The first hot rod in Sweden was built as early as around 1950, which makes its rodding history longer than any other European country. However, today’s nostalgia hot rodders go back in time even to before WWII and hot rodding’s earliest days.
Two of the clubs in Sweden that are based on the early-style cars are the A-Bombers and the Dusters, and both have great events once a year. We visited the Dusters at their event at a 1940s “folk-park,” which was a small amusement park with a dance hall for the local people. The little folk-park in Tuna-Hästberga is about 15 miles away from the nearest city, Ludvika, and it was full of pre-war cars when we arrived. The owners were camping out, and many turned up the day before to spend some more time with their friends during the long weekend. Most of the A-Bombers club members were also there, even if most of them had a 4- to 5-hour drive from home.
It would be hard to find another event in Europe with this many early hot rods. The Dusters also welcome customs, but they have their own parking area at the park.
It is getting tougher for the nostalgia hot rodders to find the original Ford parts, so some have to buy replica parts to get their cars finished. We checked around and found that most of the ’32-based hot rods had original frames. One of the most popular models among the pre-war cars is the ’29 roadster body on ’32 rails powered by a flathead V-8, which also was one of the traditional hot rods built in the USA during the late 1930s and 1940s. The fenderless ’32 roadster is also one of the favorites, but extra hard to get today with an original body.
One who got all he could ask for in details is Ronnie Lindblom, who is also one of the people running the Dusters. He has many contacts among the older hot rodders in the USA and got ahold of an original ’32 roadster in parts a couple of years ago. Ronnie did not just have a hopped-up flathead in his roadster; he added a McCulloch blower with two Strombergs on top. Behind the engine, he has a ’39 Ford trans with Lincoln gears, which gives him a better step between the gears.
To get some more action during the weekend, the Dusters arranged for the cars to run on a small dirt track at an old firing range close by. One that ran hard was A-Bombers member Mike Johansson and his fenderless ’32 roadster. “I even got stuck with my left arm in the steering wheel when it got bumpy and nearly fell out of the car in one corner,” Mike says with a laugh.
Saturday night the club gave away awards before the rockabilly bands started playing. The Best Hot Rod went to Stefan Uhlen with his low, brown ’32 roadster. Best Kustom was won by Johan Törnquist with his super-nice ’40 Mercury in red candy. The Long Distance award went to a member of the Scrapers CC from Belgium, with and old ’32 five-window.
Even with some cold summer weather, the event was a success, and we can guess that many more European nostalgia hot rodders will take the drive next year to this beautiful part of Sweden called Dalarna.
Old Henry Mix: It was a mix of ’32 Fords and Model As in the rows of hot rods, most of them based on ’32 chassis with flathead V-8s or four-cylinders. The first black roadster belongs to Mike Johansson from the A-Bombers club.
Punch It: This roadster in red primer is owned by Krister Lindblom. The “Louver Company Special” lettering is about all the louvers in the hood and trunk lid.Long Search: Bengt Bössvall has been to California to look for parts for his ’29 roadster on a ’32 chassis. The late flathead has Offenhauser heads and manifold with two 94 carburetors.Collector: Dusters member Ronnie Lindblom, who collects nostalgia parts, got ahold of this roadster in parts from an old hot rodder in California. It is now all together with an original frame and body, a combination that is getting hard to find.SBC: A-Bombers member Uno is one of the few with an early small-block Chevy in his ’32 five-window coupe. Unusual, too, is the two-color paint job, but there might be more lettering on it when we see it next time.Mighty McCulloch: A fun detail is the ad for the McCulloch blower, which Ronnie Lindblom also has on his flathead motor.Lakes Roadster: This ’29 roadster is the kind of early-type hot rod that is typical for members of the A-Bombers and Dusters hot rod clubs. It looks like it came off of El Mirage in the 1940s.Long Distance: This five-window ’32 Ford won the Long Distance award, as the owner drove it from Belgium. It is easy to see that it had the body channeled over the frame if you look at the shortened doors.Blown Roadster: Ronnie Lindblom of the Dusters had more than one ’32 Ford at the event, but it was the roadster that people checked out most, with its hopped-up flathead that has a McCulloch blower plus two Strombergs on top. “I still have the six-volt systems in my cars, too,” Ronnie says.Gunning It: A-Bombers Mike Johansson was one of the favorites on the dirt track with his ’32 roadster. The roadster bounced around in the corners so much, Mike nearly fell out of the seat.Bomber: The most well-known member of A-Bombers is Kent Vikmo. He used to drive his chopped ’39 Mercury kustom, but now has his latest ’29 Model A roadster, which has a Deuce chassis and a hot flathead under the hood.Sits Right: The last time we meet Ulf Kajgård and his wife was last year, when they did a long trip in the U.S. with a ’32 roadster. He has a few Deuces, but the latest is this ’36 Ford three-window that sits just perfect.Fenderless: Ford models before 1935 look good fenderless, and here is a good example: A ’34 five-window with a flat metallic dark red paint.Great Grins: The guys in this Norwegian-registered ’36 Ford convertible were having a great time in the dirt.Goggled: You better have glasses for a run in the dirt, and this guy was prepared.Stand on It: Jimmy Pettersson was standing on the gas pedal with his flathead-powered A roadster on a Deuce chassis.Folk-Park: There was an impressive amount of early hot rods in the old folk-park, and the number is growing every year.Post-War-Parking: There was a second parking lot for cars from 1945 and later.Roach Roadster: Jörgen Fjellert is a collector of nice ’30s Fords. This ’32 roadster has a long Swedish history back to the 1960s. It’s called the “Roach Roadster” because the old owner did the Roach T-shirts in those days.Club Jackets: The club members had to bring out their leather jackets because it was cold, even though it was in the middle of July. The guy in the hat and A-Bombers jacket is Tarzan from Karlstad, who drives a fenderless ’34 roadster.Best Kustom: Johan Törnqvist’s ’40 Mercury is very nice, and there was no other choice when the Best Kustom award was picked. The wine-red candy color makes people stop and check it out even more.Not as Drunk as You Think: Mike Johansson and his friend arranged this fun picture in the trunk of his roadster. They aren’t as far gone as they look.Rockabilly: The Dusters brought in five rockabilly bands for Saturday night at the dance hall.Bangers: Some A-bones with hopped-up four cylinders were also on the dirt track for some fun.
