Where it started

                                                                                                              

 My love of 34 Ford sedans started back in 1968. In fact any car from that period had a magnetic attraction to me. My first encounter with an old car was with a 34 Dodge sedan, owned by a young guy in the next street from where I lived. He came around the corner in this "thing", straight out of its previous life as a chook shed. He stopped at my house to fill up the old Dodge radiator. I walked around it for about a dozen times, fascinated at this marvel from times gone by. The stuffing still hanging out of the original seats. He introduced himself as John and we remain good mates from that day , 37 years on, and John still owns "The Dodge". In fact, it has been in his family since 1950, that's 2 years before I was born. John has a picture of himself sitting on the running boards when he was a toddler.  I would like to show that one, but it appears to be missing in some obscure place.

        Many of my youthful memories revolve around that old car and many skills I have acquired I owe to John and " The Dodge". I keep referring to it as "The Dodge" because that's what John always called it. Even though it was rodded many years back, it remains "The Dodge", not a hot rod !.

 

This is the earliest picture John could find of the Dodge. It's summer 1961

Who's that painfully skinny kid with the wig leaning on the door. Well that's me in January 1969

       

This is my good mate John, with "The Dodge" as it is today.  Not much has changed since 1975 when John stripped the paint and resprayed it using an oxy bottle with a fridge compressor. We put a 318 Chrysler V8 and Charger running gear in it around that time. I rebuilt the same engine in 1988 and its been driven almost daily since ( I think your warranty is about to expire mate :-) It has been re upholstered 3 times since 1975. It gets regular use as wedding car and driven by John's lovely wife  Dell ( also a good friend of  37 years ) as a second car....supermarkets,  school  etc.  . Not many of us can say their car has been in the same family for 54 years!...John can. It is certainly a huge part of the Longford family and a very nice car to drive.

 

 

The 1934 Ford 4 door Sedan

 

 I can only take up the story  from November, 1987. That is the time the car was featured in a magazine,  Australian Street Rodding

 

        This is the picture that was in the November/December issue. The car was owned by Mani  and Doris Gauci, from Kealba, Victoria.  This is an extract from that article.

    The car was rodded many years earlier when Mani took possession, less motor, gearbox  and interior. The car was completely stripped and the chassis boxed, front and rear. The engine  is a 351 Cleveland with 302 heads with 4V valves with TRW valve springs . A GTHO crank  and rods with TRW pistons running 11:1 compression.  Cam is a Sig Erson  2H driven by a Cloyes  true  roller timing chain. Carby is a 600 Holley. The gearbox is a C4 with a stage 3 B&M shift kit. The diff is rare 8" item from a Ford Maverick, with a ratio of  3.5 : 1. The front suspension  consisted of  a dropped tube axel with XA ventilated disks adapted to  early Ford stubs.  Front 4 bar held everything in place. The steering box is a Falcon GT mounted in  the original  position. The rear is basically the stock transverse suspension mated to the Maverick diff.

      Colour is known as yellow ocre. ( also known as baby cack or baby poop by the non initiated ) It was in the Ford range in 1970. Many like it, many don't...I love it. It has held up rather well over the years. Mani  Gauci told me that it was an early 2 pack paint known as Acran. Apparently it was rather toxic and was banned soon after. Mani sprayed it in his garage!...How's your lungs mate?

 

       One of the most commented aspects of the 34 is the interior, which was created by  Grant Capewell. The Datsun 120y seats matched with brown velour to a unique wrap around rear seat.  The car was obviously aimed at shows with heaps of stainless steel, braided lines and detailed under carriage.   One other feature that gets attention is the bumperettes on the rear. I havenot seen this on any other  34 Ford.                         

     

So how did I  become the present owner of this beautiful rod?  

  

Well, as mentioned, I loved the era and particularly the "swoopey" style of the Fords. I also think the Australian 34s look a lot better than their US cousins. The roof line in particular.  So back in 1994, when my family obligations eased enough for me to indulge in my dream, I began my quest. I didn't have enough time, and probably the knowledge to build one and just wanted to get into the whole scene, as quick as possible. The only option was to buy one already finished. I wasn't in any club, I only knew my mate's Dodge, and he wasn't in a club either. The idea came to place an ad in Unique cars with a picture of a 34 Ford sedan with " wanted" over the top. I had responses from all over Australia. Some were just fishing to see if I'd pay some extraordinary price. I even had the owner of the 34 who's picture I used asking if I wanted to buy the car.....at some over the top price. I was aware what they were worth and had a fairly tight budget so the decision was not hard to pass many up. I did have a deal with a guy down in Victoria who had a '33 sedan ( close enough to a 34 ) . We struck a deal but he backed out at the last minute. Lucky for me, cause not long after, Mani called up with a better car. We also struck a deal, and luckily for me, Mani didn't back out.

      So, in late November, Saturday at 8 a.m  , 1994, my good mate John and myself, flew down to Melbourne to finalise the deal. At around 1 pm, we were driving the 34 back to Sydney. I have to say it was an experience to jump in a strange car, in a strange city, braking with your left foot cause the steering wheel divides the pedals, being navigated by someone with a hand drawn map.  Oh yeah, the accelerator was as hard as a brick. But I couldn't stop smiling.

 

                                                      

The 34 as it was in 1994

 

 This is the very first picture taken seconds after arriving back from Melbourne. My youngest son is just about to jump in. Time was around 11.30 pm  We had been on the road since about  12.30.pm that day.

 The view of the back seat that everyone comments on.

 

                                                                                   

                                                                                         

HOME  

go to next  phase