Starting Small-32 Ford 3-window coupe

First, a blatant plug-the official launch party for the first SundayCruiseFever.com book, “Class of 2009″ will be Saturday May 16th, 2009, at the Pony Corral restaurant’s Downtown location. It’s your first chance to get a glimpse of the book and pick up a signed copy, not to mention the opportunity to win some cool door prizes and possibly even meet some of the vehicle owners. Besides, do you really need an excuse to spend an evening at the Pony Corral?

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As long-time readers know, we’re pretty big toy car nerds over here. In fact, the SundayCruiseFever.com bonus system is based on Hot Wheels-whenever we hit a new record for most visits per day and/or per week, it’s off to Superstore to put another one on the mantle.

That’s why we’re so in love with John Dubois’ Chevy-powered ‘32 Ford 3-window coupe. It’s not just the fact that this deuce mixes 90’s wild style with modern taste, or the fact that it’s built so well the trunk could pass for being in a German luxury car. The reason why this car gets us starry-eyed is that it started out from a toy picked up from Wal-Mart.

No, really.

According to John, he likes to build cars this way. He hunts through the toy sections of department stores, seeking out toys that he likes. When one passes through his shopping cart that he deems “hot rod worthy,” that becomes the basis for his next creation. In this case, the toy was of an early 30’s coupe with a huge, blown motor. As soon as John had his 1/64th scale muse picked out, he set out to build the awesome work you see here.

Granted, it’s not easy to build a life-size version of a toy with exaggerated features like the one above. That didn’t stop John, though. The front rims are a respectable 16″, while the rears are a respectable (on a Donk) 20″, wrapped in BFG rubber all around. And since building it to scale meant adding a supercharger so large it completely blocked off the driver’s view, he opted for a body-coloured air grabber popping through the hood.

At the bottom of that air grabber sits a Chevy LS-1 V-8 engine, pulled from a 1998 Camaro. John wouldn’t admit what he’s done with the aluminum 5.7-litre uber-engine, but we can certainly see the coated headers, tied to dual Magnaflow exhausts. Power gets pushed to the ground with a 4L60E 4-speed automatic transmission.

The interior carries on with the quality work that’s evident on the outside. Tan leather wraps the car’s occupants, while a full Vintage Air system and 6-speaker Sony provide the car’s occupants with extra driving pleasure. Business, however, is taken care of with a set of Classic instruments and a chromed Ididit column.

Even though the car has taken more than its fair share of awards (including one for “best paint”) John can still be seen cruising the streets of New Port Richey, where he now calls home. And who knows-maybe someday he’ll cruise it to the local toy store and seek out his next inspiration in the dinky car aisle.

If all this talk about toys has you fired up, check out Part One and Part Two of the History of Hot Wheels. Or if you want something a little bigger, check out Doug Arbuthnot’s ‘34 Plymouth stretch limo. But whatever you do, come on down to the Pony Corral downtown on May 16th, for a good time. Trust me on this…