Hot Rod Hawg is the brainchild of Glenn Bartels, son of Bill and Merle Bartels of Bartels’ Harley-Davidson of Marina Del Rey, California. Working at the family dealership for years gave Glenn the knowledge and inspiration to build himself a hot rod powered by America’s favorite V-twin engine. “I always liked hot rods and at one point I thought, I’m going to build one,” said Glenn. “Then I thought, Harley’s making balanced Twin Cams now. What would happen if I stuck one of those in?” Bill races cars, so Glenn approached one of Bill’s chassis guys and presented his idea of a ’32 Ford roadster, proportioned around a Twin Cam. “He gave me the raised eyebrow look and set off to build it,” said Glenn. “Hey, I’m not a welder, but I know how to find a guy who is.”

The 99” wheelbase, tube frame features adjustable A-arm front suspension taken from a proven design. “They’re billet aluminum and designed after Corvette-style A-arms,” said Glenn. The rear axle is from an S-10 pickup and narrowed to fit. Internally, a set of 4.10:1 gears keeps acceleration lively, top speed is not a priority. Good handling is courtesy of a Panhard bar that prevents the axle from moving forward and backward or side-to-side. The coil-over, Bilstein shocks (front and rear) allows the use of this rod, something which using a variation of the S-10’s stock leaf springs wouldn’t. Besides they handle and ride better and look way cooler.

Wilwood Engineering’s four-piston brakes hang behind every wheel and are connected via an adjustable proportioning valve. “I can’t even lock it up. I lay on those brakes and it just stops instantaneously,” said Glenn. The wheel and tire combo is a traditional fatter in back look with BFGoodrich tires sitting on slotted wheels, nothing over the top here. “Lots of wheel choices are available, the hot ones are the Dayton wire wheels,” Glenn said. “I’ve got one with the new Avon 280 and 20” chopper wheels on it so they have that motorcycle look, but it’s on a hot rod.” Personally, I prefer the wide, low-profile setup I saw on Glenn’s website. “With the low profile tires on it, you can hang with anything in the canyons,” said Glenn. ”It handles like a slot car.”

JIMS 120” Twin Cam B motor was a smart choice with 121hp and 125ft lbs of torque tempered by counterbalanced smoothness. The engine breathes through a Screamin’ Eagle Pro 51mm carb and makes sweet music through a Borla 2 into 1 polished stainless exhaust. The power to weight ratio is similar to a new Mustang GT convertible. Shifting is handled by a Mazda RX 7 four-speed automatic. “We made our own special adapters, bellhousing, and flexplate that goes right into the back of the engine,” said Glenn. “We experimented with all sorts of different converters and found that a 2500rpm stall speed was the best.” Keeping it cool is an electric fan on a thermostat that kicks in around 200-220 degrees. ”It rarely kicks in,” said Glenn. “The hottest I’ve ever gotten this car is 220 in 95-degree weather. That’s oil temp, not head temp.” The leather bench-style seat flips forward exposing the oil tank. “There’s an oil cooler and transmission cooler down there, too, and we got these fiberglass air scoops that hang below the car that feed air to the coolers,” said Glenn.

The hand-laid fiberglass body is proportioned nicely and doesn’t look like a caricature of a hot rod. The sprint car nose with its chrome grill looks just great. A ’34 Ford nose is in the works and color choices are available. The classic Duval-style windshield is frameless at the top, and speaking of tops, although there isn’t one currently available, a removable hard top or canvas snap-on is being looked into. There’s no insulation or sound deadener inside, it’s basically a four-wheeled motorcycle. “When it’s hot, your legs are warm,” said Glenn. “When it’s cold, duck down.” There is a usable trunk, although not huge, it does take all the things required when Glenn hits the beach. Hidden under the body shell is a wise choice of a safe 10-gallon fuel cell. Interior layout is totally up to the owner. “We’ll go over the top, you want a radio, a crocodile interior, and a Rolex clock, we’ll try and do almost anything,” said Glenn.

Anyway, there are so many cool things about this car, I could blather on forever. Spare yourself the blather, check out www.hotrodhawg.com or call 888-434-4473.

 

SPECIFICATIONS
Bike Name: Hot Rod Hawg Owner: Glenn Bartels Year / Make: 2006 Fabrication: Bartels Assembly: Bartels Build time: 2 years Engine: JIMS 120″ Twin Cam B Cases: JIMS Flywheels: JIMS Rods: JIMS Pistons: JIMS Cylinders: JIMS Heads: Screamin’ Eagle Pro “HTCC” Cam: Screamin’ Eagle .651″ lift Ignition: Crane HI-4TC Carb: Screamin’ Eagle Pro 51mm Pipes: Borla 2 into 1 stainless steel Air Cleaner: Screamin’ Eagle Transmission: 4-speed auto, 2500 stall converter, elect. Overdrive		Frame: Tube Chassis Forks: Bilstein Shocks Rear Suspension: Bilstein Front Wheel: 15″ Old Skool Chrome Rear Wheel: 15″ Old Skool Chrome Front Tire: 185/15 BFGoodrich Rear Tire: 275/15 BFGoodrich Front Brakes: Wilwood 4-piston Rear Brakes: Wilwood 4-piston Fuel Tank: 10 Gallon Fuel Cell Oil Tank: H-D 4 quart Sissy Bar: Chrome Roll Bar Headlight: H-D Taillight: LED Foot Controls: H-D Chroming: Supreme Painter: Kenny Morris, Hot Rods N’ Hogs Color: Mid Night Black Seat: Leather by Oscar