Bob McNutt's 1939 Ford

A photo of Bob with the coupe taken in 1957. According to the later owner Will Young, Bob started drag racing the car in 1955, running it at Duncan Drag Strip. It was also raced at Enid Speedway, and in 1957 he took it to the Oklahoma Nationals. Photo provided by Tony Duran.

Rolling Advertisement. Bob's Coupe was featured in Custom Cars July 1960. The story featured photos by Pat Brollier.

Photo by Pat Brollier.

Photo by Pat Brollier.

Photo by Pat Brollier.

Photo by Pat Brollier.

Photo by Pat Brollier.

A photo of the car taken at the second annual Auto Capade in Kansas City, Missouri in 1960. Photo by Darryl Starbird.

After Bob's Coupe had been featured in Custom Cars July 1960, the front end was restyled drastically. Bob pancaked the hood, and the front fenders were modified to accept a pair of 1959 Chevrolet quad headlights with vent scoops. During the rebuild, the stock grille was replaced by a grille handmade in copper, and chrome plated.

A photo of the Coupe taken at the DC Armory Show.

A flamed iteration of the custom as it appeared when David Guymon bought it in 1994.

A photo of the coupe taken at the 1995 Dallas Autorama just after David Guymon had restored it back to the way it appeared in 1963. Photo by Calvin Mauldin.

Photo by Calvin Mauldin

Photo by Calvin Mauldin

A photo of the Ford taken at the 2010 Dallas Autorama.

The car as it appeared when Clyde Majors was advertised for sale in 2010.

1939 Ford Coupe owned and built by Bob McNutt of Ada, Oklahoma.

Drag Raced

According to the later owner Will Young, Bob started drag racing the car in 1955, running it at Duncan Drag Strip. It was also raced at Enid Speedway, and in 1957 he took it to the Oklahoma Nationals.

283 Power Pack

Built over a 4 1/2 years period, Bob installed a complete 1957 Chevrolet 283 Power Pack with a Rochester 4 barrel. carburetor in the car in 1958. The engine was hooked to a 1947 Ford 3-speed transmission, and Bob handbuilt the adapter between the engine and transmission to save the $25 the adapter cost to buy. A 1940 Ford rear end and hydraulic brakes were used in the rear. The hopped up iteration of the coupe was raced a Ardmore Speedway in 1958 and 1959. According to Will Young, the car also had AC installed in 1959. "Even some new Cadillac's didn't have AC in 59," he told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in March of 2021.

Chopped and Sectioned

A customized iteration of the car was featured in Custom Cars July 1960. By then the coupe had attended 4 shows and brought Bob 4 first-place trophies. The shows were the 1957 Oklahoma Nationals, the 1958 Playboys Car Club Autorama in Enid, Oklahoma, the 1959 National Drags & Car Show in Detroit, and the 1960 Dallas Autorama. The 1960 version of the car was chopped 4 1/2 inches, and sectioned 5 inches. 4 1/2 inch shortened and 4 inch sectioned 1948 Lincoln quarter panels were molded on to the car, giving it an illusion of extreme length. Bob retained the stock 1948 Lincoln taillights during the rebuild. A shaved 1941 Mercury bumper was installed in the rear. Rear license brackets were made from bumper guard components. The deck lid was shaved and operated by a pull latch. Stock fenders and headlights were used up front, but the wheel wells were radiused. A shaved 1941 Mercury bumper was also chosen to protect the front of the car. Once the bodywork was done, the car was painted in an iris-hued 1958 Ford Azure Blue lacquer. Bob stitched the upholstery himself in Natural leather and white Naugahyde done in a pleat and roll manner. The ashtray was filled in, and the dash knobs replaced by 1949 Ford knobs. The trunk was upholstered in white Naugahyde by Ada Top Shop in Oklahoma. Ruel Hopper of Ada, Oklahoma made the blue carpeting for the trunk. In 1960, the car was also shown at the second annual Auto Capade in Kansas City, Missouri.

Canted Quad Headlights

After Bob's Coupe had been featured in Custom Cars July 1960, the front end was restyled drastically. Bob pancaked the hood, and the front fenders were modified to accept a pair of 1959 Chevrolet quad headlights with vent scoops. During the rebuild, the stock grille was replaced by a grille handmade in copper, and chrome plated. The second iteration of the car was shown at the 1963 Chargers CC New Orleans Car Show. It did also make an appearance at the Mill Winders Houston Texas Show the same year.

Put in Storage

In 1964, after the DC Armory Show, the car was retired and put in storage. In 1976 Bob sold the car to Paul Brendle. The same year it made an appearance at the October Sherman, Texas car show before it was towed to a dirt floor barn where. In 1984 Paul sold the car to Duke Durough.

Restored by David Guymon

David Guymon of Cartright, Oklahoma bought the old custom from Duke Durough in November of 1994. By then, it had received a dark blue paint job with flames. AtMr. Don Deere's request, David restored the car in 31 days, in order to exhibit it at the 1995 Dallas Autorama. The restored version was painted in a 1957 Studebaker Azure Blue color. After Guymon restored it, the car was invited into the Darryl Starbird's National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame. The car was the 1st non Darryl Starbird creation to be shown at the museum, and it was displayed there for 2 years.

Guymon sold the car to Forney Guy in 2003. Guy kept on to it for four years before it was sold to Clyde Majors in 2007. In 2010 Clyde showed it at the 60th annual Dallas Autorama. After that the car was advertised for sale in Arlington, Texas. The asking price was $47,500.00. Clyde sold the car to Tony Duran in 2010.

After owning it for a decade, Tony sold the historic custom to Will Young of Austin, Texas in 2020. In 2021 the 283 still ran strong but smoked. The old 3-speed transmission had been changed with a 700R transmission, but it still had the clutch pedal, and it looked the same as it did with the standard transmission. It still had a Banjo rear end, but with an open driveshaft. The color was a 1957 Studebaker factory color. Will had the interior door panels and seat cover skins from 1962. "It just looked too tired for a fresh build," Will told Kustomrama. According to Will, the car is a blast to drive and show. "The gentleman Bob McNutt that built the car was 6’-2” and he drove it to most shows back in the day. I’m 5’-6” and it’s right for me." Will could inform that the car won over 40 first-place trophies, including Best Custom at the 1958 NHRA Detroit, Michigan show. The tires Will rolled on were new, exact reproductions of what the car had in 1962.

Magazine Features

Car Craft December 1959
Custom Cars March 1960
Custom Cars July 1960
Trend Book 206 Custom Cars 1962 Annual
Custom Craft July 1963
Car Craft July 1963
Custom Car Yearbook #1
Custom Car Yearbook #2
Customizing Your Car 1965
Rod & Custom June 1996
Traditional Rod & Kulture 2018