No matter how quickly you think you will be able to build your dream hot rod, the fact is it’s a lifetime in the making. There is no getting around the idea that Jack had the inspiration and put forth the effort to come up with the overall design. He then sacrificed countless days and nights to support the effort it took to build his ’32 Ford highboy roadster. Now, any project of this magnitude requires help … Jack was wise enough to enlist the help of George Hagy, who worked with Jack for much of the fabrication. To Jack’s “crew,” Gary Gates machined the bellhousing, firewall, and torsion bars that were added. A great deal of the mechanical work was handled by Mark Grohman, Donnie Anderson was the engine machinist and builder, Cody Chapman worked his magic on the EFI, Darryl Hollenbeck performed his masterful and artful touch on the body- and paintwork, Jimmy Shine and his staff worked on the many louvers found throughout the hot rod, and Sid Chavers handled the interior—another of the roadster’s strong points. To wrap up this project there was some “heavy lifting” handled by Roy Brizio and the team at Roy Brizio Street Rods as they completed the final assembly and finishing details. And, of course, not all work is physical and in Jack’s case he received a great deal of support and inspiration from Jackie Howerton who knows a thing or two about hot rods and race cars. All this from a lifelong dream of Jack’s that began to take shape back in 2000 from artwork by Thom Taylor.

For a hot rod that has undergone significant modifications it is conspicuous to see that Jack began with an original ’32 Ford frame. At this point Jack and Hagy teamed up to wholeheartedly modify the frame and work their collective magic. The front and rear of the frame is stepped while in back there is a two-piece hoop that allows for the rearend to be removed and replaced.

All hot rodders take pride in what “lives under the hood,” and this ’32 Ford highboy roadster is no different with its distinctive V-8. The center point of the powerplant is a ’56 Dodge Hemi originally 315 inches, often referred to as a Baby Hemi. At the heart of this V-8 is an iron D-500 block featuring its new 3.751-inch bore and 4-inch stroke. Donnie Anderson of Engine Machining and Assembly handled the machinework, which included a new bore and V-8 assembly. John Beck of Pro Machine built the custom stroker crank. The new displacement for the Baby Hemi is now 353 inches. Inside there is a set of custom Ross 10.4:1 pistons and a Comp Cams special billet ’shaft with newly designed hydraulic roller lifters by Johnson Lifters. The aluminum cylinder heads are literally a fresh design from Speed Dome Engineering, Jack’s new company. The heads feature 64cc combustion chambers, 2-inch intake and 1.55-inch exhaust valves, T1 (titanium) retainers, custom push rods, and lots of ARP hardware all at work. The valve covers are original Dodge Hemi now chromed and feature Missile Enterprises WeaponX coil-on-plug ignition, all under the control of a Holley HP FI Racepak SmartWire system. Induction is based on eight-stack EFI throttle bodies built by Cody Chapman of Vintage Air in his own home garage with stainless screen-capped velocity stacks from BBR Filters. The spark is initiated via an Odyssey battery through a Vintage Air alternator, all brought to life by a Ron Francis wiring system positioned by the crew at Roy Brizio Street Rods.

The small-ish V-8 puts out plenty of power, coming in at 415 hp at 5,500 rpm and 452 lb-ft at 3,900 rpm. Allowing this power to breathe are the custom exhaust headers by Hagy working off a mock-up set fabricated by himself and Mark Grohman. From here 2-1/2-inch stainless steel tubing is used to then link up with a pair of Borla mufflers before the tips exit through the rear roll pan. Cooling this potent Hemi is more of Jack’s handiwork (Speed Dome Engineering) in a self-cast raised aluminum water pump, a Dubs Thermal Products radiator, a 19-inch primary clutch fan, and an 18-inch Vintage Air brushless Monster fan.

The front suspension is based on a ’37 Ford tube axle, a front longitudinal torsion bar coupled with a torsion bar arm shackle and mount integrated into the top of the kingpin. From here the hairpin radius rods were fabricated by Jack and Hagy. In the back the transverse torsion bars come from Moal Coachbuilders with the front and rear torsion bar arms machined by Gates. A pair of ’33 Ford spindles are used along with Carrera adjustable race shocks and a front antiroll bar. Steering is true modern era hot rodding by way of an OEM Vega-steering box. In back there is a Winter’s as-cast quick-change and axles matched to the torsion bar and a pinion-mounted Watts link. Bowler Performance Transmissions prepped a TREMEC five-speed now featuring a low-profile aluminum machined top cover and run through its gears by a modified Hurst shifter. The clutch package, residing within a custom bellhousing with an incorporated Tilton starter, is based on a McLeod twin-disc system mated to a custom flywheel machined by Andrew Riviera of the Vintage Air machine shop. From here the power is moved rearward to the Winters Champ quick-change that sports a 4.36 gear. Can you say “hang on”!