LAKE COUNTY? Life really does move in a circular motion sometimes. While in high school, James Morgan was not very interested in cars. He wasn”t even that keen on getting a driver”s license. Music and books were his passion. He made good grades at Clear Lake High School and focused on his interest in music, particularly rockabilly music.
Rockabilly is one of the forerunners of rock ?n” roll music. It was in its heyday in the 1950s. Today, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame boasts inductees such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent and Elvis Presley. One of the original shapers of rockabilly, Fred Maddox, from The Maddox Brothers and Rose, said, “”You”ve got to have somethin” they can tap their foot, or dance to, or to make ?em feel it.” That really sums up rockabilly. It”s infectious. You can”t watch a rockabilly band and stand still.
James” love of rockabilly continued to grow after his 2003 graduation from high school and in 2006 he formed a band with two family members, his brother, Bryan and his dad, Danny. They call themselves the Kustom Cuts. James plays guitar and sings, Bryan handles drums and Danny plays bass.
Eventually, 23-year-old James was bitten by the car bug. As he explained it, the old hot rod cars played a large role in the rockabilly era. As his interest in that music genre flourished he wound up realizing that he needed a hot rod and he would build it. It was easy for him to decide who was going to help him with the project. His dad, Danny, had already worked on car projects with son Bryan and daughter Linda. Now, it was his turn to finally get a chance to work on a car project with James.
James said it wasn”t too difficult to choose which model of old car he wanted to buy to re-build into a hot rod. He said, “The 1929 Model-A Ford makes the classic American hot rod.” He and Danny admitted that it took some looking to find a good candidate for a re-build, but they located a decent stock, sedan model in Chico. It was in good enough condition that they were actually able to drive it onto the trailer to haul it back home.
James said the car did have some rough spots, though, like just a milk crate for a driver”s seat. But, he said that was no problem, since they were going to completely gut the car and start from the ground up. Danny commented, “Henry Ford would turn over in his grave if he saw what we did to his car.”
Since buying the car just before last Christmas, they have made considerable progress, to date. They took the car totally apart under a tent in Danny”s front yard and have started reassembling the frame in the garage. They”ve spent considerable time in strengthening the frame. They both agreed that the Model-A just wasn”t designed to support a souped up V-8 engine.
James and Danny mostly just have the opportunity to work on the car on weekends, because James lives in Willits, where he has been a counselor for the Ancher-Lucier Mortuary for the past three years. Father, Danny, is a funeral counselor in Lakeport for the Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary. They wind up working long days on the weekends to make as much progress as possible.
James said, “I wanted to put a flat-head Ford motor in it, but they are pretty costly.” He wound up getting a small-block Chevy engine. Danny said it would end up producing 250 horsepower or better. Everything they do to the car is going to be done by the two of them in Danny”s garage. They are not farming out anything. They will be building up the motor, redoing the steering and changing the old-style cable brakes to modern brakes that will stop a hot rod.
James hesitated a brief moment when asked what the most important skill he had learned from the project, so far. Danny answered the question for him. He said, “Welding.” Because a hot rod includes so many alterations to the original car, welding is a key element. James nodded in agreement.
When asked if the car was going to be for show, James replied, “We”re building this car to drive it. I”ll be picking up eggs and milk in this car.” He even liked the fact that they found the longer sedan model, rather than a coupe, since he”s expecting his first child in the near future.
According to James, “This isn”t the normal kind of project for two morticians.” Danny added, “It”s not too many people who build a car basically from scratch.” It”s obvious the two of them are having fun with the project. And, it”s clear that the project is meaningful to both of them. Danny admitted, “I don”t care if we ever finish. It”s the process that”s great and it”s my time with James.” James, although he definitely wants to finish the car, said, “I”m enjoying this because I”m learning from my dad.”
