There are numerous examples of what constitutes a traditional hot rod. Many guys liken the term to cars like Doane Spencer's Deuce roadster. Other guys claim Spencer would turn over in his grave if he heard his car being referred to as traditional. What Doane did back in the late '40s and early '50s is not much different than what guys like Foose, Boyd, and Alloway are doing today-taking the hot rod as an aesthetic piece and making it perform to the height of what's contemporarily available. Back in Doane's day, it was overhead valve engines and mechanical fuel injection that were hot new items. Today, it's fully independent, Indy-style suspension and variable displacement engines finding their way into the hot rod scene. The point is, combining the classic styling of an early hot rod with contemporary technology is an idea that's been around since the dawn of hot rodding.
Geoffrey Skene had been tooling around his Jackson, Wyoming, home in a full-fendered '32 Ford roadster when it struck him. He's literally surrounded by thousands upon thousands of the most beautiful scenery in the world and yet the fear of breaking down in the old Ford and winding up bear food kept him from venturing out into the beautiful Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. This overwhelming desire to venture out into his back 40 soon grew too much for Geoff to handle. Not wanting to touch his finished Deuce, a separate Deuce roadster body was found and sent over to Dennis and Matt Lesky at Ionia Hot Rod Shop. The body turned out to be about 80 percent Brookville Roadster replacement panels and the remaining Ford steel was so bad that the crew decided to just start with a new Brookville body altogether. The new Brookville body arrived as separate panels and was turned over to Mark Welsh, who was tapped to massage the panel's shape to perfection before handing them over to Dwight Tschantz at Tschantz Restoration for final assembly. Dwight fit every panel together with precision but only after adding every nuance that the original Ford bodies had, including stock, Ford-style rivets.
From Dwight's shop, the body returned, assembled and as Henry intended, to Ionia where Matt and Dennis dove straight into hot-rodding and modifying the roadster. A set of Dearborn Deuce 'rails was plugged together using a Model A front crossmember, a modified K- into X-member, and a modified '35-40 rear crossmember. Once the chassis was complete, it was rolled into the paint booth along with the body where Pat Lehr blocked it smooth and laid a perfect coat of custom-mixed, semigloss Ionia green. An N.O.S. French Flathead block combined old with new, receiving a fresh machine job and internals by Dave Tatom. Behind the new Flat knocker sits a modern T5 transmission, giving Geoff a few more cruising gears to reliably carve up and around Old Faithful. Inside the roadster's passenger compartment, Frank Wallic added his "bomber touch" to the interior panels (read "Cockpit Confidential" on page 216 for more on Wallic), matching the design he laid down for the bench seat and setting off the immaculate Auburn dash and gauges, which Geoff reports are still around-you just have to be careful telling those restorers what you plan to do with 'em! A Grabowski shift knob was added to the oar on the T5 and a new Wyoming license plate was issued with the correct district and vintage theme (yes, some states still allow that sort of thing!).
The end result of the hard work done by Matt and Dennis Lesky and the crew at Ionia Hot Rod Shop is one traditional yet reliable roadster that oozes that old-time hot rod vibe. Geoff's influence of lakes-style hot rods is evident by the use of the numbers from a vintage SCTA timing tag on the doors of his latest hot rod, and though it may not be 1946 and Geoff may live in one of the sparsest parts of our great nation, that's not stopping him from reliving the glory days of hot rodding.
The timing tag is definitely...
The timing tag is definitely a neat vintage piece, added simply because of the close relation of the owner of the tag, D. Keene, and Geoff's father, one Douglas Skene.
To keep the interior compartment...
To keep the interior compartment simple, Frank Wallic was tapped to construct a bomber-style bench seat and matching interior panels out of aluminum. The bench received a cushion covered in old duffel bag material that accentuates the gennie Air Force surplus seatbelts. Notice how the stained wood floor contrasts with the raw aluminum and olive drab green interior appointments for a very utilitarian vibe.
Jeff Higel turned down a flight...
Jeff Higel turned down a flight control yoke button to fit as a horn button in the '40 Ford steering wheel. The Douglas name has certain significance to Geoff as well, as it's the namesake of both his father and older brother.
The entire Auburn dash panel...
The entire Auburn dash panel is the real deal, including the gauges. The panel did, however, need a little freshening up in the form of a re-polish. The gauges were rebuilt, complete with new electric internals and re-screened fascia.
A 4 1/4-inch Scat crank pushes...
A 4 1/4-inch Scat crank pushes 3 5/16-inch Arias pop-up pistons via Carillo con rods to pump 296 ci out of the French-blocked Flathead. A RetroTek 3x2 EFI was re-curved to better feed the Flathead before being installed on a Navarro 3x2 manifold.