fter you catch your breath, odds are Bill Sather’s, of Texas, ’34 Ford highboy five-window coupe is going to look more and more familiar. And it should. Working with Troy Gudgel of BBT Fabrications in Mahomet, Illinois, it was freelancer supreme Gerry Burger who wrote six previous tech stories on the build for Modern Rodding. While we won’t go over all of the modifications, as there are many, check out the links and print stories listed on page 21.

Let’s go over this four-year project to see where we are today. If you remember the earliest of the build stories this coupe was once chopped but not finished. Fortunately, while the top chop wasn’t complete it was moving in the right direction. To complete and correct any former hiccups a new top was rounded up and its sheetmetal was used by Gudgel and the work was begun at BBT Fabrications, which included filling in the roof. In the end we are looking at approximately a 3-1/2-inch top chop. Such items as the hood sides and splash aprons were lengthened almost 2 inches to fit the newly positioned radiator. (The grille shell is an old timey piece that Bill has had for some time, having rounded it up from a friend many years earlier.) The Rick’s Tanks 12-gallon container is hidden within the trunk and is filled via an outdoor racing-style flip-top gas cap located on the top of the body behind the driver side quarter window. Given there was a great deal of custom metalwork handled by BBT there follows a great deal of bodywork before paint. Body and paint was handled by Relic Restomods and in the end they painted it with black PPG DBC paint (a Deltron basecoat) and cleared over with Global 8152.

The transmission is a Gearstar Performance 4L75E overdrive with a Yank Performance PAS Series 9-1/2-inch billet converter specifically designed for hot rods running a power adder (NOS, small turbo, or a supercharger).

The BBT heavily modified factory dash is fitted with Dakota Digital RTX-33F instruments that artfully retain the looks of “way back when” nestled in an engine-turned aluminum insert. While stock in appearance, there’s the DD noted LED backlighting in your chosen color scheme. Linking the gauges, Vintage Air A/C, and all other wire connections throughout the interior and exterior fell to the staff at BBT using a Coach Controls wiring system. What appears to be a bench seat is a custom-made, fully split custom work by Phil Cato of Cato’s Custom Upholstery stitched in a red leather. A four-spoke, quick-release Sprint Car steering wheel is attached to an ididit steering column that’s accessorized with a turn signal indicator box. While there’s plenty of brightwork on the interior it won’t take you long to “add up” what it must have taken to pay for all of the chromework throughout the chassis, engine, and all points in between. Tip of the cap to Advanced Plating for stepping up and once again producing striking chrome and nickel plating.