DeathsDoorStep @ SoCal SpeedShop

This is pretty Cool to be included on this list…..Thanks for thinking it was worthy even if it’s unfinished…………The following is from the article….

So, we waded through all our lists and your lists and we pretty much stayed up all night pounding Mission hot dogs and cheap whiskey and had one of those corkboards crammed with about a berflillion scraps of paper and photos a la Russell Crowe’s Jersey HQ in “American Gangster.” Dig it.

And we came up with our Top 10 all-time greatest cars of the last decade. What does this mean for you? One way to look at it is as the best private car show on the planet. Or that we’re only half-right. Or wrong. Yet another way to see this list is an assemblage of cars built and/or finished between 2000 and 2009 that were genre-defining. Or set the pace for a whole new approach to the category. Or a whole new category. Or that was so influential, it launched a thousand other inspired (some would say copy-cat) builds.

You’ll see a few of the same models, but that just couldn’t be helped. We took into consideration a few categories: customs, hot rods, showcars and overall genre-definers. We didn’t nix a car simply because there was another make/model just like it. So, there’s that. And really, we didn’t include any restorations. We feel like those cars already made their moves the first time around and didn’t count for this list.

So there you have it. And have at it –– we hope you like. But, hey, whittling down this list to ten was like trying to make a mix tape for the hottest girl in class. And you’ve only got a 30-minute cassette.

Dave Lohr’s ‘30 Model A coupe “Death’s Doorstep”
Dave Lohr built this little sucker a few years ago and launched more than a few copies since. The unique flat creeper stance of this hemi-spun, digger-esque street racer proves that scene-changing cars can come out of the Midwest. Ohio, to be exact. Dave’s talents as a builder on this deal landed him a spot on Jimmy Shine’s TV show a couple years ago and he’s built a few high-toned sons-a-bitches since. We love Death’s Doorstep for its overall insane commitment to real dragster style: the engine setback, the 18″ spindle-mounts and lack of radiator up front, slicks out back and an unchopped but heavily channeled Model A coupe body. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that more than a few people have copied Dave’s style since Death’s Doorstep hit the street. And its influence is one of the reasons it made the list.

DeathsDoorStep Drivers Door

DDS Door

Quick website update

I decided DDS needed to go onto a Diet……..so I started drilling holes, first I had to replace the lower sheetmetal on the door. Next I need to mount the colored plastic window..I will do it just like I did on my Model A Pickup, seemed to have worked well for it………I will post and update soon…..Littleman

New carbs on DDS...

New Drag Carbs on DDS...

DeathsDoorStep is way past due for completion…The Coupe has sat for a couple of years now since I started it..The last time it was really running and drive-able was when I drove it on the HardShine T.V. show……..I tried to work on it a year or so ago…but struggled to find and or feel the love for it, so I pushed it back to the house garage up front and focused on racing the Model A Pickup…

Well the Coupe is back in the shop…..I decided to fire it up again w/ hopes it would get the juices flowing again……..I fired it up w/ the six 94 carbs that have been bolted on since day one….and still was not too impressed……Then while looking across the shop I saw the SBC intake w/ my newly machined and polished carbs I was running on the Pickup towards the end of this year….and I instantly knew I had to try them on DDS’s Hemi……..I had to make up a few things to make them work…

After it first fired………I could not get over the difference it made…..sounds like pure Evil !…Boy what a change it made..instant HP !…..It definitely got the juices flowing again………….More to follow……….Littleman Dave Lohr

HotRod January 2010

It’s been a while since anykind of update………

I need to thanks David Freiburger, ”Editor-in-chief” , of HotRod magazine for thinking my Little Model A Pickup was cool enough to write up a small article on it and place it among the pages of HotRod magazine….Also need to thank Michigan’s own Mike Yoksich for taking the photo’s of the Truck earlier this year on April 4th @ Milan DragStrip…..He also took the photo’s that caught the eye of Mr. Freiburger that had been taken this year while showing @ The Detroit AutoRama…….

The timing of the article was perfect….with me just retiring the Truck from the DragStrip just a few weeks prior to this issue coming out…..I find it a fitting end for the Trucks end and a great way for it to bow out gracefully…….Thanks to all !!!………….Littleman Dave Lohr

Broken Camshaft and lifter..

Well the season is over for the Truck…..the end came quickly this past Sunday while @ a test-n-tune held at DragWay 42 during the first pass attempt……The truck took off like a monster w/ my thumb riding the Nitrous button from the drop of the last yellow bulb……It took the wheel out of my hand again so I was forced to get out of the gas prior to the 60′ mark..The engine shut down just past the 60′ mark and I was able to coast to the side and pull off the Track…The Truck recorded a 1.300 60′ time and that included getting off the fun pedal quickly then back into it..It was the best ever 60′ time to date so the Truck was on a mission and no joy ride !

I jumped out expecting to see the bottom of the Truck oil soaked or some other type of bad damage..but saw none….I had it towed back to the trailer and found that I had no spark..Thought it was the coil, so on the way home I picked up a coil @ summit Racing and installed it later that night..But still had no spark..I tested the MSD box and it was found to be functional…so that only left the ignition module in the Mallory Unilite dizzy…..I order one and installed it and still no spark,

Then I noticed each time I had the dizzy cap off the rotor was still in the same position..not good……I pulled the engine and the above pic is what I found..Their still is on more 3” or so peice of camshaft left in the engine..It also took a large chuck out of cylinder 7’s exhuast lifter and hurt that bore a little..

The Truck will be retired as of now and returned to street duty…Its best time was 10.37 @ 124 mph and change w/ a 60′ time of 1.364 running six 94 carbs…I will rebuild the 327 that I originally had bolted in it, which ran a best of 12.21 @ the Strip…It’s time to build a real race car and stop tearing up this Truck….Littleman

No pics, but the Truck spanked the Track hard this Saturday after they dried the Track off..It sure was cold as well…running it’s best time to date of 10.37 @ 124.78 mph……..60′ of 1.364 and 1/8 mile time of 6.512….I hope to do a better tuneup and get out at least one more time before weather conditions get bad here in Ohio………..Littleman Dave Lohr

2009 ShowDown Drags Beaver Springs Pa.

 I made the trip to the 2009 ShowDown Drags just recently……..I left @ 3:30 am Saturday morning to meet up with some of the Slick Devils who had left before me…….We had a great time…Allthou I was dissapointed in the Trucks performance…..Before this event I had been playing w/ the nitrous…and laid down a 10.57 pass, so I was looking to better that…..but only walked away w/ a 10.65….But after I arrived back home found a few problems and fixed them………I would like to thank ScarryLarry and his wife along w/ Beaver Bob owner of the Track and to all that help run the Track and make this show possible !

Drag 94 carbs..

Drag 94 Carbs

I tore down my original carbs and robbed the throttle bases from them…..I was then able to mate them to the new 94 Drag carbsI have been working on……I made one pass this Sunday and the Truck clicked off 11.09 @ 118.96 MPH……The plugs are begging for more fuel..I have already changed jetting and a few other changes as well….This coming weekend isthe Thompson Gasser Nationals where I plan on doing allot of tuning and have high hopes of utilizing the nitrous for the very first time….The new carbs show allot of promise!……Littleman Dave Lohr

*Update*……….The fastest it went @ Thompson Fall Gasser meet was a 10.97 @ 121.77 mph…So we are finally back on track….I did not have a chance to hit the nitrous as of yet but am getting real close….I was only able to attend this event on the last day so I ran out of time tuning… I really needed the full day of Saturday to tune all day…but only made it out for Sunday due to tow vehicle problems..

Polishing complete..

The Truck engine is back together and running w/ the new AFR aluminum heads..The new heads have 210 cc runners w/ 2.08/1.6 valves w/ angled plugs and 65cc chambers..It took me over 4 1/2 hrs to port the intake to the new heads…I added a purge valve to the Nitrous setup along w/ a fuel pressure regulator to the fuel side of the Nitrous system..It should hit the Track real soon..hoping for good things !

The 94 Drag carb’s have been fully polished as of today both the upper and main carb bodies….Littleman

polished tops..round one

I decided to start polishing my new Drag Carb’s, the outside that is..I figured the outside should look as nice as the insides…….It takes along time to get them to look good……I have only done two of the tops so far..which took longer than I thought it would…They still need more work, but figured I will get them all to this stage for now then start on the center sections………..I look at this way..I am sanding off material….so they should be lighter….therefore make the Truck faster..ha ha ha…

Update….all the tops are fully polished now and I have moved onto the larger center bodies…..They take even longer and are much more involved….I have completed one so far and they looks killer w/ the polished top on it…I will post more pics once done…

The Truck engine is torn down once again…It bent valves while at Bowling Green HRR…….It was fixed since then and did more damage once again after only three passes….This is the ninth time I have had the engine and trans pulled from the Truck since May 4th………..I have bought a new set of AFR heads and I am on a mission to better the Trucks fastest ET of 10.89 before the year is up…….I go to the track to tune and put a squeeze on what I have…….not for a Sunday drive..To be continued….Later dave