live axle (rear)
One way to sample top-tier classic car rallies? Try getting your hands on a limited-production oddball like this Tornado Typhoon—some assembly required.
You can visit our former 1958 Tornado Typhoon project car at the Lane Motor Museum.
A simple yet important upgrade? A headrest for our Typhoon.
Our fiberglass oddity was just accepted to the field.
We were thrilled to have our Tornado roll onto the field at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.
Our Tornado Typhoon gets an intense detailing in preparation for Amelia Island.
Without a retractable top, we needed to make a cover to keep rain and debris out of the Tornado.
We entered our Tornado Typhoon in the Amelia Island concours, but with weeks to go we were far from done.
Our Project Tornado Typhoon gets a new aluminum radiator.
We replace the 6-volt headlights with newer 12-volt models.
We fabricate an exhaust system for our Tornado Typhoon.
Or Tornado needs catch cans in order to pass tech for vintage racing. Moroso to the rescue.
Our Tornado Typhoon's wiring harness had to be rebuilt from scratch.
Our project fiberglass special gets a touch of Colonial White.
With our Tornado's frame back from the shop, we could start putting it all back together.
While the body was at the shop, we decided to spruce up our Tornado's frame.
The wavy fiberglass body of our Tornado takes tons of time to perfect.
The radiator that came with our car, was old, heavy and ill-fitting. So we made a call to Ron Davis Racing.
Our Tornado Typhoon gets secret storage and a battery compartment.
We change the door hinges from external to concealed on our Tornado Typhoon.
We create a new system to hold the Tornado's hood in place.
We address the sub-par panel gaps on out Tornado Typhoon.
We discover that our Tornado had been hit softly in the nose.
Our Typhoon's previous owner stopped by to check out progress on the car.
It's finally time to start the laborious task of doing all the fiberglass work that the Tornado would require.
The final step in our Tornado's cage was to build a period correct headrest.
Fiberglass cars aren't usually built with panel gaps in mind, but we want to make ours perfect.
With the mechanicals mostly done, we could not ignore the body on our Tornado Typhoon any longer.
This lightweight Morgan has the same power plant as our Tornado Typhoon. It made us excited.
We refresh our Tornado Typhoon's suspension components.
We managed to find a rare right-hand drive steering box for our Tornado.
Our carburetors needed some going through so we took them to one of the best.
We find period correct intake and exhaust manifolds for our Tornado Typhoon.
Our Tornado Typhoon needed a new wiring harness, so we made a new one from a '50s British car wiring harness.
With our engine put back together it was time to look over the water pump, starter and generator.
Our Tornado's engine is actually very similar to a Ford Model A powerplant.
The seats on our project were complete but disassembled, so we rebuilt and refinished them.
We start stripping the body and find some worrying repairs.
Our Tornado's body was a little flimsy off the frame, so we built a jig.
We are piecing together the original brake system on our Tornado Typhoon.
The Tornado's suspension is very simple, yet very interesting.
Our inspection continues as we examine our Tornado's frame.
We find the original lights, and some other parts at Import Carlisle.
Old press photos help us visualize exactly what a Tornado Typhoon looked like in original form.
We tried a new powerful rust remover on all our rusty Typhoon parts.
We discovered some new brights spots on our Tornado Typhoon.
Our next step was to have our body man, Tom Prescott come up and take a serious look at our newest project.
After our Typhoon was invited to Amelia Island, we saw we had a lot of work in front of us.
We showed Bill Warner what a finished Tornado would look like and he asked us to bring our’s to the Amelia Island Concours de' Elegance.
We found a couple more books that tell the story of our Tornado Typhoon.
We now have tons of documents on hotting up our Typhoon, an old Ford-powered special.
Our kit car carries every styling cliche from the '50s, but that's not all bad.
Our Typhoon isn't yet a runner, but at least it now wears good tires.
Our Typhoon will make its first public showing at Carlisle. Prepare to be wowed.
Our '50s special has arrived. Now to see what we bought.
