Words: Tommy Parry

After handing $200 over to the former owner, Mike pulled this little rusted relic from the weeds in a Georgia field and rang his pops immediately to start drumming up a list of to-dos. The ‘37 Plymouth Coupe was torn down first, which wasn’t too tricky, and then Mike made up a 2×3” frame with kick-ups in the front and the rear.

Next, he cut a good bit of metal out of the frame, swiss cheese style, to save some weight – so he was off to a healthy start with a little less dairy in his diet. When the body was laid down on top of the frame, he had put a solid foundation together in a short timespan.

Within time, Mike had zeed the frame to offer a little more space and make the cabin a comfortable place to cruise. To help put some of the power down and offer more compliance, Mike designed a four-link to fit within the narrow confines of the Plymouth’s backside. This way, he’d be able to get the engine’s torque applied to the road without much wheelspin – and with the powerplant he picked out, the four-link would would be well-used.

The choice of propulsion was a 6.0-liter LQ4 motor with carburetors and hidden coil packs – a kit from MSD – to keep the motor looking classic. The 4l60E gearbox fit snugly and beautifully in the middle of the chassis and mounted simply on Mike’s custom crossmember, which went on the same hole-punch weightloss program the frame enjoyed.

Mike fabbed up his own headers next, light and loud, and ensured some decent induction noise with a Holley Hi-Ram intake. While the 4l60E transmission could hold up to the power, Mike felt his launches might be better suited for a TH400, so the swap was made. Mike opted to keep the interior relatively simple by retaining the classic gauge cluster, but the needed hint of style came in the form of a classic Budweiser tap as a shifter.

With a strong chop off the bottom, the Plymouth was ready to cruise. As Mike is back and forth between Afghanistan with the armed services, his time for tinkering is obviously limited. We thank him for his service, as well as his creative vision; the machine is a manifestation of this man’s unflinching commitment to his craft and his no-nonsense attitude.