The Little Deuce Coupe

To call Jim Inglese's company Hot Rods & Horsepower's new Deuce coupe remarkable is an understatement. For one, they've put back into production a body that hasn't seen the production line in 70-plus years. Secondly, they offer the body with so many options that Henry Ford must be rolling over in his grave. Thirdly, it comes with a 2 1/2-inch chopped and filled top, filled cowl vent, and a flush mount windshield as standard features. To say that isn't the ideal body to start a hot rod build with would be a lie. Ford Motor Company knew this and contacted Jim and his company to build a version of the coupe to debut at SEMA when The Beach Boys played at the Ford gala. Given seven short weeks to build the entire car, the team at Hot Rods & Horsepower were given full creative control and the boys at Ford stepped back and let them do what they do best.

As Ford geared up for their massive 2005 promotional launch of the newly designed Mustang for SEMA, Jim Inglese and his crew started the seven-week thrash to make the show. Since the Beach Boys were known for their '60s-era surf music, most notably "Little Deuce Coupe," Jim decided it would be befitting to build the car in a '60s style. And so, the dye was cast and the crew was off and running, albeit running very fast.

The crew fabricated its own chassis to place the body on and Ford Racing provided the drivetrain in the form of a 302ci small-block Ford topped with four Weber 48 IDAs, and backed with a Ford AOD transmission. Early Cobra valve covers dressed the engine up while an MSD ignition provided reliability. The engine sends the waste out the back through custom-made stainless exhaust choking back the roar with Borla mufflers.

Keeping with the '60s styling, Jim set the car on chrome steelies, with skinny bias-plies up front and 8.20x15 wide whitewall slicks out back. This theme was also carried on into the interior, with the entire inside of the car covered in white leather with blue piping and blue German velour carpet, a late '50s Ford steering wheel, and a column-mounted tach. The autographed dash by The Beach Boys and an Auburn-style insert outfitted with custom Classic Instruments gauges helped put the finishing touches on the interior.

The crew finished the build in the allotted seven weeks, but admit that if it could have been done again, another couple of weeks couldn't have hurt. The Ford gala went off with a bang and the Hot Rods & Horsepower crew were even made an offer on the Little Deuce Coupe. Jim Inglese doesn't have "the pink slip daddy" any longer, since a deal was made and the grandeur blue '32 rode off into the sunset in the hands of Bahamatech/The Wills family of Sacramento, California, but I'm sure it's not the last time we'll hear from this particular Deuce coupe.

A '57 Ford steering wheel handles directional duties, backed by an ididit polished steering column, while the Classic Instruments keep the motor under close watch.

The Auburn-styled insert with the custom Classic Instruments gauges, shrouded by the autographs of those who epitomized the Deuce coupe forever in song.

On stage at the Ford Motor Company gala at SEMA with The Beach Boys and Ford's brand new, redesigned 2005 Mustang, the Little Deuce Coupe shows she can still hang with the best of them.