You're probably sick of hearin' it, but I'll say it again-I love homebuilt hot rods. And, when Editor Brennan mentioned he had an owner-built '28 Dodge feature he wanted me to check out, I immediately pictured a down-and-dirty traditional hot rod. Boy, was I in for a shock. This homebuilt sedan nearly knocked me off my chair when he handed me the images, since this beauty looks as though it rolled out of the shop of a pro builder.
It's obvious by looking at this awesome '28 Dodge that Dan Boudreau is a talented chap. He's a tool and die maker for General Motors in Canada and a lifelong car guy who had primarily been into '60s musclecars-that is, until he was bitten by the street rod bug. According to Dan, it was fun, but he soon tired of ending up with cars that looked just like the ones sitting next to him at shows. He saw street rods as an art form, where no two were identical, and he didn't want to take the standard Deuce roadster route, either. He wanted to build something different, and he sure has.
Dan had to shorten both the...
Dan had to shorten both the chassis and the body a full 8 inches to accomplish the four-to-two-door conversion, and that was just the start. Take a look at the before image and you'll be able to surmise just how much work went into this project.
Since he's an accomplished machinist with a complete home shop, it was only natural that he build a car from the ground up, and, as we said earlier, he wanted something a bit off the beaten path, badge-wise. With that in mind, he began a search for an early Dodge or Plymouth two-door sedan but didn't have much in the way of luck. He did find an amazingly complete four-door, though, literally two miles from his workplace, and he was then able to begin his long-awaited project.
He started by disassembling the car completely and sending the sheetmetal out for acid dipping, and he was pleasantly surprised to get back a body that looked brand new. In the beginning, he had every intention of keeping it a four-door, but he then realized he'd have a truly one-of-a-kind street rod by making it into a two-door (Dodge didn't make a two-door sedan in 1928). The task was a monumental one when you consider the myriad changes that needed to be addressed beyond the obvious external metalwork, and it took 2 1/2 years to complete it all. There's not room here to cover the build in detail, so a before shot and a few after shots will have to suffice. So, take a look at what we have here, and check out some build photos at www.flickr.com/dantechfab for a closer look.
Though Dodge never made a...
Though Dodge never made a two-door sedan in 1928, you'd have thought this baby was the culmination of a lot of engineering on the part of the Dodge Bros. R&D department back then.
The Dodge really does have...
The Dodge really does have a unique look in relation to the Fords we're used to seeing. The body lines and details go a long way in individualizing it from the rest of the pack, and Dan's impressive modifications only add to the car's distinctiveness.
Dan didn't skimp on the powerplant....
Dan didn't skimp on the powerplant. He built himself a stout 360-cube Mopar backed by a 518 auto for motorvation, and, like the rest of the car, he did it all himself, other than cutting and tempering the glass and the engine-block machining.
The interior is every bit...
The interior is every bit as exceptional as the rest of the car. Dan even performed all the upholstery work.