I can almost hear you now. "Not another Deuce roadster! Sure, it's a good-looking car built with the right details and a dressed Flattie, but it's just another roadster." Well, actually, it's not. This is only the second one we've featured. Look closely and you'll notice something a little different than the standard Deuce. That's right-this isn't a roadster, it's a convertible. Hopefully you all know the difference, but just in case we have some new blood reading, a roadster has a folding top but lacks side windows. A convertible also has a folding top but has roll-up side glass (not to be confused with a cabriolet, which has a folding top and side glass but stationary windshield posts that are part of the body).
Hot Rods & Horsepower has been producing these phantom Dearborn Deuce convertible bodies for a couple of years, but most of the ones we found were built with more of a high-tech theme. For this reason, we did a double take when we first spotted Tom Kawalski's ride at the Goodguys Scottsdale show.
Our surprise at the details on this traditional highboy were soon explained when we found out it was assembled by Eric Peratt and his crew at Pinkee's Rod Shop.
Tom already had a finished all-steel 1933 Ford cabriolet and a 1941 Cadillac convertible going together at Pinkee's, but when he saw these new bodies, he had to have one. He was so excited about the new convertible/roadster that he had Pinkee's put the Cad on the back burner and start work on a suitable chassis. Eric likes a challenge, so when the decision was made to build it with a traditional twist, he started whittling mounts and brackets to secure the Flathead and suspension. Custom rivets accent many of the parts, a theme carried throughout the chassis and interior.
If you've read the rest of this month's issue, then you know Tom and Eric also collaborated on the '52 Chevy featured on page 66. Looking at these two cars, it's easy to see they have the eye for clean, simple, '50s style.
Tom KawalskiCentennial, ColoradoDearborn Deuce Convertible
DrivetrainThe '49 Flathead was machined and assembled by Earl Floyd (Battleground, Washington) and topped with a set of polished Offenhauser heads and intake with dual Strombergs. A Mallory ignition lights the fire, and custom headers built by Pinkee's expel burnt gas through a pair of Smithy mufflers. An S-10 five-speed was adapted with a kit from Cornhusker Rod & Custom.
ChassisTom went for the whole Hot Rods & Horsepower package and ordered the corresponding chassis to go with the convertible body. The eye candy up front consists of a Pete & Jake's chromed and polished stainless steel frontend with a dropped 4-inch I-beam axle controlled by hairpins and a POSIES SuperSlide spring. SO-CAL Buick-style front brakes cap the ends, and a polished Mavel rack-and-pinion steering unit makes parking a breeze. Underneath the rear is a 3.25-geared 9-inch held in place with a stainless steel triangulated four-bar smoothed with adjustable Aldan coilovers.
ExteriorPinkee's massaged the Dearborn Deuce body before shipping it to Squeeg's Kustoms (Mesa, Arizona) so Doug Jerger could squirt on several coats of PPG custom-mixed Greek Bronze. Lighting comes from recessed '50 Pontiac taillights and Guide 682C headlights.
Wheels & TiresBody-colored 16-inch solids from Trudesign (4 1/2s and 6s) look perfect sans trim rings accented with a set of '42 Ford caps. Firestone rubber from Coker (4.50/4.75s and 7.00s) gives it the required rake.
InteriorTom sits back in the Egg White leather-covered Wise Guys bench and takes in the retro details, such as the '34 Plymouth gauge insert, refurbished vintage heater, and Juliano's '39 banjo wheel topping the ididit tilt column.