Steel Bodied Standout

The Hyder’s Garage 1934 Ford fuel coupe looks like it will pummel you.

Although some may argue about what verb best characterizes the aggressive antics of this hard-charging machine, nearly everything about this healthily hammered coupe resonates with hot rodders both on and off the strip.

This heavy altered flew in the face of convention, eventually becoming outmatched by the ruthless Southern California competition in 1966. According to the Draglist archives, the car was owned by Glen Hyder and was campaigned in the AA/Fuel Coupe ranks. With Damon Fudge at the controls, the car was more than capable of obliterating the slicks off the line thanks to direct drive Hemi motivation.

It certainly wasn’t the most competitive car to hit the So Cal asphalt, but it in my mind it served as a martyr for lovers of early Ford sheetmetal. Beyond the drastically cut roof, lighetened rails and heavily set back motor, the coupe featured a variety of attention grabbing touches.

1. Chromed inner splash aprons. The last thing the already stout car needed was unnecessary components, but these add a touch of class nestled up against the stock grille shell.

2. Coarse green metalflake paintjob. Ever since the cover of Hot Rod advertised “New Sparkle Paint�? in February 1961, ‘flake paint has been catching the light in all the right ways. It appears that the car was repainted at one point, transitioning from a lighter green metallic to a heavy green ‘flake as sponsorships and owners shuffled.

3. Plethora of induction setups. This was standard fare for drag cars of the era, but the rotation of Hilborn bugcatchers, four ports and Scott Slots all look equally at home atop the 6-71.

There is no doubt that this car absolutely oozes with character. The sub 9-second timeslips help, but I think the majority of this can be credited to the fact that the car looks just as mean sitting idle in the pits as it does making a tire smoking pass. This solidifies that the Hyder’s Garage ‘34 is simply one badass hot rod.  However mean it may have been, its history is undocumented after the ‘66 season. Does anyone know the current whereabouts of this menacing machine?

–Joey Ukrop