Most of the hot rods we feature are in finished form when we find em. Rarely are we lucky enough to see a car come together piece by piece. But weve been watching this flamed Deuce coupe progress from a collection of components for months. We flipped when we spotted itfinished, flamed, and on displayat the 2001 SEMA Show last November.
The Zoops Coupe actually belongs to four members of the Zupan family: Brothers Frank and Terry and their respective sons, Frank Jr. and Terry Jr. It was built as a project vehicle for developing street rod components for their company, Zoops Products. Every enthusiast wants to build an impressive rod, but when you know your car is going to draw the scrutiny of the world, you forget about short cuts and saving a buck. You plan out your project carefully and choose top shelf components and first class builders. Which is what the Zupans did. It doesnt hurt to have friends all over the street rod world. Which the Zupans do.
Some of the friends whose influence is evident in the Zoops Coupe are Jim Bones Noteboom, who helped turn the glass 32 body into a one-of-a-kind piece, and Harry Nicks, who provided a little custom bodywork, gave the car its custom orange paint, and generally oversaw the whole buildup.
Since it was finished last fall, the Zoops Coupe has made it to several small shows and a few big ones. A couple weeks after its appearance at the SEMA Show, the car earned the Cool Coupe award at the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona. Frank is already planning where the coupe will appear during the 2002 season. In between prominent national events (look for it in the PPG booth), he plans on driving the big-block-powered rod with his pals in the San Bernardino chapter of the Over the Hill Gang. When hes not driving it, we know his brother, son, and nephew will be racking up road time in the company coupe.