Words: Rocky Rotella
Street rod builds are a wonderful departure from numbers-correct originality. More emphasis is placed on retaining a vintage appearance with subtle injections of modern technology to maximize usability and comfort. That approach gives today’s hot rods a distinct advantage over restoration projects in making them ideal candidates for long-haul adventures.
Each year, Street Rodder magazine hosts its Road Tour event, and 2018 marked its 23rd running. This year’s sponsor was United Pacific Industries, and Ford Performance Parts presented it. The event consisted of nine weeklong tours between June and October and covered 15,000 miles of America’s highways. Each leg presented an ideal opportunity for owners to drive their street rods and spend time with others who share a similar passion.
“We welcome all special interest vehicles on the Road Tour,” said event coordinator Jerry Dixey. “We started in St. Paul, Minnesota at Back to the ‘50s and will end in Bakersfield at the California Hot Rod Reunion.”
An official Road Tour vehicle is created for each year’s event, and Dixey drives it across the country.
“We like to use products that are unique and new to the industry when building the official vehicle,” he explained. “In the last 22 years, we’ve covered many different body styles, so it can be challenging to find something different. Since last year’s Road Tour, United Pacific introduced its new ’32-34 Ford truck. Once we saw it, we recognized the chance to do something new for the official 2018 Road Tour vehicle and give their product exposure.”
United Pacific’s reproduction of Ford’s ‘32-34 truck made its debut at SEMA in November 2017. The steel body is officially licensed by Ford and is constructed of heavy-gauge sheet metal that equals or exceeds the thickness of an original. In addition to the complete knocked down body package, United Pacific offers individually such components as cowling, doors, fenders and bed. All can also be retrofitted onto an original Ford truck body.
“Body number 1 was shipped directly from United Pacific’s display booth at SEMA to Hot Rods by Dean in Phoenix, Arizona, where the build began immediately. We needed it completed by the Road Tour’s June 2018 start,” said Dixey.
A project of this nature requires input from several suppliers.
“We started with a bare shell and had to equip and accessorize every aspect of it,” Dixey explained. “The sponsors see the Road Tour as a test bed for product development. I put more miles on their components in the first month of the tour than most hot rodders do over the lifetime of their vehicle. Their products see accelerated tests in real time on real roads and in a variety of conditions. We’re also an extension of their own R&D departments. They’ve all been great to work with.”
Hot Rods by Dean performed all the body work, which included shortening the bed by 12 inches for visual aesthetics. The exterior was finished in PPG Nantucket Blue, while the black fenders and running boards provide an attractive contrast and complete the vintage effect. Dan Fink Metalworks provided the grille insert, while Sherm’s Custom Plating refinished the brightwork. The bed surface was coated with 3M’s spray-in bed liner, and a Retrax retractable bed cover provides cargo security while on tour.
The Roadster Shop built the truck’s frame by starting with a reproduction Deuce unit, which was reinforced with a Model A–style front crossmember and X-member. Pete & Jakes supplied the suspension while Flaming River provided the entire steering system, including the leather-wrapped steering wheel. The braking system was composed of Wilwood components, while Rock Valley Auto Parts fabricated the stainless steel fuel tank, which features an internally-mounted Holley electric fuel pump.
The truck is powered by a 347-ci small block Ford V8 from Ford Performance Parts. Using Ford’s new Boss 302 block, it was bored 0.030-inch and its cylinders were filled with forged-alloy Mahle pistons and forged-steel SCAT connecting rods. Scat also supplied its forged-steel crankshaft with 3.4-inch stroke. The small block is equipped with Ford Performance aluminum cylinder heads, which are fed by an Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap intake manifold and Holley Terminator Stealth throttle body EFI system.
Comp Cams supplied the hydraulic roller camshaft and other valvetrain pieces, while MSD components comprise the ignition system. A set of Patriot Tri-Y tubular headers send exhaust gases through a custom exhaust system. Vintage Air Front Runner provided the serpentine-belt-driven accessories while the cooling system is assembled of U.S. Radiator offerings.
Hughes Performance modifies GM’s 4L60E automatic transmission to accommodate Ford’s small-block bellhousing pattern, and that was selected for this particular build. It’s controlled using Baumann Electronic Controls’ U.S. Shift Quick 4 module. Connecting it to a Winters Performance rear axle assembly is a custom-fabricated steel driveshaft from Dynotech Engineering. Coker Tire provided the 5.60-15 (front) and 7.00-16 (rear) blackwall Firestone tires and reproduction Ford steel wheels by Wheel Vintiques. AMSOIL lubricants are used exclusively throughout the driveline.
United Pacific supplied the upper dash, which was painted body color and filled using Dakota Digital instrumentation, and which houses the ventilation outlets. Hot Rods by Dean custom fabricated a lower dash assembly where the Vintage Air system controls reside, as does the audio system from Custom Autosound and Lokar transmission shifter. Classic Lowback seats from Procar by Scat are covered in dark gray leather, while the color-matched German weave carpet sets atop a layer of Dynamat sound proofing material. Specialty Power Windows provided the wiper and power window assemblies while Painless Performance Products supplied the truck’s wiring.
The new ’32 Ford hit the highway in June 2018 at the Road Tour’s kickoff event in St. Paul, Minnesota. From that point it traveled several thousand miles as the event’s banner vehicle with Dixey aboard.
“Driving the truck has really been a lot like driving a new vehicle because of all the technology that went into it,” he said. “Every build has some minor tweaks that have to be made and we experienced a few early on, but once we had them straightened out we were fine all summer long. In the end, we were able to successfully recreate the image of a ’32 Ford truck and make it safer and more reliable than driving an original on a tour like this.”
A beautifully-restored ’32 Ford truck is sure to attract public attention where ever it goes, and this modern reproduction proved no exception.
“Along the tour stops, people were always looking it over. Young people don’t always get a chance to see an old truck like this in person. Generally, they see them in old family photos, and that’s it. Many people also thought we were local to them at first. They were amazed to find that we’re part of a cross country road tour and that the truck was driven every mile of it.”
As we caught up with Dixey and the ’32 Ford during the tour’s stop at Speedway Motors in Lincoln, Nebraska, we can certainly attest to the truck’s prominence. Not only did we find ourselves continually captivated by its beauty as we photographed it, our photoshoot was also interrupted by curious onlookers who simply had to have a better look. Built in the interest of publicity, there’s no denying that this modern replica of a true American workhorse is a proven winner on many levels!
