Rodding icons abound, and they're usually Fords. Clarence "Chili" Catallo's Lil' Deuce Coupe, Norm Grabowski's "Kookie T," Pete Chapouris and Jim "Jake" Jacobs' trendsetting fat-fendered '39 convertible all come to mind-even though they didn't always use Ford power. Picture Limefire (Chapouris' '32 roadster), Mooneyham & Sharp's '34 coupe, Ike Iacono's orange and black '33 drag coupe and Art Chrisman's Bonneville racer ('31 Model A/Hemi) and instantly there's a clear image...usually trailing a cloud of rubber smoke and dust. Need we remind you, the California Kid '34 coupe, Tommy Ivo's T, Tom McMullen's many '32 roadsters, the screaming yellow American Grafitti '32 five-window, despite their "alien engines," were Fords.
Over the last few years Ford revisited its hot rod roots many times. Ford Motor Company sponsors the coveted Dean Batchelor Award for the most significant hot rod at the Pebble beach Concours d'Elegance. Bruce Meyer's ex-Doane Spencer '32 roadster won in 1997; Don Orosco's ex-Dick Flint '29 roadster won in 1999; and in 2001, Meyer's ex-Pierson Bros. '34 coupe took the Batchelor trophy while Orosco's ex-Alex Xydias So-Cal coupe won Best in Class. Rodders simply can't resist old Fords.
In 1996 Pete Chapouris and Jim "Jake" Jacobs carved up a shoebox coupe for Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top fame) and dropped a three-carb, 312-cid 'Bird motor in place, thereby creating the postwar three-window that Ford never made. Pete and Jake's "Kopperhed" undoubtedly influenced Ford's 2002 Forty-Nine concept car...and if you look at George Poteet's Sniper in comparison, you might conclude that a certain Chip Foose had a hand in creating it. We'll never tell.
With its new supercharged, 400-bhp Ford Mustang GT concept car soon to be a 2004 production model, Ford is finally putting the real Mustang back on a longer platform that'll revisit its forbears' classic long hood/short deck proportions. Maybe they'll revive the GT350, or even better, a rentable, black and gold 350 GTH (for Hertz)? FoMoCo's 590-bhp, V-10 427 Concept is a re-created big-block sedan from the era when Galaxies ruled. We hope they build it. And there's a lowered Thunderbird show car with more horsepower, upgraded brakes, and Halibrand wheels.
Under Ford SVO's Angelo Giampetroni, a former drag racer with Gratiot Auto Supply, and Roy Brizio, in particular, more rodders than ever are putting Ford engines back in Fords. (Angelo's rear-engined '27 T, featured in the Mar. '63 Hot Rod Magazine, ran a 482-cid Buick, but he's all Ford now!) Even Bobby Alloway, a long-time Chevy big-blocker, has been impressed with Ford's mighty new 514-cid, 600-bhp crate motor.
Ford Motor Company has been a mainstay contributor to hot rodding since its inception...and hot rodding has given a lot back. You can expect the blue oval to be even more conscious of its hot rod heritage as the company's second century begins. If we've left out one of your favorites, consider this: It's impossible in one short article to detail Ford's remarkable 100 years from a hot rod perspective. Arguably the best book on the subject, Leo Levine's two volume Ford racing history, Ford, the Dust and the Glory, totals 1075 pages. It's a great read. If you want to see more of Ford's history, check out the company's Web site at www.ford.com and watch for the "Ford 100th Anniversary Experience" touring display that'll be shown across the USA. Inside its 53-foot trailer, visitors can see a milestone Ford Motor Company timeline, many historic photographs, memorabilia, and a video, developed for Ford's Centennial, entitled The Road Is Ours.
Happy 100th Birthday (!) Ford Motor Company.