High-End / Low-Slung

Money is a topic that can’t be ignored when it comes to this hobby and with the exception of the advice, camaraderie and life experiences that tie in with these cars, nothing’s free and hardly anything is cheap. That, however, is far from a novel concept. It’s no secret that there were high-dollar hot rods roaming the streets throughout our sport’s history—precision-engineered machines that combined the latest and the greatest in automotive technology with early Ford sheetmetal. Ludwig Mavroff’s ’34 three-window certainly fits that description.

In the late-’50s, Mr. Mavroff of West Allis, Wisconsin, hatched a plan to build a powerful, comfortable, reliable coupe for the street. Starting with a ’34 Ford, he applied time-honored hot rod touches while adding a few styling cues of his own. The chassis, for instance, is pretty straightforward. Dropped axle, split ’bones, Merc rearend, 15-inch steel wheels—standard stuff. But the 430cid Mercury engine and Edsel automatic isn’t what you’d expect to find in the drivetrain department.

Perhaps the biggest departure from classic styling takes place on the exterior. The car has been channeled 2½ inches up front and six inches in the rear, yet the filled roof remains stock height. Rather than running a ’34 grille, Ludwig opted for a Deuce unit while keeping a full hood. (Personally I think a stock grille would help the lines of this car tremendously).

And then there are the fenders. Love ’em or hate ’em, they command attention from any angle. It’s more than likely that they were installed to appease local law enforcement, but Ludwig took it all one step further by incorporating ’59 Mercury backup lights on the nose as turn signals and Valiant lights on the tail. I’m not totally sold on the former, but the Mopar pieces seem to work just fine along with the narrowed ’38 Ford bumper.

Inside, Mr. Mavroff slimmed down a ’58 Ford dash and used a steering wheel of the same year. It’s a tight fit, but it gives the cockpit an undeniably modern look. The seats, door panels and headliner were stitched in Honey-beige vinyl, which must have complimented the Cordovan Red paint nicely. Nearly everything was electric, from the windows to the trunk to the antenna to the gas cap (!).

Like many hot rods of this era, this one has its good angles and its iffy ones. For my money, the profile of this thing is spot on. The channel, the full hood, lack of splash aprons and flowing rear fenders lead to some wonderful, uninterrupted lines. Almost European.

In short, this coupe was extremely nice. It was capable of 90mph in the quarter and a claimed 140 flat out, but those weren’t its primary focuses. This one was a driver. And as well-built as it seems, don’t you think it has to still be out there somewhere? We can only hope.

—Joey Ukrop

Photos by Bob Hegge, HRM, March 1962