LDI 34 ford

LDI's 1934 Ford Coupe "NoSled"

Since going to Rods in Paradise 1994 at Parklands in our 51 Plymouth (RedSled) and after a string of custom Caddys, Chevs etc, I decided we hadn't had a 1930's based rod since 1979 when we entered the 4th ASRF Nationals with our 1936 Ford coupe ute. When the opportunity arose to purchase a steel body '34 original coupe and chassis, we sold our 1960 Chev bubble top to attack another hot rod.

The decision was made to buy the wheels first and set the chassis front and rear ends up to the height and stance I wanted for the finished vehicle. After dummying the car up, I couldn't bear to look at the height of the roof any longer so we went about bracing the internals and chopped four and a quarter inches at the front and four inches at the rear out of the roof. Meanwhile the chassis was sent to Rosewood for Chuck to setup the front and rear ends to suit ASRF regulations. This entailed recessing the front rails into the HR front end and raising the rear chassis to allow the Commodore rear to sit inside and thus creating the base for the dicky seat and allowing the deck lid to open and close. At this point a Watts linkage was fabricated to locate the rear and offer excellent handling.

We were working on the theory of running a 302 Windsor but as luck would have it we got wind of a 1953 Chrysler 331 Hemi and thought this would make an excellent heart for our hot rod. After a lot of negative comments and many people saying it couldn't be done, with the help of my old mate Terry O'Shea from TMR we managed to adapt the hemi block to a C4 auto making our own flex plate. Terry also made a replica aluminium fuel tank. Ian Miller from Millermatics then upgraded the box with a shift kit and supplied the necessary torque converter to join part A to Part B. With the engine and box weighing some 850 odd pounds, King Springs were asked to supply the necessary coils to hold the extra weight.

With motor and chopped body in the trailer, we took it to Rosewood for final fitup to set chassis and body heights. Maybe it is the custom side of me coming out, I decided to lay the grille back five inches at the top pushing the motor back even further, trimming the firewall and removing the parcel shelf to allow the seat to go back far enough. I then had the stance I was looking for.

At this point the first inspection was done for registration and having got through that we brought all the bits back home to start the finishing off process. I purchased a 1933 grille from Bill's Grilles and made moulds for the front guards running boards and tank cover. By laying the grille back I was able to cut the bottom of the front guards and raise them to meet the grille which allowed me to set the car lower again. The decision was made to keep the spears as after all we do live in Australia and this allowed me to keep the forward attitude happening. With 16*7's on the front and 18*8s on the rear I set the chassis at five inches off the ground and went about fitting tailshaft, exhausts, etc inside the chassis rails for maximum ground clearance.

By using an L300 power booster master cylinder and pedal assembly mounted inside the firewall, this left no protrusions in the engine bay other than the brake fluid reservoir cap. A reject steel bonnet from Oz Rods was purchased for $20 as it was too short for a standard '34. It suited me because I then cut a further four inches off to suit my lay back grille. Also it was necessary to piecut the sides of the bonnet so as the hip line would line up and a further three inches was added to the sides of the '33 grille. The front guards have quarter inch stainless steel rod around the edge and both guards are glassed to the grille to make a one piece front. The side oil filter setup and breather off the old Hemi had to be removed and my Father was called upon to make a remote filter adaptation, not to mention 101 other small pieces along the way using his lathe and milling machine.

A Toyota Torago Tilt column, a pioneer CD with 6*9s in the dicky seat and six inch speakers in the front, an under dash air conditioner along with a full set of Classic Gold gauges including tacho and using a Verada classic clock in the header board make for a very comfortable and an informed ride.

Rear guards were widened 2 inches and lengthened five inches at the rear along with the tank cover this giving a real tail dragging appearance. Originally the car was fitted with a dicky seat but someone had used 40's style hinges to make it a boot lid, which we removed and put it back to an original dicky seat.

Once all the steel work was completed both chassis and body were sandblasted.

After much rubbing back and preparation, the decision was made to paint the car in shimmer metalflake with a gold blend and green flames. Peter Blackmore did the diamond stud trim job and did an excellent job of covering the steering wheel and handbrake cover using a snake skin. With only a week to go before the 2002 State Rod Run at Redcliffe there was a m panic for final inspections and eventually rego which was secured at 3pm to be at Redcliffe by 6 pm enjoying a few sherbets.

The car has been to Millmerran, Rockhampton, around Brisbane and Bundaberg with only a few teething problems, mainly keeping tailshafts and universals together. Dave from Kunda Park Tailshafts has since made a one piece shaft using V8 unis etc and we have had no problems since. The Rod has been very reliable and I much prefer driving my cars than dragging the behind a tilttray.

Although the car won Top Custom Paint 2002 at the Brisbane Hot Rod Show and other trophies along the way, and while we were in a mad panic at LDI trying to have the Cruizin Wagon finished for the 2004 Hit Rod Show, we decided a change of colour was in order. Its now in Citric Acid with Lime Gold Candy top coat and flame job. We also decided the engine needed a facelift, so Bill from DownUnder Innovations made a few stainless covers and tricky bits and pieces. A set of American racing rocker covers along with a 275 degree lift cam, Edelbrock carby and breathers, moon coil cover and a stainless steel firewall, along with a K&N airfilter made the engine bay much more appealing to the eye. We have also changed the wheels to 16*6 and 17*8 five spoke Malibu mags.

Over the three years or so of having the car on the road we have thoroughly enjoyed driving it and have had more then 23000 kms on the clock. The car is on full rego so we can use it when we like. Along the way many people have helped with this car, mostly employees of LDI including Michael, Geoff, Chuck, Ian and the family including Denise, Luke and Sarah. Thanks again.

Because I enjoy the build so much, we have decided a change is as good as a holiday and are head first into a new project - a 1963 GMC running a 500 Caddy, 9 inch rear etc. To finance the new build the Coupe was sold to a new owner in the USA, who required it to be converted to LHD which we accomplished over a 2 week period.