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CHASSIS
The
frame for the L.A. Sedan came from
Squeak Bell at Kiwi Connection in
Bakersfield; the Deuce ‘rails
are bobbed in the rear and
reinforced with a front and rear
cross member and an X-member in the
center. In the front, a Chassis
Engineering I-beam axle, dropped
5 inches, has been drilled with
lightening holes and mounted to
Total Cost Involved spindles. The
suspension includes Pete & Jake’s
shocks, Durant monoleaf springs,
drilled hairpins, and a Panhard
bar. Steering is handled with a
Sprint Car steering assembly from
Gary Schroeder Enterprises. A So-Cal
Buick drum-style disc brake system
takes care of braking in front;
the rear end is a heavy-duty Speedway
Engineering quick-change with 3.25:1
limited-slip gears, with more Pete
& Jake’s components, including
ladder bars, shocks, and Model A
leaves. Brakes are Buick-style drums
from
John’s Industrial.
DRIVETRAIN
Steve
and his crew went all out on the
Hemi, inside and out. The ’58
392 was sent to Ollie Hellert at
Ollie’s Machine Works in Van
Nuys, California, where the cylinders
were bored 0.040 over and the assembly
was balanced and blueprinted, and
rebuilt using Egge 9.3:1 pistons
and a P.A.W. cam. Frog’s-mouth
scoops cap a six-pack of chromed
Stromberg 97s plumbed by Chad Blundell
at Blundell Speed & Machine
in Orange, California, sitting atop
an Edelbrock ram log intake. The
valve covers are from Moon, with
Offenhauser breathers. Tri-C built
the accessory brackets. The custom
headers run exhaust through Flowmaster
Hushpower mufflers—or bypass
them altogether via an owner-designed
manifold (highlighted in the June
’08 issue). The ignition is
an original Joe Hunt Scintilla vertex
magneto, and the radiator is the
original brass unit from Boyce Asquith’s
famous ’32 roadster from the
late ‘80s. The Stick City
staff in Sun Valley, California,
did their stuff on the ’62
Muncie M21 four-speed, reassembled
using a McLeod clutch, flywheels,
and discs, and operated by a custom
shifter.
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WHEELS
& TIRES
There was too much
dazzle coming off the engine compartment
to go with painted wheels. Instead,
Steve opted for a set of Radir Tri-Rib
rims—15x4s in front and 15x8s
in the rear. The meats had to be
wide whites to add to the overall
brightness and to balance the bright-white
top. These pie-crust Firestones
have 2 1/2-inch whitewalls. Fronts
are 5.6x15s, and the cheater slicks
measure 8.20x15.
BODY
& PAINT
Art Regan at Carland
Auto Body in Danbury, Connecticut,
chopped the original steel Tudor
body before it made the trip to
the West Coast. Once in Los Angeles,
more body mods were made, including
the polished and louvered bellypans
and custom rear pans, and a recessed
license plate niche between recess
Pontiac taillights and above the
old-time pushbar. A custom steering
arm blister was created for the
driver side of the cowl, and an
early Ford monocle mirror was added
to the driver-side door. The firewall
is chromed steel—the way they
used to do it. Tommy Otis, along
with Oscar, many, and Tito Cardono,
finished it up with traditionally
styled flames and ‘stripes
over jet-black. Fidel Paniagua at
Theatrical Auto body stepped in
for some post-paint massaging.
INTERIOR
The interior responsibilities
were turned over to Albert Lara
in North Hollywood, California,
who covered the earl Ford Mustang
buckets in red win-colored Naugahyde.
On the floor, it’s charcoal-colored
Mercedes carpet, chose to highlight
the dark-red upholstery, not compete
with it. The door panels were finished
in a 1-inch tuck ‘n’
roll pattern to go along with the
whole traditional character of the
car. Likewise, Stewart Warner Classic
gauges were added to the original
dash, set off with a custom engine-turned
insert embellished with more ‘striping.
Tri-C Engineering built the custom
steering column, topped off with
a dished steering wheel from Grant
Products. The brake and clutch pedal
arms have been drilled. Michael
Grella of California Muscle Cars
connected all the wires using a
Painless Wiring Kit.
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Steve Young
started building this hot rod when he was
a kid—even before he was old enough
to drive. At the same time he was gluing
together 1:24-scale hot rods made out of
plastic parts and airplane glue, he was
building a fullsize traditionally dressed
and flamed ’32 Tudor with his imagination.
Adulthood worked out well enough that Steve
was able to indulge his interest in performance
cars with a bunch of cool musclecars, Corvettes,
and vintage race cars. Through it all, he
continued to develop ideas for the hot rod
he always wanted.
A few years ago, Steve grabbed the chance
to purchase Tommy Otis’ L.A. Highboy
’32 roadster. The traditional black,
flamed Deuce perfectly suited his taste,
and the transaction led to a friendship
that eventually resulted in the creation
of the hot rod Steve had built over and
over in his mind.
“Tommy and I sat down for lunch
and started talking about building the
car,” Steve recalled. “I knew
his eye, and his sense of period correctness.
His idea of a period-correct hot rod and
my own are very close. He was the perfect
guy to be the project manager for this
car.” After illustrator Steve Stanford
turned their ideas into a concept drawing,
there was nothing left to do except find
a ’32 Tudor. Decades of planning
were about to turn into a real live project.
They found the perfect raw material through
the Hemmings website—an unchopped,
full-fendered, original steel car begging
to be rescued from an early ‘80s
pink and turquoise paintjob. The Hemi
and Muncie four-speed matched Steve’s
powerplant checklist. The only hitch was
the car’s Upstate New York location.
Fortunately, Tommy’s East Coast
friend, Art Regan, was able to scout out
the car.
The car went directly to Art’s
shop, Carland Auto Body in Danbury, Connecticut,
where Art chopped the top 3 inches in
front and 2 ½ in the rear.
As soon as the sedan arrived in Los Angeles,
it was turned over to Tri-C Engineering
in Valencia, California, the project’s
new headquarters. Rick Cresse at Tri-C
had worked with Tommy on the L.A. Highboy,
which was credentials enough for Steve.
Kiwi Connection provided the chassis for
the sedan, and Ollie’s Machine Works
rebuilt the Hemi that came with the car.
Steve’s vision called for making
the sedan a genuine hot rod built to show-car
standards. He also wanted the car to reflect
the looks of an early ‘60s street/strip
car, “a tip of my cap to the art,
skill, and craftsmanship that exited back
then,” as he put it. That’s
why he used throttle rods and bellcranks
instead of cables on the Strombergs, an
original Joe Hunt Scintilla vertex magneto,
King Bee headlights, Deist belts, and
other equipment that would be perfectly
right for the era. Even Albert Lara’s
upholstery work, Steve said, reminds him
of the early interiors done by Eddie Martinez,
one of L.A.’s best stitchers. The
only exceptions were made for the sake
of safety and reliability, such as the
heavy-duty Speedway Engineering quick-change,
20-gallon fuel cell, and So-Cal Buick-drum
front disc brakes.
Tommy lad the traditionally designed
flames and finished with some period-style
pinstriping. We know Tommy’s ‘striping
hero is Tommy the Greek, but on this job,
Steve said he followed Ed Roth’s
style of broader lines, including a tribute
to Roth’s work on the McMullen roadster.
Tommy’s brushwork ended up everywhere.
We spotted it on the framehorns, rear
axle, firewall, front brake backing plates,
and in invisible place like the font spring
ends and the front crossmember. Even the
framerails—painted black with red
along the boxing plates—were ‘striped
along the inside edges, where no one will
ever see.
Since its successful debut
at the ’08 Grand National Roadster
Show, the L.A. Sedan has been making the
rounds at local events, with a brief stopover
in the Petersen Automotive Museum. For
all the car-show success he’s had
with the sedan, Steve hasn’t lost
his original vision. He didn’t build
the hot rod he always wanted only to stick
it on a shelf with his childhood model
kits. He promised that when he’s
done showing it off, he has some driving
to do.
Thank you Rod & Custom magazine for
this article.
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