1933 Ford Victoria - Black Pearl

Kent Findley knows what it takes to build a car that is about design, clean lines, and good composition. Vision and design is not a limitation of Kent's, considering his background as a Disney Imagineer and his training as an architect. But it's one thing to put a design to paper and quite another to compose the actual product. Kent has built cars in the past, including a '33 Ford three-window that had spent way too many years in the bank of a Texas river, and a budget '37 Ford pickup, so he knows what it takes to build the caliber of car he had in mind. Attending street rod shows for the last 30 years or so, Kent has become a self-described "expert hot rod spectator."

Attending show after show, Kent never imagined that he'd find the hot rod of his dream until he happened upon a certain slammed, chopped, low, and radical '37 hardtop club cabriolet at a Tallahassee, Florida, event. As Kent circled the hot rod, inspecting every panel, he wondered whether the owner was nearby, as this might be the dream car he'd been looking for. Sure enough, Jon Ford and his gang from Sh-boom Hot Rods were gathered nearby and watching the crowd's reaction. A few days later, the two reconvened and discussed what it was that Kent had in mind, and it just so happened that Jon was to pick up a Downs Manufacturing '33 Ford Victoria body and chassis in Columbus, Ohio, at the Goodguys show. Once the car was picked up and delivered to Jon's shop in Sarasota, Florida, the build really got moving.

The first order of business was to modify the Downs chassis. Up front, the frame was pinched to fit the narrowed frontend, which resulted in the lengthening of the control arms and relocation of the Air Ride Technologies shocks. Scott's Hot Rods in Ventura, California, gets the tip of the hat for that modification, while Sh-boom Hot Rods assembled the rest of the chassis package, including the four-link suspended, Air Ride Technologies-controlled Ford 9-inch rearend. Under the hood resides a 4L60-backed LS1 providing the ponies to drive the little Vicky. Falken rubber wraps one-off Colorado Custom billet wheels that are now available under the Attica moniker-18s up front and 20s out back.

Once the chassis was sorted, it was time to move onto the body. Anyone who is familiar with Downs' Vicky body can tell right away that the body has seen its share of modifications, and even those who aren't get the impression that this isn't just another bellybutton car. One of the most obvious areas of refinement lies in the roof and door pillars. The top edge of the body above the windshield was raised to align better with the side windows and to slightly enlarge the windshield. The B-pillars, originally sloped by Downs, were re-cut and radiused tighter at the top corner to slim them down. The edges of the doors were also modified to create a tighter, more consistent fit, while the rear fenders were bobbed to follow the bodylines better. Jim Rench of Hot Rod Stuff built the insert for the grille to accent the chrome side spears on the custom-built hood sides. The headlights are '39 Chevy buckets that have been modified to accept a flush-mount-style lens and then they were molded to the Vicky's fenders. Billet Specialties provided the taillights, which were also modified by Jon Ford and his crew by incorporating a billet bezel that contains the Gearhead Jewelry-created Black Pearl logo in the center. Beneath the taillights, the license plate sits in a recessed pocket in the custom-built roll pan flanked by even more custom-made trim pieces. Once all the modifications were done, the skills of Paul Borchert were enlisted to apply the PPG custom-mixed Black Pearl paint.

While the exterior definitely packs a hefty punch of customization, the interior hands down the KO. Designed and fabricated by Kent himself, with John Ford and Bobby Clark providing additional support, the idea was inspired by the deco look of '30s automobilia, with a somewhat '60s custom feel. The red and black Classic Instruments gauges are subtle and lend to the early look, while the dash hood above them is reminiscent of '60s show cars. Bucket seats were provided by a late-model Corvette, split by the custom center console that houses the Air Ride Technologies controls, iPod, and modified Lokar shifter. A custom control panel for the Vintage Air unit is carefully hidden, as are the vents that drop down below the dash. A Pioneer DVD navigation unit blasts through JL Audio speakers and amplifier, giving plenty of listening pleasure. Once the interior was fabricated and everything was all wired up, the Vicky was sent off to Street Seats in nearby New Port Richy, Florida, where AJ Gisonda stitched up the black and sand Nampa leather and suede interior.

When Kent originally started the buildup of his Vicky, he had hoped to complete it in a year so he could start making the car show rounds. Two years on, and Kent and his son, Trey, left their home in Florida two days before the Goodguys Indy show with only 4 miles on the odometer. Save a squeaky fan belt, the duo arrived in Indianapolis with nary a hiccup to be greeted by their new hot rod buddies, the guys at Sh-Boom Hot Rods. That weekend turned out to be quite rewarding for the Findley family, earning both a STREET RODDER Top Ten pick, as well as being selected by Boyd Coddington for one of his Pro's Picks. They also were asked by Gary Meadors to take part in the Street Rod d'Elegance indoor portion of Goodguys Del Mar.

They say patience is a virtue and I think Kent knows this as well as anybody. When the complexity of their build took hold, Kent and the team at Sh-Boom Hot Rods knew their year deadline to make Indy wasn't as realistic as originally hoped for. In the end, Kent said, "The time probably allowed us to work out a lot of details and add some design ideas that we wouldn't have attempted in our shorter build timeline." We couldn't agree with you more, Kent!