The massive Kentucky State Exposition Center, the location of this event, had a number of custom cars, but Milford, Ohio's Mike and Michele Belmont were announced as this year' Ford award winners who had an alluring 1940 Ford Woody Wagon. A true vintage car in such a good condition, you would think that the car has just walked out of a manufacturing plant.
The Story
When you take on a hot rod build, you are bound to face challenges on the way. This is even truer when you are starting with nothing more than a bare cowl. For this couple, all it took was a swap meet for them to get the ideas for their next build. But, when you find one piece, it means spending a lot of time at additional swap meets trying to find the rest.
Mike worked with his father at the Tressler Comet station in Cincinnati. He worked on everything from Indy cars to daily drivers. It wasn't too long before he was behind the wheel of a 1967 Chevy Corvette 427 ci. All of this while he was still in high school which is pretty amazing. Finding your true passion at such a young age is a gift like no other. It certainly helps in life to be honest and to be responsible. Mike figured this out at an early age.
The Body
Working with his father, he built quite a few 1940 Ford's. To get a solid base for this project, he put in a call to Lobeck's V8 Shop for the chassis with a 9-inch rear and 4.10:1 gears suspended from the custom triangulated 4-link that was accented with Heidt's coil over shocks and even an antiroll bar. This helped improve the handling.
Engine
The car has a 4.6 L V8 Ford performance engine which adds plenty of power. It also has the correct performance parts from the factory like the ignition and fuel injection. The engine was tuned by Barker Machine from Jackson Pike, Ohio. The spent gasses go through headers from JBA Performance Exhausts to Magnaflow mufflers and stainless pipes. To move all this power, the 4R70W transmission has its own custom aluminum driveshaft.
Sourcing
Since Mike started with just the cowl, there was a lot of sourcing that needed to be done. He had to find fenders, a grille, a solid hood, and fabricate the floor. The remainder of the body was crafted by Scott Lang in Loveland, Ohio, using mahogany and ash. The roof was re-contoured as well. The tailgate and rear fenders were reworked before the bodywork began.
The sheet metal was perfectly massaged and treated to traditional PPG maroon vibes. The magic continued inside with the modified stock dashboard with Dakota Digital dials. The steering uses a restored stock wheel that is linked with an ididt column.
The vintage air offers cool breeze while the Secretaudio system and custom speakers offer cool tunes. Yes, you can listen to everything from Eminem to Aerosmith to Tim McGraw with this system. To add to the comfort, there is a Glide Engineering bench with butter soft two-tone leather and German carpeting. This certainly is a neat wagon that is packed with a lots of detail. Every aspect of this car has its own story.
Congratulations to the hard working couple who will be receiving a limited edition jacket as an award. They deserve it.
Categories:
News