The best '34 Coupe ever built. I just copy & paste the Rod & Custom article and preach the traditional Hot Rod.This Coupe is absolute perfection.Proportions and stance,selection of parts,colors.EVERYTHING is perfect.California's Hot Rod Kings created one hell of a bad ass Coupe.It's a milestone car and already has written Hot Rod history.FULL credit for pics and text goes to the guys listed below... Heart & Soul from a 1934 Ford Deluxe - More than just the sum of the parts By Kevin Lee writer: Robert Lomas photographer: Nick Licata, Kevin Lee Read what Mr. Lomas has to say... I've always been partial to '34 Fords. Although I've owned several in the past, there was always something modified or done that I didn't like so I sold them. In 2002 I was on the hunt for another three-window, and by this time it seemed impossible to find one that was not really expensive or a pile of junk. Finally, long-time friend RUDY RODRIGUEZ turned me onto a five-window that was an old hot rod and had a cool chopped top, so I bought it and gave up on a three-window.After acquiring the five-window, I started looking for parts and ended up at the Kennedy brothers' shop. As luck would have it, Jay Kennedy was selling his hot rod three-window body. Without hesitation, I bought it with a handshake (the money would have to come later). Now I had to sell my five-window, which I did and still regret. The three-window consisted of a bare body with doors. It had already been chopped, although slightly crooked with butchered windshield posts, but the rest of the body was in decent shape. After getting it home, I needed a frame to get started. The Kennedy brothers came to the rescue again with a '34 Ford truck frame. I began getting the frame in shape by bobbing the rear and boxing the front 'rails. The rear was mocked up with a Model A rear crossmember and spring with split wishbones supporting a quick-change rearend. A Mor-Drop Ford I-beam and split '32 'bones were added up front. Since I wasn't running fenders and the front was open, it had to look good and the stock front frame horns didn't do it for me. After playing with a few ideas, I ended up grafting the rear frame horns to the front, which gave it the look I wanted. I also modified the radiator support brackets so the cut-down radiator (3 inch shorter) would have the same degree angle as the A-pillars. Guzman Radiators took care of the radiator, reusing the original Ford core and tanks (Guzman Sr. is an old craftsman of a lost art of radiators). I do body and fender work for a living and have been inspired and groomed by two old-school bodymen--Nori Morita and Ken Young--so I was going to handle most of the bodywork myself. I started by mounting the body to the mocked-up frame, then aligned the doors and braced the body so I could begin to repair the already chopped top. I wanted the windshield posts leaned back, so I started by removing the piece of metal someone added to lengthen the roof when it was originally chopped. I replaced the butchered windshield pillars with a donor cowl, then removed another 3/4-inch out of the rear and 1 inch out of the front, resulting in a total chop of 3 3/4 inches in the rear and 4 inches in the front. Thanks to some assistance from my good friend Mike Garcia, who helped with some labor and served as another set of eyes, I'm very pleased with the final look of the chop.The rest of the body was pretty nice so I only had to replace the rocker panels and rear quarter patch panels and fill the cowl lights. Channeling the body over the frame was the next big task. It needed to have a bit of a rake so it ended up with 5 inches in front and 3 1/2 inches in the rear. When it came time for the firewall, I wanted it to look factory, so I used an original firewall and pretty much flattened it to accommodate the Caddy mill (which was really important to the car's appearance since I wasn't running a hood). The body was prepped with a Dupont 2k primer and finished with a single-stage PPG concept black. I wanted my upholstery nostalgic so I went with 2-inch tuck 'n' roll. The dash, which is out of one of my old hot rods, was filled and metal-finished before I added the gauges and insert. The original '40 Ford truck steering wheel was donated by my good friend John Edwards. Everything I stated here resulted from years of swap meets and parts collected from other projects. This is not an off-the-shelf car with a real Ford body; it was built with a lot of heart and soul. As far as patina, I'll earn mine. Heart & Soul from a 1934 Ford Deluxe Robert Lomas 1934 Ford Deluxe Coupe Arcadia, California Drivetrain The '49 Cadillac engine was machined by the original Evans Speed Shop in El Monte. Robert did the assembly and painted the block a PPG gold. Further dress-up comes from a polished Mallory dual point distributor, Offenhauser intake with three Stromberg 97s, smoothed Moon valley pan, polished bee hive oil filter, and nickel-plated cast-iron headers. Robert bent and polished all the copper oil and fuel lines. The engine was installed with a pair of old Hurst motor mounts. A '63 T10 four-speed, mounted with a vintage Offenhauser trans adapter, and an open drive to the '36 Ford rearend with Halibrand V-8 quick-change (assembled by Dave Enmark) completes the drivetrain. Chassis The shortened '34 Ford truck frame was bobbed in the rear and boxed in the front. A Model A rear crossmember and spring with split 'bones makes up the rear suspension. A 4-inch dropped Mor-Drop Ford I-beam with '40 Ford juice brakes, reversed-eye spring, split '32 wishbones, Pete & Jake's chrome shocks, and a '48 F-1 steering box handles the front suspension chores. Wheels & Tires The wheels are Ford solids (16x4 in front and 16x4 1/2 in rear) with rare '42 Mercury caps and '40 Ford beauty rings wrapped in BFGoodrich rags from Coker Tire (5.50s and 7.00s). Body & Paint Robert beat and patched the original Henry skin back in shape and re-chopped 3 3/4 inches out of the rear and 4 inches out of the front of the lid. A LeBaron Bonney top insert was the crowning touch (a smoothed and filled top just wouldn't look right). The body was channeled 5 inches in front and 3 1/2 inches in the rear, giving it a nice rake. An old '50s JC Whitney grille shell, Guide sealed beams, original handles, and '42 Chevy taillights provide just the right amount of flash to the PPG black body. Interior A black and white 2-inch tuck 'n' roll stitched by Jim Norris covers the owner-fabricated seat frame and door panels. Stewart Warner Wings gauges in a Haneline engine-turned insert complement the filled dash. The original garnish moldings were chopped, metal-finished, and chrome-plated. A '40 Ford truck steering wheel tops a '39 column, and '50 Ford dome lights add a visual and practical touch. Enjoy !
Saw that thing at the Long Beach swapmeet a while back,and couldn't stop looking at it! He said he did the whole car in his driveway!!!!!
Yeah, very nice, no argument here! I'd love to see a hood, but no sides on it just to see what that would look like. But that stance is totally nailed.
34's are a hard car to do radical bodywork on and get it looking right. While not to my taste that is a killer car with lots of nice touches. I really love the interior and the wheels and caps rock.
i agree on it being "The best '34 Coupe ever built." i love 33/34 3 windows and that is the best one i have ever seen,,i love flips 33 too!
I agree!! For quite a while, this car was my screen background at work and at home. I thought I noticed that a while back, too... when I first read about it on the R&C website. The more I look at it though, it might be the same chrome frame, just looks weird with the reflections/surroundings.... Malcolm
That's one of my favorite cars (of all time) Robert did an amazing job.... I have pics.. I'll post later.. -Juan
I drew it... made a limited amount of shirts (will make more some day) <img src=http://designisgraphic.com/images/port/30-deadend01.gif> -Jan
Maybe it looks like that, because it gets driven? If it was mine it would, mind you i'm 6'2" and 260 lbs.
I also recall seeing it at the Long Beach swap in '05 when he was driving it in primer. I couldn't get enough of that Caddy mill! Thanks for reminding us all of this benchmark '34, Frenz!
I see this car at all the local spots, it does get driven quite a bit and it is very slick. People that want to try and pick it apart should preface their posts with some pics of their work. Haters hate, that's what they do.
here's another thread with a bunch-o-pics, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=203343&highlight=deadfast33
I agree...That is every bit of the word 'Hot Rod' and as perfect as one gets!! I bought 2 copies when the mag came out because of that car...
Robert and i have been friends for 20 years. I met him at Harveys/Jonnies Broiler during one of their summer wednesday cruise nights. back then there wasn't hardly anyone in to this scene. Robert has always had a great sense of detail and it shows with all of the cars he's ever owned. He truly studies the old little magazines and see's exactly how it was really done. I look forward to seeing the car at GNRS !
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