I always seem to drive to that city on the western edge of Ohio.
Now, Cincinnati might not sound like a garden spot of the universe or the ideal mid-winter getaway. Yet, for a large number of motorheads involved with Bobbers, Choppers and customized Harley-Davidsons, a trip to Cincinnati in February has the same allure that a beach town in Mexico does for more normal Americans. And while there are no beaches in Cinci there is a huge convention center filled to the brim with every imaginable frame, engine, transmission and accessory you could dream of. Many of the products are in fact the realized dreams of some small shop where they figured out a better way to make a Bobber frame or a high performance wheel from carbon fiber. There is so much to see in Cinci that we’ve put together a separate Cincinnati report, which will replace the earlier Bonneville report.

New Products
Cinci is as much about seeing old friends as it is finding new products. One of those old friends is Horst Rosler, a talented German photographer and writer. Horst and I spent an hour working out the details of a new book, Bonneville, World’s Fastest Motorcycles, filled with Horst’s wonderful photos and available from Wolfgang this fall.

Henry J

The J Bird
When last seen, the Henry J was in dire need of a water pump, and some valve covers. I’m happy to report that the water pump, red and rebuilt, is now in place, along with a missing water manifold that runs from the front of one cylinder head to the other. And better yet, the big-ass and chrome plated valve covers are screwed down, with the words Chrysler Fire Power shining bright for all to see.

When I built this car so many years ago, my goal was to assemble a no-nonsense hot rod, kind of four-wheel chopper with only a gas tank, two fenders and a fast motor – so to speak. And I intend to stay true to that goal, with one big exception. That exception is air conditioning. Jack Chisenhall, owner of Vintage Air and co-author of a Hot Rod Air Conditioning book we did some years back, impressed upon me one thing about air conditioning in hot rods: “If you put air conditioning in a car you will use it more. Otherwise it’s just a Sunday-morning-car or a parade car.”

So, with a nod to Jack and his wisdom, I’m going to install air conditioning. Yes, it will slow down the project, but assuming that someday the car actually runs, I’ll be thanking Jack for encouraging me to put some cold air in an old hot rod. At this point I should drop a plug and mention that Wolfgang is going to publish a new air conditioning book. How to Air Condition Your Hot Rod, written by Jack Chisenhall and Vintage Air engineer Norman Davis. The new book will be available this fall from Wolfgang Publications or Vintage Air.

Moving
We’ve been at our current address in Stillwater for three years now, and though I really like this old building from the late 1800s, we’ve finally run out of space. A friend offered me a spot nearby but after looking it over I decided that while the warehouse was great the office was just too small. Currently I’m still looking, so if anyone knows of about 2000 square feet for rent in or near Stillwater, Minnesota, cheap and later this spring, give us a call.