PHOTOgraphy BY THE AUTHORnless you just so happen to have a treasure trove of vintage parts stacked on shelves in your shop it’s more than likely you’ll have to go on a quest to source the period-perfect parts to build the traditional hot rod of your dreams. For Don Demers, of Rochester, New Hampshire, he stepped into a 20-year journey gathering all the bits to build the exceptional East Coast–styled 1932 Ford five-window channeled coupe displayed here. From waking up at dawn to canvas endless swap meets, following up on leads from friends, and avidly cruising the web, he persevered until he obtained everything needed to take on the build. It gets even better, as he was gathering parts for not one but two Deuces.
As fate would have it, along the way he met local hot rod builder Howard Towne who shared his ideas on just how cool it would be to bring his East Coast–styled vision to life. Soon after Don began unearthing his treasures, bringing them to Howard’s shop to get started. One of the pieces secured at a local swap meet was an original Deuce frame that had been Z’d hard back in the day. Howard, along with team member Geno Proulx, stripped it clean and gave it new life by first adding a Model A front crossmember, modified center X-member, and a narrowed 1934 Ford crossmember out back. They followed by removing the original Z and adding a 6-inch S-type kick. Out back a 1948 Ford rear was rebuilt and packed with 1940 Ford axles spinning 3.78 gears. It’s suspended in place by 1940 Ford radius rods complemented by a transverse spring with reversed-eyes and Pete and Jakes tube shocks. Up front a 4-inch dropped original Deuce axle with 1940 Ford spindles was deftly matched to a 1940 Ford transverse spring with reversed eyes, Pete and Jakes hairpins, and chrome tube shocks. When it’s time to drop anchor, a 1940 Ford master pushes fluid through steel lines to matching Ford binders at each corner. Linking it to the street you’ll find original 16-inch Ford steelies with vintage caps and rings wearing a classic Firestone/Coker set of big ’n’ little wide whites.
Nothing sounds better in a traditional hot rod than a hopped-up Flathead V-8. To handle the task, Towne contacted R&L Engines in Dover to work their magic on a 1940 Ford block, starting with massaging it to 265 ci. It’s packed with a speed shop full of go-fast goods, including a 4-inch Merc crank and rods wearing Offenhauser hypereutectic aluminum four-ring pistons bumped by an Isky 3/4 race cam. Up top a set of stock iron heads make plenty of power, especially when matched to a vintage Edmunds two-pot intake wearing a pair of Stromberg 97-series carbs. A factory distributor lights the fire with spent gases dumping through a set of polished stainless headers to 1-3/4-inch exhaust with Smithy’s mufflers. Neat details include unique 1953 Corvette air cleaners complemented by a pair of truly rare Chris Craft marine finned aluminum head covers. Don rebuilt a 1939 Ford trans for three pedals complete with a 10-inch clutch and pressure plate linked to a torque tube.
Breathing life back into the tattered five-window body was not a job for the faint of heart as the years had not been kind to the vintage steel. Towne and Proulx rolled up their sleeves and got started to first set up the 8-inch channel followed by replacing the rear subrails and fabricating a new interior and trunk floors. With the inner structure now in good shape they proceeded by replacing the cowl, rockers, and doorskins. From there, new quarter-panels from United Pacific were added along with an original decklid. The body was then gapped and metal finished to perfection, preparing it for paint. When it came time to lay down the vibe, Towne loaded his spray gun with plenty of PPG black to add a perfectly timeless finish. Other neat details include a modified Deuce headlight bar supporting a pair of original Dietz headlights, chrome firewall, and 1939 Ford taillights.
When it came time to dressing up the interior it was important to fuse an equal amount of period-perfect style inside. To begin, the factory dash was treated to an alluring gauge insert from Davis Haus of Style packing dials from Stewart-Warner to monitor the vitals. A 1953 Muntz Jet steering wheel meets a Deuce column to carve the course while shifts move through a custom stick. For just the right blend of comfort, Eric Kulickowski at All-Right Kanvas & Upholstery in Berwick, Maine, reworked a set of early ’60s MGB buckets in black vinyl accented with white piping while also crafting the complementing side panels, headliner, and black loop carpeting. Before hitting the road, the coupe was sent over to Eli English of Traditional Speed & Custom in Pittsfield for final details and initial shakedown. This is one East Coast–styled Deuce that relives the past with every mile driven, and to us that’s the real deal!
Breathing life back into the tattered five-window body was not a job for the faint of heart as the years had not been kind to the vintage steel. Towne and Proulx rolled up their sleeves and got started to first set up the 8-inch channel followed by replacing the rear subrails and fabricating a new interior and trunk floors. With the inner structure now in good shape they proceeded by replacing the cowl, rockers, and doorskins. From there, new quarter-panels from United Pacific were added along with an original decklid. The body was then gapped and metal finished to perfection, preparing it for paint. When it came time to lay down the vibe, Towne loaded his spray gun with plenty of PPG black to add a perfectly timeless finish. Other neat details include a modified Deuce headlight bar supporting a pair of original Dietz headlights, chrome firewall, and 1939 Ford taillights.
When it came time to dressing up the interior it was important to fuse an equal amount of period-perfect style inside. To begin, the factory dash was treated to an alluring gauge insert from Davis Haus of Style packing dials from Stewart-Warner to monitor the vitals. A 1953 Muntz Jet steering wheel meets a Deuce column to carve the course while shifts move through a custom stick. For just the right blend of comfort, Eric Kulickowski at All-Right Kanvas & Upholstery in Berwick, Maine, reworked a set of early ’60s MGB buckets in black vinyl accented with white piping while also crafting the complementing side panels, headliner, and black loop carpeting. Before hitting the road, the coupe was sent over to Eli English of Traditional Speed & Custom in Pittsfield for final details and initial shakedown. This is one East Coast–styled Deuce that relives the past with every mile driven, and to us that’s the real deal!