Past projects by Matty's Rod and Custom of Fountain Hills, Arizona

Past work

I've worked on some awesome cars over the past 35 years and I've

always had a huge interest in street rods, muscle cars, and 4x4's. I've

taken a lot of pictures of my past work over the years so I've displayed

these pictures to show my most recent work back to my earliest work.

This is a beautiful 34 Ford that I recently did		I also performed some other mechanical work
some work on. It had lost its brakes due to a		on the 34 Ford. It has a 350 Chevy engine,
bad master cylinder that I ended up replacing.		turbo 350 transmission, and a 9" Ford rear end.

This is a 70 Camaro that I just finished working		I installed these special blower carburetors
on. It has a blown small block engine and a		and new throttle linkages. I also set up the fuel
700R4 transmission. I've got it running great!		pressure regulator and fabricated the fuel lines.

Here's a cool side by side that I worked on.		I also fabricated this aluminum brace for the
It's a Can Am Maverick with a turbo charged		rear cargo area. This enabled the owner to
1000 cc engine. I installed the front upper light.		strap things down on the rear of the machine.

This is a 1976 Toyota FJ Land Cruiser that I		Here's the engine in the FJ. I removed the
performed a long list of work on. It had just		header pipes and welded the cracks that they
been purchased and it needed a lot of work.		had. I then installed high temp. exhaust wrap.

Here's a cool 67 Ford Fairlane GT that I will be		This Fairlane GT has factory air conditioning
performing a complete restoration on. It's all		and all of the correct GT trim. It's going to be
original with a 390 engine and a 4 speed trans.		a great car when I'm finished restoring it.

This is the sound system that I built for my Ford		The total installation time for the system took
F150. The system has two 12 inch subs, Polk		me approx. 60 hours! I installed Dynamat in all
Audio 5 channel amp, crossovers, and capacitor.		of the doors and Polk MM series speakers.

This 39 Chevy is one of my favorite cars that I		The 39 has a 350 Chevy engine that runs great.
worked on. It's got great lines and it looks nice		It has a 700 R4 transmission and a 10 bolt rear
with its two tone paint and artillery wheels.		end with low gears and it drives really nice.

This is a 2004 Chevy SSR that I worked on. It		This SSR has a Magnason Super Charger and it
had cooling system and overheating issues that		produces approximately 500 hp. I installed an
I fixed. These SSR's had engine airflow issues.		aluminum Be Cool radiator to help cool it down.

This is a 2015 GMC Sierra that I worked on. I		The lowering kit that Bell Tech offers is very
installed a Bell Tech lowering kit that lowered		good. The truck still gave an excellent ride
it 4 inches at the front and 5 inches at the rear.		and it had a great stance compared to stock.

Here's a 69 El Camino SS that I worked on. It		This was the original 396 big block in the 69
was a numbers matching car from California. It		El Camino. It had electrical and mechanical
had A/C, power windows, and also tilt steering.		issues that I fixed and I got it running great.

This is a 57 Chevy Nomad that I performed a		This is the 342 engine in the 57 Nomad. It looks
lot of work on. It's a beautiful car with a really		like the 409 engine with the distinctive valve
nice interior. It looks cool next to the 57 Ford.		covers. I rebuilt all three of the carburetors.

This is a customized 57 Ford F100 that I have		It has a lot of impressive modifications like
been working on. It was purchased at Barret		shaved handles, air ride, 20" Boyd wheels, and
Jackson and it still needed a lot of work.		3 inch exhaust into a custom centered tail pipe.

This is the 312 engine in the 57 Ford F100. The		This is bed of the 57 F100. It has a solid toneau
engine had been improperly assembled so I had		cover on Corvette style hood latches. It gives
to reassemble the entire top end of the engine.		access to the fuel tank and air ride compressor.

This is a 1968 Mustang Shelby GT500 Eleonor		I performed a complete overhaul on the rear
replica car that I did a lot of work on. It has a		differential. It originally had 2.72 gears and I
390 FE big block engine and a built C6 trans.		upgraded it to 3.80 gears with a posi carrier.

I completely overhauled the Mustang engine.		I modified my engine stand so I could test run
It's 390 cubic inch and I used Edelbrock RPM		the engine before the installation. It's a good
heads, intake & cam w/Harland Sharp rockers.		way to break it in and it's cool to see it run!

This is a new "Be Cool" radiator that I installed		It was a great to get the Mustang engine all
in the Mustang. I also set up a pair of dual 12"		finished up. It looks and runs excellent and I'm
low profile high volume electric cooling fans.		very impressed with the power it produced.

This was the rear differential for the Mustang.		This is a 66 El Camino that I have been working
I performed a complete overhaul and I installed		on. I dyed and replaced the dash pad and I also
a new posi carrier with a new set of 3.80 gears.		removed and repaired the tilt steering column.

This is a 57 Ford F100 that I had worked on.		This is the rear bumper after I customized it.
This picture shows the rear bumper before		I cut off the sides, shortened it, then cut off the
I customized it and had it chrome plated.		trailer hitch and then I had it chrome plated.

This is a 65 GTO that I did a lot of work on. My		This was a 389 engine that I built for the GTO.
customer purchased it on E bay - sight unseen		I performed a complete overhaul on this engine
for $30k. It needed work but it had potential.		and I rebuilt all 3 of the carburetors too.

Here's the GTO engine all finished up. It came		I also installed power disc brakes and power
out beautiful and it ran excellent. The 4 speed		steering on the GTO. It stopped on a dime and
and 4.11 rear end made it a fun car to drive.		the new steering was quick and effortless.

This is the old drum brake set up on the GTO.		This is the new disc brake set up. The kit came
I had noticed that someone heated the front		with everything from wheel bearings, rotors,
coil springs with a torch so I replaced them too.		hoses, calipers, booster, and master cylinder.

This 57 Chevy Bel Air belongs to my friend		This 67 Camaro belongs to Paul's wife Sandy.
Paul. It has its original 283 engine with the		This car was purchased from Texas and it has
original two speed power glide transmission.		its original 327 engine along with factory A/C.

This is a 66 Dodge Monaco that I had worked		The Monaco had its original 440 engine with a
on. This Monaco was a rare car that was only		4 barrel carburetor. It ran very well and it had
produced in Canada. It was a fun car to drive.		a great sound through its Flow Master exhaust.

This was the 66 Monaco when it still had drum		You can see how I converted it to disc brakes.
brakes on the front. It's a big car and it did not		The new brakes had dual piston calipers that
stop well with the original drum brake design.		worked very and made a huge improvement.

This was a 71 Chevelle SS that belonged to the		Here's the engine that I built for the Chevelle.
guy who I rented my shop from. I had to do a		It was a .30 over 350 with Dart heads, roller
lot of work to finish his attempted restoration.		rockers and a Comp Cams thunder series cam.

I included this picture because it shows that		I did a complete top end replacement on this
good old Chevy vs. Mopar rivalry. I grew up as		68 Charger RT. It had a 440 engine that came
a Chevy guy so you know what side I'm on!		to me running poorly due to a broken push rod.

This is a GM 427 crate engine that I finished		This 68 Corvette belongs to a good friend
the installation on. This engine was an animal		of mine. It's a numbers matching 327 with a 4
when it ran! It was rated at 485 hp. from GM.		speed and it's also got 4.11's in the rear end.

This trailer was brought to me by my friend		I knew that he wouldn't mind if I did some
who owns the 57 Chevy. He wanted me to just		restoration work to this rusty old rig. He was
set up an electric winch but he got a surprise!		very happy when he came to my shop to get it.

This is a closer view of the electric winch and		This was a cool Ford F250 from Alaska that I
battery box that I set up. I had a lot of prep.		worked on. I did a lot of work to this vehicle
work to do before the 2 coats of Rustoleum.		which included fixing the aim on these lights.

This is what my friend's Wrangler looked like		This was the Wrangler after I installed the
before I started working on it. It had low miles		4 in. suspension lift, 33 in. tires, Bushwhacker
but I had to battle a lot of corrosion issues.		fender flares and solid rubber bumper ends.

Here's the rear side view of the Wrangler		You can see how this Wrangler looks so much
before the work. I'm glad that I talked my		better with the lift kit and tires. I also installed
friend into removing the side step bars.		some nice sound system components in it too.

This was a Skyjacker 4 in. suspension lift that		Here's my Wrangler all finished up. It looked
I installed in a Wrangler that I built for myself.		great with the lift kit and the 33 in. Pro Comp
I had to fix a lot of rotted areas on the frame.		tires. I also built a nice sound system for it.

This was my 85 Monte Carlo SS. I really liked		It killed me to sell this but we had just got
this car. It was lowered 2 inches, cowl hood,		our first snow storm for the season and I didn't
American Racing wheels, and Flow Masters.		have a good place to store it for the winter.

Here's a 95 Chevy Tahoe that I owned. It had		My Tahoe had a 350 engine with headers into
a 6 in. Rancho lift kit with 35 in. BF Goodrich		Flow Master mufflers. The exhaust sounded
all terrains on 15 in. American Racing wheels.		great but the stereo sounded even better!

This was the sound system that I built for the		I used 3 Kicker Comp VR subs in the rear and
Tahoe. The two amplifiers produced a total of		all of the front speakers were Polk Audio. This
1480 watts. It was an incredible sound system!		pic shows how I flush mounted the tweeters.

This was a Night Rider replica that I worked		Here's a 95 SVT Cobra that I did a lot of work
on. I did some tuning on the engine and I did		on. It was a very clean Florida car with a lot of
a rear end overhaul with a gear ratio change.		potential. The overhaul work is shown below.

Here's the bare engine block for the Mustang.		This engine received a lot of high end parts. It
It's a .30 over 302 block that was completely		had Airflow Research heads, Comp Cams cam,
reconditioned. Notice the ARP head studs.		roller valve train, Cobra intake and plenum.

This was the installation of the Cobra engine.		I had some clearance issues with the Ford
In this picture you can also see the 30lb. fuel		Racing valve covers so I installed a 1" spacer
injectors and Motor Sport pressure regulator.		under the intake plenum to get the clearance.

There were a lot of high performance parts		Here's a view of the Powerdyne super charger
I installed onto this 302. The MSD pro billet		that I installed. This is a centrifugal type super
distributor, MSD wires, and coil are top quality.		charger that was producing 8 lbs. of boost.

These were the gauges and gauge pod that		I also set up this Auto Meter Pro Comp tach
I installed onto the windshield pillar of the		with a shift light. I fabricated a 1/4" aluminum
Mustang. They had selectable back light colors.		mounting plate that fit the contour of the dash.

This was a stock engine in a 76 Corvette that		This is me and my son Ethan. This was taken
I performed a complete detail and repaint on		back in 2007. It cracks me up to see him when
for a customer. It really cleaned up nice.		he was this young because he's grown so much.

This was my friend Marks 81 Firebird. This was		This was the 350 Chevy that I built for Marks
the original 265 V8 engine. It was so lame that		Firebird. It turned out to be a huge increase of
I could get out and run faster than this car!		horse power and it looked so much nicer.

I started with a 350 2 bolt main block. It was		This was the interior work that I did on Marks
bored .030 and completely balanced. I used a		Firebird. I installed the 4" tach into the dash,
Comp cams cam and lifters and an RPM intake.		new gauges, steering wheel, and shifter.

This was an engine running stand that I built.		This picture shows the battery and fuel tank
I was building and selling Chevy engines		mounted below. I sold this engine stand to
and this was a great way to test run them.		a well known car collector in Jakarta Indonesia.

This was a supercharged small block that I built		These were two Chevys engines that I had
for a 56 Chevy. It had a 671 blower with Dart		built simultaneously for customers. They were
Sportsman heads, forged pistons and crank.		for trucks so they were just mild engines.

This was a blury before picture of a 289 engine		This was the 289 all finished up. I spent a lot of
that I overhauled. It was in a 65 Mustang and I		time on the engine compartment too. I'll never
remember how rough it was when I started.		forget the owner's face when he first saw it.

Here's another before picture of a 2 liter turbo		This is the 2 liter turbo all finished up. I did a
engine that I built. It was in a 92 Plymouth		complete overhaul and I replaced the turbo.
Laser but it was actually a Mitsubishi engine.		It made a lot of power for a 4 cylinder engine.

This was a race car that I built and drove when		My race car weighed only 2600 lbs. with a big
I worked as a Matco Tools distributor. It ran		block engine. It was 462 cubic inch with Brodix
the quarter mile in 10 seconds at 130 mph.		heads, Turbo 400 with a brake, and 5:13 gears.

This was a 32 Plymouth that I built and owned.		The rear tires were the the biggest D.O.T. tires
It had a blown big block with Predator carbs,		that they make. This car was a total animal to
MSD, turbo 400, and a 9" rear with 4.56 gears.		drive and I had a blast ripping burnouts with it!

This was a 65 Vette that I owned and restored.		I built the original 327 engine and I made a lot
I restored the entire car over a 4 year period.		of internal modifications. It had a 4 speed and
It ran and drove excellent when it was finished.		I installed a set of 3.90 gears into the rear end.

This was an 85 Chevy that I owned and built. I		I had a great time with this truck over the four
installed a 4" body lift and a 4" suspension lift.		years that I owned it. The hand painted stripes
It had 1 ton axles, 4.11 gears, and 38" tires.		and air brushed bow ties looked awesome.

This was a 69 Camaro that I owned and built.		The Camaro had a 350 engine with a 671 Dyers
You can see all of the fall leaves on the ground		blower. It had a manual valve body turbo 400
which meant that winter was on its way.		transmission and a 12 bolt rear with 3.73's.

This 70 Nova SS was my first car. I paid $600		The Nova engine had a tunnel ram with a pair
for it when I was 16 years old. It was a lot of		of 390 Holley carbs. It had a B&M converter, a
work to finish it but my hard work paid off.		built TH350 trans., and a 12 bolt with 4.56's.

Matty's Rod and Custom 16524 E. Laser Dr. Suite #6 Fountain Hills, AZ. 85268 480-322-0696