How would Ron pull off this “shave and haircut”? He took the coupe to Justin and Evin Veazie of the Veazie Brothers Fabrication in Pomona (located in the old SO-CAL Speed Shop complex). The brothers worked at SO-CAL for many years and were very familiar with Chapouris’ colloquialisms and the end results. In time they would go out on their own building some great looking hot rods. Justin went on to say, “This redo was more than a shave and haircut. It was more of an open-heart transplant coupled with an attitude adjustment.”

The ’33 Ford coupe retained its paint, but the Flathead and five-speed were swapped out along with several other changes. In place of the Flathead a vintage 327 small-block Chevy held in place with a modified Hurst-style front motor mount that incorporates a low alternator bracketry. Influencing the V-8 is a Rochester “big-box” mechanical fuel injection (’63-65) that is fully detailed with paint- and brightwork. The vintage Delco distributor was retained but filled with a PerTronix Igniter kit along with a PerTronix external coil and plug wires. Firing the ignition comes by way of an Optima battery. Modified block hugger–style headers were used along with 2-1/2-inch tubing running to and out of a pair of Flowmaster mufflers all ceramic coated by Young Guns Performance Coatings. All exhaust fabrication was handled by Howard Hammond. Other engine accessories include a SPAL electric fan coupled with a Powermaster alternator and starter. Backed up to the SBC is now a 700-R4 with a B&M Shift Kit and a Gennie shifter.

The sheetmetal is all Henry, as is the lighting, grille shell, bumpers, and so on. From here to the interior was stitched by Ron Mangus of Ron Mangus Hot Rod Interiors over the stock bench seat and panels. The stock dash does feature a full woodgrain effort from Lyman Woodgraining Classics that was fitted with restored original factory gauges. A pair of Classic Instruments “hot rod” gauges (water temp and fuel) are mounted to the bottom of the dash and to the right of the steering column along with a Classic Instruments tach mounted to the left of the column. All the necessary wiring was based on a Ron Francis Wiring kit installed by the Veazie Brothers. The steering features a reproduction ’32 wheel on top of a stock tube that’s been modified to work with a Borgeson-Vega steering box. Wrapped around the steering tube is a SO-CAL throttle (spoon) and brake pedal.

There is always another way to get the hot rod of your dreams without going to the drawing board and starting from scratch. Here Ron has managed to come up with a very cool hot rod by taking a running car and massaging it to reflect his taste and his look. Job well done.