The name Vranas should ring a bell with STREET RODDER readers. Chuck Vranas of Braintree, Massachusetts is our East Coast connection and reports on all things rodding, but the name Kim Vranas may be a bit more of a brain teaser. The 1927 Ford touring on these pages is her hot rod, not his!
Kim's project, while 8 years in the building, has an even longer pedigree. As a Christmas present to Kim, Chuck brought home a rare 1964 Buick Super Wildcat 425ci Nailhead with factory dual-quads, and a Muncie four-speed transmission. Turns out the Nailhead is Kim's favorite V-8 but more on that later. The character of any hot rod is in the build style and, with the power accounted for, it was time to find a body. The 1927 Ford touring came to Kim as a circus clown car; albeit a stripped-down, ex-clown car (covered with cobwebs, dashes, and dots) found in the loft of a hot rod fabrication shop North of Boston. All of us are guilty of changing our minds and vacillating from one build style to another until the time finally does come when we must commit. Kim is no different than her male hot rod counterparts; what started out as a primered car with an Indian blanket interior evolved into what you see on the pages before you.
The chassis is based on a pair of Deuce Factory `32 framerails stretched over the stock Deuce 106-inch wheelbase. The 'rails are boxed, pinched in the front, and equipped with a Model A front crossmember. The front underpinnings are based on a dropped, drilled, and filled Deuce big-beam axle with split and drilled '32 Ford wishbones. Other frontend amenities include '40 Ford spindles that serve as the foundation for the '40 Ford brakes and backing plates hidden beneath a pair of 90 fin aluminum brake drums. To this a POSIES' (Hummelstown, PA) transverse spring with curved edges and a pair of Houdaille shocks were added, while all the brightwork fell to the capable hands of South Shore Plating (Quincy, MA).
A stock ring and pinion combo rests within a '37 Lincoln rearend positioned via '35 Ford split wishbones, custom Panhard bar, once again POSIES' 1/4-elliptic springs, and Houdaille shocks.
A 437-inch Nailhead assembled...
A 437-inch Nailhead assembled by Reid's Automotive supplies the power with the help of a factory intake, dual Edelbrock 500cfm carbs, a Joe Hunt distributor, a PowerGEN alternator, and custom lakes-style headers by One-Off Technologies.
Steering is handled by a Schroeder (Burbank, CA) side-steer box hooked to a '40 Ford steering column and wheel by LimeWorks (Whittier, CA) with the column modified by Steve Pierce at One-Off Technologies (Gilford, NH) to fit the current application. Resting below the steering column is a '40 Ford master cylinder pressed into work by a modified '32 Ford pedal assembly.
Steering and braking are part of the hot rod fair that control the Wheel Vintiques (Fresno, CA) Gennie Steelies capped with '40 Ford Deluxe covers with the rims measuring 16x4-inch in front and 16x6 in back wrapped with Coker (Chattanooga, TN) Firestone blackwall bias ply rubber with piecrust tread; 5.50 fore and 7.50 rears. Eli English (Pittsfield, NH) brought all of the final painted components together to make a rolling hot rod that was then scooted over to Steve Pierce and Nick Acton of Acton Custom (Holderness, NH) who, along with Eli, handled a much of the fabrication.
Sheetmetal-wise, the steel body is based on some of Henry's finest--well at least back in 1927. Fitted to the body is a custom firewall with a relief providing "living room" for the magneto, filled cowl vent, C'd in the rear. The touring runs sans hood but you will find a Deuce grille shell from Brookville Roadsters (Brookville, OH) with a polished stainless insert. Several unique characteristics include a Hallock windshield and the steering blister by Gamache Rod & Custom (East Freetown, MA).
 This properly-dressed Nailhead...  This properly-dressed Nailhead sports brightwork from South Shore Plating that features the Buick finned valve covers, a breather cap, valley and oil pans, the timing cover, and the vintage Cal Custom air cleaners. |  The bench seat and satin black...  The bench seat and satin black vinyl stitching was handled by Steve Pierce at One-Off Technologies. The '40 Ford steering column and wheel were both massaged by LimeWorks. The carpeting is charcoal in color and German square weave material. |  E&J headlights feature painted...  E&J headlights feature painted buckets and chromed rings. Other frontend trim includes front brakes with 90-fin aluminum Buick drums, '40 Ford internals, custom drilled '40 Ford backing plates, and a dropped, filled, and drilled Deuce big-beam axle. |