1934 Ford Coupe - May 2012 Street Shaker

Paul had met Mike McDaniel of J&M Rod Works in Glenwood, Maryland, a few years prior and was impressed by the traditional-styled hot rods he built. Knowing Mike’s talents for custom fabrication, a meeting was set where the pair reviewed Paul’s vision for the coupe. With their combined ideas now given the green light, McDaniel wasted no time in tearing the coupe down to its bare essentials to get started. To lay the groundwork, the original modified ’34 Ford chassis was first stripped of all its components. McDaniel started up front by removing 18 inches of the frame and creating new framerails to support the freshly designed suspension. A Speedway Motors tube axle was anchored in place through a custom designed four-link and Panhard bar combined with QA1 coilover shocks and ’49 Chevy spindles. Out back a 9-inch Ford rear filled with 3.89:1 cogs was suspended in place with a custom four-link, antiroll bar, Panhard bar, and QA1 coilover shocks to soak up the bumps. To bring everything to a halt, 10-inch Ford drums out back combined with 11-inch GM rotors up front capped with vintage Howe Racing double-piston calipers gets the job done. Setting the stance, a set of big ‘n’ little American Racing Salt Flat Specials shod with classic Firestone/Coker rubber completes the look. With the underpinnings complete, McDaniel worked his magic topside by first creating a buck for the custom aluminum track-styled nose to be formed. Once the nose was complete, he created a neat grille insert and followed by fabricating the aluminum hood and hood sides. Plenty of louvers were then added to the mix by Dave Butte and Mike Minor. Paul’s passion for racing surfaced again with the addition of an Inglese EZ-EFI fuel-injection system employing FAST EZ-EFI fuel-injection combined with precision-flow fuel injectors and Inglese 50mm IDA-style throttle bodies. To complement this, McDaniel fabbed up a unique aluminum hood scoop and airbox to complete the look.

Focusing on the body, McDaniel worked with J&M team member Bill Jones to strip and prep the coupe and all related exterior panels till they were mirror straight. McDaniel then laid down a lustrous coating of PPG Super White, complemented by a pair of classic black scallops. To bring a competition feel to the interior, McDaniel first created a custom aluminum dash and filled it with Marshall Instruments. He then continued by forming the remainder of the interior in aluminum and securing it in place with 2,773 hand-popped rivets (no small feat!). Completing the interior are a pair of reworked Dodge Omni buckets covered in red leather and a six-point rollbar while a Lecarra steering wheel plots the course. All we can say is this is one wicked venomous Street Shaker that looks equally at home on the street as it would on the salt.