It's great when you hear about a hot rod that has survived decades of abuse as well as a brief sojourn to the dry lakebeds of Southern California. This timeless ride would typically have all the earmarks of a battle-worn soldier, with timing tags screwed to the dash instead of campaign ribbons displayed on a uniform.
But sometimes things just aren't the way they look. Jim "Doc" McClelland, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, also likes all the things that make up a classic hot rod, but couldn't find the "right" vintage one to bring home, so he had one made to look the part.
Though the body of this steel five-window is more than 70 years old, nothing else on the car is from that era, thanks to the imagination and concept dreamed up by the owner and the builder, Karl Skalnik of Skiatook, Oklahoma. Jim's idea of having a car that looked like it had survived from the earliest days of dry lakes racing is exemplified by the faux Muroc Timing Association tag screwed to the glovebox door. It represents what this car could have run in 1948 with Flathead power, only to be updated a few years later to an overhead-valve engine and, eventually, a pair of four-barrel carbs to keep the "race" look intact.
A '60s-era Corvette 283 backed...
A '60s-era Corvette 283 backed to a T10 four-speed gives Doc's coupe all the power it needs. Topped with a pair of four-barrels, the small-block utilizes Sanderson Limefire headers, a Walker radiator, and a Vertex magneto.
To get it right, Karl started with a ground-up approach and pair of stock Ford framerails to which Model A crossmembers (both front and rear) were added. To accommodate a third pedal, a tubular X-member was installed, with the work being done at Pete & Jake's in Peculiar, Missouri. The rear suspension is handled by a set of Model A springs and a pair of P&J's ladder bars and chrome shocks. You just can't get that lakes look without a quick-change rearend, which is why a Winters centersection (3.55:1) was installed and finished off with Wilwood disc brakes hidden inside finned aluminum SO-CAL covers.
A drilled and chromed Super Bell 4-inch-drop I-beam, '37 Ford chromed split 'bones, P&J's shocks, and a chromed Durant monoleaf spring make up all the suspension needs up front, with braking being checked by another set of Wilwood disc brakes inside finned SO-CAL aluminum covers. Caps 'n' rings looked right in the '40s, and they look good here, too, with a set of 16-inch rollers from Vintique, wrapped in Coker/Firestone 4.50 and 7.50 bias-ply tires.
Lots of louvers in this hot...
Lots of louvers in this hot rod, from the hood and decklid to the rear apron. The MUROC license plates may not have the impact in Ardmore, OK, as they might in Southern California, but it's the theme of this too-cool hot rod.
Not wanting to go the crate route with his engine, Jim was able to track down a 1960 283 Corvette engine (complete with two fours) that was dressed up with an alternator, a Walker Cobra radiator, and a set of Sanderson Limefire headers that flows into a pair of Flowmaster Hush mufflers. Spark is delivered via a Vertex magneto and black Moon wires. The vintage Vette motor also came with a T10 four-speed transmission with gears selected by a Hurst shifter (topped by a billiard ball that belonged to Jim's late father).
The Model 40 steel body was chopped 3.5 inches at Karl's shop, Skalnik Automotive, before the Rootlieb louvered hood and Bob Drake reproduction grille were added. Doc Parsons punched the five rows of louvers in the decklid while the louvered rear pan was also fab'd at Skalnik's. Jim calls the baby blue hue on his ride "Muroc Blue" and it is a custom mix achieved by Skalnik's using PPG paint products. Every hot rod should have some pinstriping, and this one is no exception. Ron Meyers laid down the Tommy "The Greek"-style pinstripe along the bodyline, across each and every one of the louvers, and inside the rod as well. Finishing off the exterior and protecting the grille is a pair of chrome Pete & Jake's nerf bars.
With the outside nearing completion, the interior was next, and Skalnik's covered the innards with Dynamat insulation before any material was cut. From there, a Glide seat frame was used as a base for a pleated pattern done with red Naugahyde and a '50s-style loop carpet (red with black piping) was then laid out. The stock '34 dash was left alone, but a Hainline engine-turned panel was filled with Stewart Warner Wings gauges and the aforementioned Muroc timing tag (reading 118.73 mph on August 5, 1948) was attached to the glovebox door.
For steering, a '37 Ford Deluxe banjo steering wheel looks right coupled to a stainless Juliano's column. Hidden from view are the controls for the Vintage Air Gen II air-conditioning system (something we think rodders in the '60s would have loved to have!). Also hidden are other controls for the Pioneer six-CD stereo system, as well as all the wiring from the Painless Wiring kit.
Doc McClelland has had his coupe finished for the past year or so, and has taken it to many a rod run in the Oklahoma area (both NSRA and Goodguys shows). In April of '06, he even took it out to the Goodguys Del Mar show in Southern California, but unfortunately didn't pass by El Mirage Dry Lake on his way back home.
It's a shame the car couldn't be seen at the desert lake where so many timed speed runs have taken place over the past 80 years, but it isn't out of the question for the future. Can you have a homecoming for a car that was never there? Well, we bet the speed gods are looking down on Jim and his coupe and are smiling. This five-window would surely fit right in, and look great heading off into the horizon at speed with a plume of dust swirling behind it.
It looks vintage, especially with the red pleated Naugahyde on the Glide Engineering bench seat, but there are a few surprises hidden in and around this coupe's interior. Hidden from view are the stereo head unit (that controls the CD changer in the trunk) and vitals for the Vintage Air Gen II air-conditioning system.
A Painless Wiring kit was used throughout the coupe, linking the Stewart Warner gauges (set in an engine-turned panel from Hainline) with their respective source. A Mooneyes tach mounts on the A-pillar, and the '37 Ford banjo steering wheel is attached to a stainless steel column from Juliano's. The billiard ball at the end of the Hurst shifter is from Jim's late father, and lends an appropriate hot rod spirit to the car's interior.