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Mike Walsh’s Early Vette Shop (EVS) in Shohola, Pennsylvania, is a champion of ’glass-bodied Chevys and exotic sports rides alike. It’s also a popular hub of hot rodding nestled in the Pocono Mountains, about 70 miles west of the Big Apple. The shop has become a go-to for Tri-state car aficionados looking for a place to hang out and talk shop while letting Walsh do what he does best: bring dusty and tired road-ragers back to life.
Dave Baur lives just down the road from the EVS. He’s one of its frequent visitors and is a true-blue hot rodder, without question. Dave usually pulls up in one of his two custom-made roadsters: a W-motored, road-munching 1930 that he puts through the paces daily, or a flathead-fueled 1929 phaeton hybrid he’s been wrenching on for the last few years. Both cars were skillfully made from the spare and unwanted parts that were discarded by others. And it’s well known that Dave built every inch of both of these asphalt eaters by himself at his personal country home and fab shop, a place affectionately referred to around EVS as the “Shed.”
On this this day, Dave arrives in his trusty 1930, the hot rod that he’s logged more than 70,000 miles in since he built it under a temporary tent structure on his graded dirt driveway. It’s also the rod that he’s driven down the East Coast and back more times than he can remember, and the same one that he consistently drives to hot rod festivities across the states.
Walsh mentions to us that a visit to the Shed—Dave’s small, detached garage that he built next to his house—is in order. And after seeing that rowdy roadster of Dave’s, there was no question that a shop stopover was now etched into our daily planner.
2/45 Dave Baur’s Pennsylvania shop is known around his parts as the “Shed.” It’s a tight fit for both the 1929 phaeton and the yellow 1930 Ford roadsters, but Dave seems to make do.Fifteen years ago, Dave moved into his current home. It was almost everything he wanted. It had a quiet lake location, was snuggled back off the road, and sat in the stillness of the thick Pennsylvania woods. It just didn’t have a garage to work in. Being a lifetime car guy, Dave decided that a lack of suitable roof overhead was not going to slow him down. He set up shop out on the dirt driveway and erected a heavy-duty tent to work under.
Running power from the house, he built a chopped 1950 Mercury right there in the dirt—from the bodywork to the mechanicals, even the gloss-black paint. The Merc was well known in the surrounding towns, and from what’s been said, it stood on its own as a killer custom rod.
Through the years, Dave continued to put together radical rides there in the gravel. The sturdy tent held up well for some time, until one winter when the Northeast got plowed under in the white stuff. Snow accumulated faster than Dave could get it off his car shelter and it collapsed under the weight of the snow—onto his project car. With that, Dave decided enough was enough, there was going to be a garage raising that spring.
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The 1930 Roadster
Dave built the 1930 roadster while he was still out on the dirt. The project came to life after he rescued the body from a dump in Wyoming. He based his ride around a set of ASC reproduction deuce rails, which he narrowed to get the Model A body to fit just right. He then welded in a homebuilt transmission crossmember, as well as a custom rear crossmember to help cradle the drivetrain.
Dave built the 1930 roadster while he was still out on the dirt. The project came to life after he rescued the body from a dump in Wyoming. He based his ride around a set of ASC reproduction deuce rails, which he narrowed to get the Model A body to fit just right. He then welded in a homebuilt transmission crossmember, as well as a custom rear crossmember to help cradle the drivetrain.
4/45 In the interior, 1951 Ford F-1 gauges sit in a modified 1929 gas tank face. The windshield was chopped 3 inches and raked back about 5 degrees to get the look Dave wanted.
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6/45 Though it’s a Ford, the driveline is Chevy. The 348 runs through a T-5 transmission and feeds an S-10 reared stuffed with 3.42 gears, which has proven to be a strong combination in the roadster. The underneath of the 1930 shows the wear of some heavy mileage. The S-10 rear, stuffed with 3.42 gears, has proved to be the right choice for the roadster, having lasted without issue for the life of the build. A triangulated four-link along with a 1934 spring is Dave’s suspension setup of choice out back. The twin exhausts are fed through the use of capped headers up front.
7/45 Dave built the 1930 out of a body he saved from a wrecking yard in Wyoming, and it’s mounted on narrowed deuce rails. The hood is another one of Dave’s custom touches—he hand-formed it from a Chevy S-10 piece.
8/45 Dave secured this 1959 348 block to be the cornerstone of his engine buildup. From there, he went with a Comp Cams Thumper cam and a Tri-power setup. A HEI small-body distributor gets the spark out. The homemade headers can be run open or can be capped for full exhaust effect.
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10/45 This beautiful custom dash is a result of some nifty craftsmanship on the owner/builder’s part. The dash rail is out of a closed-body 1929 Ford, which was widened in the center and then fabbed to fit snuggly against the 1930 doors. An unchopped 1930 deluxe windshield keeps the bugs out of Dave’s teeth. A 1955 Ford F-100 steering wheel and steering box keep this roadster pointed in the right direction.
11/45 Since completed, Dave’s 1930 roadster has logged more than 70,000 miles behind its 1955 Ford F-100 steering wheel, and both man and machine are still going strong.Dave’s next project has been in progress for the last year. It’s an interesting amalgam of a few Ford pieces, mainly consisting of a 1929 phaeton body out of Argentina. It, too, is made with salvaged usable parts that nobody else seemed to want or need. What Dave doesn’t have, he can fabricate, and as he says, “Anything they sell in a catalog, I can make right here in my shop.”
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15/45 Dave louvered his gas tank for an old-school touch.Dave’s a low-key guy, but we know of at least one thing gets him ruffled around the edges—guys who don’t run their cars. “We build hot rods to drive, and it makes me sick to see them not used for what they were built for,” he says. “I’m out in my cars every day it’s possible, and since I’m retired, that’s pretty often.”
Looking around at Dave’s Shed, you harken back to a simpler time in hot rodding. His trappings are basic, and the proprietor says he can do most of his work with a few essential tools. “With a Sawzall, a well-used set of torches, and a selection of hammers, I can do almost anything I need to do,” he says. Looking around the Shed’s perimeter, just a few more bare necessities can be found: a MIG welder, a small compressor, a drill press, and an assortment of basic handtools.
16/45Read more: http://www.hotrod.com
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