A Roadster That Can Fly? Check out the Platinum Bomb!

“If the guy building a 1943 Lockheed airplane decided to build a hot rod, this might be what he’d build,” said Zachary Norman, owner and builder of Platinum Bomb. While he denies that it’s a theme car, there’s a definite unifying element to this 1932 Ford roadster. One quick glance will tell you it’s aviation. From the aluminum-looking paint job to the dash full of airplane gauges, this car is full of details that make it look like a hot rod that’s ready to fly!

Nothing makes a hot rod fly like the engine, right?! This baby is powered by a 1949 Cadillac 360. Its been rev’d up a bit by a 1/200^th over-bore, custom pistons, and much more. All that power is steered by a yoke-style steering wheel connected to its steering mechanism via a large linked chain. A very cool looking accent on the firewall that no-doubt saved some room in the engine compartment for those custom-made headers.

Rolling on to the wheels, the details keep coming. They’ve been custom built by Zach and are sandwiched together with fasteners. While its most common to use nylock or split washer fasteners when ya need to avoid something jiggling apart, airplanes don’t – they use what’s called safety wire. Zach incorporated that into Platinum Bomb’s wheels as you can see in this picture. The safety wire winds through each bolt, securing it. Mil. Spec. MS-20995C at it’s finest!

What I love about this and other features on the Platinum Bomb is all the extras are well thought out and serve a purpose. I also thought the brakes looked a little different as well. (I do believe I’ve seen this sort of thing before, but as a novice, I never knew what it did.) They’re designed with holes in the back plates and a chrome wing which acts as an air intake, all for the purpose of cooling the brakes down as they operate. Cool brakes = happy brakes!

Another surprisingly purposeful thing on the Platinum Bomb is all the gauges, the dash is covered in em’. Platinum Bomb’s striking cockpit-looking dash is full of 100% working gauges! That’s right…all of those many gauges do something! From the regular items like gas and temperature, you’ve also got things like a compass and a US Navy clock.

I fell even more in love with Platinum Bomb when Zach told me how the speedometer works.

Unlike most speedometers’ that connect to the transmission, Platinum Bomb’s uses Korean war helicopter technology. The gauge is connected to what’s called a Pitot static tube. As air passes through the Pitot tube, its velocity is measured and translated into m.p.h.

Is this tube hidden somewhere under the grill? Nope. It’s right out there in front, disguised as an aerodynamic-looking hood ornament.

Of course, you can’t look at the Platinum Bomb without noticing the paint. What many don’t realize at first glance is that it’s not a bare aluminum body. The silver color is called “Kosmic Krome” and it’s a paint you don’t see too often because the painting process has to be carried out to perfection for it to look good. The guys who made Platinum Bomb shine are Matt Means and Tom Prewitt of Department of Customz in Anaheim. The rest of the paint continues the aviation theme, from the black scallops to the green accents. That green isn’t just a color picked because it looked cool. It’s a reproduction of something called zinc chromate, a primer used on airplanes. Platinum Bomb’s paint is too nifty to include all the details here, so continue on to “Painting the Bomb” for the full scoop (check back… it will be up in the next few days!)

With all these goodies and more packed into one Bomb of a car, the only thing that could make it better is Zach declaring his plans for “what’s next?” “Driving it!” Whether out with his Them! Car Club buddies or on his own, I’m sure Zach will have tons of fun flying around in Platinum Bomb… I sure would like to experience a take off in this one!