here’s a great deal of pride taken in building one’s own hot rod. Many of us “build” our cars where the range of self-performed work varies. However, it’s a rare build indeed when such significant portions of the build, such as the chassis fabrication and assembly, all the metal- and bodywork, along with the paint and interior aluminum work, are all performed in one’s own garage. Such was the case with Jim Lee and his 1934 Ford five-window coupe during its construction in his SoCal garage. In the case of Jim’s 1934 Ford five-window coupe, he really did perform all of the build right there at home. This SoCal rodder spent a lifetime as a certified welder, making the fabrication and welding well within his skill set. His various talents were then genuinely refined over 20 years of building and riding motorcycles, followed by 30 years of building and driving hot rods of all makes and years.
It didn’t stop here. The body was another “love affair” requiring profuse amounts of work to bring it to some form of recognition. Both of the rear quarter- and rocker panels were replaced, as they had been repaired in the past, and let’s say the decades-old workmanship left a great deal to be desired. At some point in the car’s life it had been hit on both sides, rolled upside down, and suffered from bent and twisted “B” pillars. This bucket of bent metal necessitated enormous amounts of metal- and bodywork to be performed by Jim. In an attempt to make “things right” he opted to chop the top (his first chop) 3 inches while only taking 2 inches out of the rear window. In the top chopping process the roof was stretched. This, along with the home-fabricated floorpan, trunk floor, driveshaft and trans tunnels, roof insert, door panels, battery box, trunk-located tool carrier and gas tank, and the notched firewall to handle the engine length are more of Jim’s handiwork. The underside was coated in Lizard Skin based on five coats of sound deadening and five coats of thermal coatings. Inside, plenty of Dynamat and Dynaliner were used to assist with the insulation and to enhance the quietness of the ride. As you can guess all of the painting was also performed by Jim, but this time in his driveway. He used a flat sterling silver with a satin clear to give the car its present look.
All hot rods have one thing in common: there is never enough horsepower. Of course, determining what’s necessary is the age-old argument and enough never seems to be enough. In Jim’s case he has a mild-mannered Chevy 350 crate motor that sports 350 hp, which is plenty of punch for a 3,000-pound hot rod. The V-8 and rear shocks came by way of Jim’s good friend Mike Saiki. A quick look of the V-8 and you will see plenty of standard rodding fare with a Chevrolet Performance Vortec dual-plane intake topped with a Holley 650-cfm carb operated by a Lokar throttle cable assembly, a mechanical fuel pump delivers the fuel, a K&N air filter takes large gulps of air, a Powermaster 100-amp alternator regenerates juice, a FlowKooler water pump and a mechanical fan with an electrical fan as a backup help maintain the V-8’s cool. From here finned valve covers, a Chevy HEI ignition and wires, and a pair of rams horn exhaust manifolds with 2-1/2-inch mandrel-bent stainless steel exhaust tubing that runs back to a pair of Borla exhaust to finish out the appearance. The Bowtie V-8 is backed up to a 700-R4 with a shift kit, Lokar shifter, and a trans cooler. The tranny mods were done by Jon Hosington and the driveshaft came from Powertrain Industries that links to the 1968 Cougar 8-inch rearend with 3.55 limited-slip gears and narrowed axles.
It may have taken upwards of 27 different cars and numerous street rod manufacturers to assemble all of the necessary pieces required to build this homebuilt hot rod but Jim did it and now he’s enjoying the labor of his love—lots of miles are being racked up as you read this story.