Chopped, channeled, Nosed, Decked, Smoothed, Shaved, Frenched, Bitchin, In da weeds, Slammed, Slick, Dropped. This was some of the new vocabulary we had to learn in order to get trully involved in the project. Our existing loves are classics, not rods, and they take up most of our time and money.
However, it all started with a picture in a Rod magazine ad. Something long, low and purple jumped out of the pages and caused, as someone previously noted, something that was between a religious experience and hormonal arousal. Oooh! "I want one!" Some detective work, some Internet searching, including a visit to a web page called Deco Rides and ... my wish could be granted. Deco had just started to produce FBG replicas of the original vehicle, a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr coupe, which was aptly named "SCRAPE" and which dominated most hot rod shows nationally in 1999.
We employed a "trolling" technique to attract the attention of Jim Peters at Realistic Auto Restoration in St. Petersburg. We floated pictures of "Scrape" back to Jim and told him that the original Lincoln had an 8" topchop, channeled, nosed, decked, shaved, smoothed, and had a low rider suspension. He took one look, seized the bait, and was immediately hooked! We reeled him in and started to plan and dream.
In tribute to Terry Cook of New Jersey who owned the original "Scrape", ours would have nothing but the best and would be a faithful representation of the original.
The Lincoln has elements from different decades of hot rodding. Headlights are '39 Ford, from the '40's came the wide white walls (Coker tires). The steel wheels were popular in the '50's, mooneyes wheel discs were '60's, but the '90's are represented by the curved windshield and the pearl paint. Air suspension provided that In Da Weeds look. Power would be modern for long distance cruising. A GM Performance 350 CI Ram Jet fuel injected, 350 H.P. crate engine would fit the bill, mated to a 700R4 overdrive auto transmission.
Jim Peters kept licking his lips, so I knew we were on the right track! A custom frame was ordered from Fat Man Fabrications in NC. with a Mustang II front end, 2" drop spindles, power assist rack and pinion steering, 4 wheel disc brakes with rotors and calipers from a mixture of Ford Granada, Camaro, Firebird, and Cadillac, front shocks Chevy P/U, rear shocks '78 Corvette, rear swaybar by Chassis Engineering. Oh My!
Now we would need an interior. First, the entire inside and underside was sprayed with Coolcar Ceramics for sound deadening and heat/cool insulation. The dash was from a '53 Chevy found in Realistic's "graveyard", then highly modified and customized to accept an Autometer 5" speedo plus gauges for water temp and oil pressure.
The center console was designed, fabricated and upholstered by Jim Peters. Controls were included for the power windows, trunk lid, inside and outside stereo system, airride suspension, Auto Meter gauges for fuel and amps, controls for the Hot Rod Air A/C and defrost unit and the flourescent lights. The steering column had tilt, column change, cruise control by "IDIDIT". Glide Engineering Bucket seats were upholstered by "Stitches" of St. Pete.
The interior was upholstered in oatmeal and purple leather by Jim Peters ... nearly there now, bear claw door latches, remote control locks (hidden micro switches in the side mirrors), suicide door pins, Pioneer hidden remote control stereo and CD player including outside Bose marine speakers hidden in the rear fenders. Oh, and by the way Jim, could you do all this in 6 months? Believe it or not, we did actually drive the car within the six months, although it was nine months before it was show ready. Now what do we do? Well, we've always favored the Ronnie and Kim Setzer shows as he's such a showman, has all kinds of cars at most shows, raffles, hula-hoops, giant Juke Box, and, on the first Saturday of each month he would award a six foot trophy for the "Baddest Ride". What's more, he is sponsored in part by Cruisin Style! It all worked out perfectly (although we were a bit panicked when Ronnie Announced over the PA system that, as a special attraction that evening, the raffle tickets were not for a cash prize, but for the '39 Lincoln Zephyr parked near the Juke Box) ... that Ronnie!
Okay, what did we leave out? Hooker Headers, 2 Optima batteries, a custom 3rd brake light, custom exhaust with Flowmasters, a 1954 Kaiser rear bumper with dagmars, Honda Civic windshield, Ron Francis wiring kit, Grant steering wheel, all surrounded by coats of House of Kolor "Passion Pearl" laid down by Jim Peters at Realistic.
The final result was everything we expected. At shows in 2003 Mr. Down won "Best of Show" in virtually every event he entered. In the parade at Old Town in Kissimmee, they cheered, whistled and clapped as he cruised the street with the outside stereo blasting. Just pure fun!
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