Issue No. 15 October 1998
We bought the coupe in 1994 because Wilma happened to say that she would love a coupe as a shopping car, and I promptly obliged her, as all good husbands do! (Of course, another hot rod was the last thing I wanted.) When I bought it, it was just a shell with a little rust, but heaps of wood.
I started the car 18 months later, after collecting all the mechanical parts. Originally it was going to be full fendered (even though Wilma wanted it to be a hi-boy), but I got to like the hi-boy look, so I went with her on this one, (and, it saved me the extra three months of hard work on panels and paint).
The body has had lots of small changes. The doors, boot and roof insert are radiused. The rear below the dicky lid is lengthened 2", and has radiused corners with a beauty line added. The roof is chopped 4", the front cowl has been filled and lengthened �" to allow clearance for under the dash where the master, brake cylinder and booster are mounted. Firewall is stainless steel.
Engine is a 396, bored 40 thou, stock internals. Offenhauser dual carb manifold, twin 450 Carter carbs, dual point Mallory distributor, and Jet Hot coated block huggers. Gearbox is a Muncie 4 speed (an interesting story), 9" diff shortened to 8". Front end is HR, Hadfield drop spindles, disc brakes and Commodore rack. Wheels are steelies (front 15x6, rear 16x7). The exhaust is 2 �" stainless twin pipes (just right for a ladies car!).
This project took 18 months to build, and I did all the work at home. The only hassle I had was getting the motor back from the machinist. That took lots of hassles and 12 months (a real pain in the butt). I painted it Bentley Green and had flames put on it. The chassis is powder coated green, interior is white pleats and dark green carpet. Gauges are stock Chev, hand brake and shifter stick are original on top of a Hurst shifter. CD player is Alpine brand.
The coupe was registered a week before Valla 1997, and was driven there as its major test drive. It's still not finished completely, but my wife got her wish to have a hot rod as a shopping car (albeit not quite what she envisaged). Many thanks to Hans Kreuzen (flames), Steve Stewart (mufflers), Adam Jardine (for being my friend!), and of course, my wife, who wanted a coupe.
Adrian Seabert.
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