COUPE OF GRACE

JIM SMART . September 29, 2022 . All Feature Vehicles

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A ’35 Ford Three-Window Coupe Worth Lusting For

It has been said by wise historians that the Ford 1932-34 Model B is little more than an updated Model A, but who cares? We love these vintage Fords for what they mean to us.

When Ford redesigned its popular ride for 1935 known as the Model 48, it was a complete redo of the 1932-34 V-8 Ford with a fresh approach to styling. It had a trunk blended into the body, which made it visually different from the 1932-34. Front fenders also flowed smoothly into the cab. Ralph Weaver gave this ‘35 three-window coupe a mild 2-inch chop along with an extended and lowered hood treatment. When Ralph bought this car it was factory original, however, it wouldn’t be for long. He looked to the talents of Chip Foose at Foose Design out in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Foose took Ralph’s ’35 Ford three-window and extended the wheelbase by 2 inches, lowered the hood 2 inches, extended the cowl 2 inches, and chopped the roof by 2 inches.

Although Ralph was stoked to build a street rod, his wife Marlene wanted to keep the car stock; that is until she learned what stock meant. She wanted creature comforts, which did not exist in 1935. She got behind Ralph’s thinking and followed the curve toward modern technology.

The dark green metallic paint is a formula mixed up by Charlie Hutton who knows a thing or two about building great hot rods. Once the ’35 was clad in this deep green paint, John West of D.F. Metalworks fabricated the custom stainless steel grille and excecuted the final assembly.

Ford’s redesigned ’35 three-window coupe cheats the wind with a trunk and front fenders blended into the body. This is what made it more advanced than the Model A and B. What’s more, the flathead four was gone for ’35, replaced with the 221-ci flathead V-8. Two basic models were offered for ’35—standard and Deluxe—along with a broad range of body styles: three-window coupe, five-window, roadster, Tudor and four-door sedans, flatback and trunkback, sedan convertible and the legendary woody wagon.

GM’s LS series pushrod V-8s are incredible high-tech mills. There has never been a better V-8 engine for street rod use, including the small-block Chevy. The LS yields a tremendous amount of power for its size and is a perfect fit for any street rod project. This is the LS6 with 510 hp on tap thanks to the Weiand/John Lingenfelter-tuned port injection manifold. Custom equal length headers make the most of exhaust scavenging. Ralph has done an incredible job here adapting new technology to a design nearly 80 years behind us. In its day, the ’35 Ford’s flathead V-8 was long on power and fiercely reliable. Today, the LS has that distinction. Ralph is pretty convinced this one will make 400 hp.

On the ground is a Kugel Komponents polished independent rearend package with 3.90:1 gears along with double coil-overs, Torque Arrest radius rods, inboard ventilated disc brakes with polished GM calipers and more. This is a boxed Kugel Komponents frame that has been extended by 2 inches.

The reason street rods make more sense than original equipment is comfort items like Corvette bucket seats, rich leather appointments, Classic Instruments Silver Wings instrumentation and climate control. These Corvette buckets have had 7 inches taken out of their mid-section for proper fit. Gabe’s Auto Interiors weaved its magic here, including making a complete roll cage vanish. You can have safety equipment without it being obtrusive. It’s the richness of real leather that makes this Ford’s inner world intoxicating. At night, those Classic Instruments Silver Wings gauges provide engine vitals like oil pressure and coolant temperature, fuel level and battery voltage. On the right is a Classic Instruments tachometer, which is again, easy to see and respond to. Mid-dash is a Classic Instruments analog clock, which is back in style.That’s a Budnik steering wheel wrapped in leather.

You really can have it all because it’s possible to enjoy the benefits of a vintage street rod, yet appreciate the finer elements of a ’35 Ford, including the sculptured steel dashboard flanked by a leather-upholstered climate control panel. It puts controls just far enough away that they’re not in the way, yet they’re easy to reach. Along the firewall are 110-watt subwoofer speakers from Speaker Works.

This Zapco amp kicks the power of music up a few notches because it provides a depth not found in a head unit alone. With subwoofers along with mid and high-range speakers, you get the whole sound spectrum where nothing is lost to road boom. Gabe’s Auto Interiors transformed this trunk area from a storage compartment to a showplace fit for luggage or a picnic basket. Try this with a bone stock ’35.

Chip Foose large-diameter five-spoke wheels dovetail right into this three-window’s theme. Ralph opted for 18 x 6 wheels in front with BFGoodrich 225/40ZR18 and 20 x 9-inch with BFGoodrich 295/40ZR20 in back. This is the Kugel rearend as it appears through Foose spokage. A 20-gallon fuel tank mounted in back promises range.

BUILDER: Ralph & Marlene Weaver, Huntington Beach, CA

FRAME: Boxed and extended 2 inches with Kugel Komponents

SUSPENSION: Kugel rack-and-pinion With double coil-overs fore and aft, Torque Arrest radius rods

ENGINE: GM LS6 pushrod V-8 at 5.7L (350 ci) with 140-amp alternator, GM HEI with custom polished stainless steel headers and Magnaflow mufflers

TRANSMISSION: GM 4L60E automatic overdrive with stock converter

BODY & PAINT: PPG custom color mix by Charlie Hutton and sheet metal work by D.F. Metal Works, Extended hood by Scandinavian Street Rods, Hidden roll cage and final assembly by D.F. Metal Works

INTERIOR: Smoothed, sculptured steel dashboard with extension panel underneath clad in leather for climate control and ignition switch, Speaker Works woofers in front, Budnik leather-wrapped steering wheel, Narrowed Corvette bucket seats, All work performed by Gabe’s Auto Interiors in Bloomington, CA.

BRAKES: GM disc brakes front and rear

WHEELS: Chip Foose with 18 x 6-inch front and 20 x 9-inch rear wrapped in BFGoodrich 225/40ZR18 front and 295/40ZR20 rear