IT’S A SMALL WORLD ... We

sure take for granted the power of the internet and social media sites such as Facebook. When it comes to hot rodding, it’s truly a small world these days, as I was reminded with the recent visit to New Zealand by Lance and Diane Sorchik of New Jersey, US. Despite being Facebook friends since 2012, we had never actually met until one very hot Sunday in January at the conclusion of their tour of Australia and New Zealand. While Lance and Diane are regular travellers and have been sightseeing in New Zealand before, this time was different, as they wanted to do a little hot rodding in the one day they had to spare in Auckland. “Sure thing,” we said, jumping into our cars, picking them up from their hotel at the bottom of Auckland city, and proceeding to drive along the waterfront and then out into the country for a relaxing BBQ lunch. What I’ve failed to mention so far is that Lance is a highly acclaimed hot rod artist and a true enthusiast of raw-boned traditional hot rods. To get to know each other via Facebook was an excellent opportunity for the ‘If you ever get near our area, look us up’ scenario. I’m glad Lance did just that, as we had a great chance to get to know another couple of hot rodders from the US even better. Lance’s artwork appeared in the now-defunct magazine over a 20-year period, and that’s where I first learnt of his work in the ’90s. In fact, was a real-world hot rod magazine for hands-on guys who loved to build their cars and also to appreciate the heritage and history of them. Lance’s art talked to these hands-on hot rod history enthusiasts from all over the world. While very detailed, his art also has a strong sense of emotion and fun. The very hot Sunday spent in Auckland together was memorable for so many reasons, but what I enjoyed most was the opportunity to talk real-deal hot rods with Lance. It’s very rare these days to talk ‘same-page’ hot rodding with someone. If Lance’s name sounds familiar, then you may also know of his severely chopped ’34 Ford three-window coupe in black primer called ‘Jersey Suede’. The car was started in 1980 with a body from Ken Fenical of Posies and was built to an almost cartoon nature in the mega traditional flavour that Lance also likes to draw with. This bad-boy coupe runs an early Olds V8 and a Champ quick-change rear on a Model A spring and rolls on skinny and widened early Ford wires. This is just one example of a cool car in Lance and Diane’s garage, but they’re very humble in their approach to it all. Our real-world hot rod conversations included discussion of the hot rodding era we both prefer, and, again, we are talking same-page stuff. When Lance was building Jersey Suede, and, later, doing the art page at traditional hot rodding as we know it was in its infancy. I guess that’s what made it enjoyable for most, as, rather than the ‘next trend’, guys simply built cars in a traditional manner because that’s what they liked the most. Often, they could build the traditional cars at a lower cost, too, using scrounged parts and putting them together their way in the spirit of early Bonneville or drag racing style. As traditional rodding has evolved, the benchmark has been raised, with some seeking period-perfect correctness with an almost paint-by-numbers approach to it all. The bottom line now is that traditional hot rodding costs; in the US, in particular, it’s fashionable to go to specific builders or shops and have a particular themed or styled car built. The irony is that these guys will pay whatever it costs to have the low-buck look. Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending how you look at it — artists like Lance and rod builders of the same era, pre-internet, aren’t as popular as they should be, considering that they are people who etched an important part in a hot rod history that is appreciated throughout the world. I imagine that there are very few rodders today who know of Lance or guys like Pete Eastwood, Tom Prufer, or even Pete and Jake. That kind of saddens me, as the generalization of traditional hot rodding today makes for a false economy. Back in the ’70s and ’80s, guys like the late Barry Lobeck, Pete Chapouris, Jim Jacobs, Pete Eastwood, Tom Prufer, Bob Bauder, and many others turned out some very cool cars in the US that are sometimes overlooked. As you can imagine, conversation with Lance and Diane revolved around this and also around how hot rodding compares in the two countries. General news and information about each other’s country were also shared. This meeting and the friendship forged will lead to further things, and it all started with a common interest in hot rodding. Throughout the course of the day, we reflected on different cars we know and love. We talked emotionally about rumpty over-cammed engines, loud pipes, and quick-change rear ends, and we reminisced about mutual friends and what they’re doing. As I write this, Lance and Diane have already flown home and will be concluding their trip with a visit to the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California, before heading back east to the snow in New Jersey. Thanks to Lance and Diane, New Jersey is now on my travel radar, but I might wait for some warmer weather!