THE CARS

1937 FORD PICKUP

When Jim built his first chopped ’37 Ford pickup a few years back, he channelled the body over the chassis. He isn’t a small guy, so the reduced cab space didn’t suit him too well, so selling it to fellow club member Martin Bennett gave him the opportunity to build another one differently. He did this by building a custom Z’d chassis with a ’29 DeSoto front and ’36 Ford rear. The body has been roof chopped and narrowed, and has just come back from Ron Ronaki at Custom Wellsides. Ron and his daughter built the custom tray, as well as the transmission tunnel, floor, and firewall. But, alongside the trick chassis and bodywork, the mechanical package is just as serious. “It’s a 427 big block — very high-compression, 1050[cfm] Dominator,” Jim says. “Chris Tynan built this motor for Bob [Tynan]. When he went to the States, I was looking for a motor, so I checked it out. I had Chuck Mann build me the auto. It’s a TH400 with a 3500rpm stall in it, and I had Strange [Engineering] in the States to build the diff for it. There’s nothing worse than going to the drags, doing a big Hollywood, then ‘clunk’! I don’t wanna blow nothing up!” So, what’s Jim hoping to achieve with something so over-engineered? “I’m hoping to get it there, run it straight … and shit myself, I suppose!” he laughs. “It’ll be a bit of a handful.”