Dennis Johnston has combined...
Dennis Johnston has combined a ton of horsepower and an aggressive look to end up with one no-nonsense Deuce sedan that's as much fun to look at as it is to drive.
One of the coolest things about the street rod hobby is that it's usually dictated by personal taste. Sure, we have our fill of fad-driven "belly button" street rods, but for the most part folks tend to try their best to individualize their vehicles to set 'em a bit apart from the rest. Dennis Johnston's Tudor is a great case in point.
Performance ranks high on Dennis' priority list-so does a no-nonsense attitude, as you can plainly see. So when planning out this latest hot rod he stuck to his guns and kept his priorities straight-the sedan had to have neck-snapping power and a rough-and-tumble hot rod persona. The foundation of Dennis' sedan began as a stock set of Deuce 'rails that have been fully boxed and Z'd (front and rear) and fitted with hand-fabricated tubular crossmembers. The front suspension and steering consists of a 4-inch-dropped I-beam, a reversed-eye monoleaf spring, hairpin radius rods, a Panhard bar, P&J shocks, disc brakes, and a Unisteer rack-and-pinion setup. Out back Dennis opted for a four-bar/coilover combination and a pair of 11-inch drum brakes.
The all-steel sedan's 5-inch...
The all-steel sedan's 5-inch chop, mail slot rear window, and aggressive stance are just a few of the attributes that make this Tudor an eye-catcher.
The neck-snappin' part comes courtesy of an early 396 BBC bored 0.030-over and meticulously machined and assembled by Dave Rail of San Jose, California. A slew of high-performance components from manufacturers like Edelbrock, COMP Cams, Crower, Carter, Sanderson, Car Chemistry, and MSD, to name, but a few were combined by Rail to produce an amazingly powerful big-block (especially when you figure it's squeezed between the framerails of such a lightweight car). Dennis backed the rat motor with a Richmond six-speed, a custom-made driveshaft assembly, and a beefy 9-inch Ford rearend to boot.
The body is an original steel sedan body that was massaged back into pristine shape and treated to a 5-inch chop. A Hagan hood top (punched full of louvers care of Louver Lou) was used to bridge the gap between the cowl and the Deuce grille shell, and the sheetmetal was then coated with multiple coats of PPG DP90LF Hot Rod Black and treated to some traditional pinstriping by Pinstriping By Scott of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Dennis' sedan was caught before...
Dennis' sedan was caught before he'd had the opportunity to install the car's final upholstery-his initial Mexican blanket-shod interior was still pretty inviting. A four-spoke wheel, early style Wings gauges nestled in an aluminum insert, and the neat looking art-deco-style heater box certainly fit the car's theme-though a helping of tuck 'n' roll would add the perfect finishing touch.
Dennis treated the cockpit to a bit of traditional styling too (aside from a pair of Mazda buckets), a stock-style rear bench, the door panels, and headliner were covered with multi-colored Mexican blanket material, and adding a So-Cal dash insert, S&W gauges, a four-spoke wheel, and a Stewart Warner Southwind heater assembly.
As you can see, Dennis ended up with a seriously cool-looking hot rod that met his expectations in both styling and raw white-knuckle acceleration-what more could one ask for?
Another nice touch to this...
Another nice touch to this traditional Tudor was the retention of its working cowl vent, hinged windshield, and stock-style roof insert-add that cool louvered hood top and leather hold-down straps and you've got a winning look.
A semi-gloss black finish,...
A semi-gloss black finish, traditional striping, and steel wheels shod in blackwall bias-ply Firestones certainly give this baby a sinister look.
This heavily massaged early...
This heavily massaged early big-block Chevy started life as a 396-cube muscle car powerplant but before it found its new home between these Deuce 'rails it was treated to rigorous machining and a laundry list of high-quality performance components. Dennis matched this muscular motor to a six-speed manual and a beefy 9-inch rear, ending up with a cool combo that without a doubt will tattoo a smile on any gearhead's face.