Allan Winward's 1936 Ford
1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe owned and restyled by Throttlers of Salt Lake City member Allan "Kipp" Winward of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known as "Miss Scarlett", it was Kipp's boss Lynn who originally bought the car as an empty shell. Lynn bought it in the late 1990s along with several complete 1950s Fords. It stayed the next 5-6 years in storage while Kipp tried convincing his boss to sell him the car. They finally struck a deal for Kipp to supply the labor to build his 1913 Studebaker in exchange for the car around 2002 - 2003. In 2010 Kipp was finally ready to take on the project. His plan was to build a late 1940s custom, using as many parts as he could that were original, and 1949 and older.[1]
Contents
The Build Begins
When Kipp got the car the fenders, grille, interior, and more were missing. A previous owner had also let it sit outside in the rain, after he had started to strip it for paint, so it had lots of surface rust. It was still a pretty solid start. After Kipp got the car home, he stripped her down, chemically removing what paint was left, before he sand blasted the rust. While the top was in a good shape, the bottom was in need of a lot of rust repair. In 2009 Kipp bought a 1936 Ford tudor sedan parts car in Nebraska. The parts car sat upside down in a ravine, so the right subrail and surrounding metal were perfect. The car did also come with lots of other useable parts.[1]
Chassis Work
After repairing the body, Kipp began working on the chassis. He removed the front suspension that came with the car, and installed a new one that he assembled using the spring and wishbone from the parts car. The spring eyes were reversed and assembled with a 1.5 inches dropped axle. The axle was a stock 1936 Ford axle that fellow Throttlers members Kris Elmer and Eric Pillow dropped. The suspension was then lowered an additional 1.5 inches by flattening the front crossmember. After the crossmember had been flattened, Kipp had to raise the motor mounts for the crank to go clear. Shocks and a swaybar from a 1940 Ford were installed along with a 1939 Ford steering box, after the front of the frame had been modified. The rear of the car was also lowered by flattening the crossmember. In addition to that, the rear of the frame was also c-notched. After raising the engine, Kipp had to trim of the bottom of the firewall to get the body back on the frame. With the body back on frame, Kipp installed a new floor. The floor and tunnel had to be modified after the lowering.[1]
Chopping the Top
After the new floor had been installed, Kipp began chopping the top. Before the chop started, Kipp bought a 3-window roof and doors, and he considered converting the car into a 3-window coupe. That plan was abandoned. The goal of Kipp's chop was not too lose the roundness of the roof; "I think that on a 1935 to 1940 5 window when the roof is split and lengthened it becomes too flat and looses its character." Kipp's plan was to bring the roof forward and fill the added material between the roof and deck lid. He began the chop by taking 1.5 inches out of the rear window. Up front a 3 inch section was removed from the A-pillars, chopping the top around 2.5 to 2.75 inches. The rear of the roof was moved forward 3 inches before Kipp chopped it between 3.25 to 3.5 inches; "A 5-window coupe has 6 inches of steel between the roof and trunk. A 3-window coupe has 12 inches. Mine has 9 inches." The door tops were rounded during the chop.[1]
Front End Modifications
After the top had been chopped, Kipp installed a 1940 Ford dash and a 1946 Chrysler steering wheel in the coupe. The fenders were rusted and misshaped, and they needed a lot of repair. The car came without a grille, so Kipp bought a cheap one on eBay. The eBay grille was bent up a bit, but the inner grille and side chrome were in a good condition. Kipp wanted to install a 1939 Nash grille, so he cut all the bars out. It didn't look good when he first set it in place, so he flipped it upside down to make it look right. The grille was a little too long, so Kipp cut the bottom tooth, making the height correct. Sides for the grille were made out of 10 ga. sheet before Kipp made a chin underneath the grille. With the new grille on, the stock bull nose didn't work, so Kipp made a new one from a flat bar. The hood was also cut and stretched to fit the new shape. The bottom of the front fenders were then lowered by cutting the fenders. Filler pieces were cut from a pair of 1937 Ford fenders and welded in. A scoop, similar to the one found on the Calori Coupe was made and installed up front to duct extra air into the radiator.[1]
Prep and Paint
Kipp originally planned to run 1937 DeSoto bumpers on the car. When the modified front end was completed he didn't like the look, so he decided to go for 1941 Ford Super Deluxe bumpers instead. The rear bumper was shortened 3 inches before Kipp removed the bumper bolts and installed 1946 Ford bumper guards and a 1949 Chevrolet license plate surround. The bumper guards were modified to accept integrated taillights. 1941 Buick fender skirts were modified to fit the car, and the gas filler was moved inside the trunk before the car was ready for paint. In February of 2014 the body was ready for prep and paint, so Kipp brought the coupe to the shop were he works. One year, several coats of primer and countless hours of block sanding later the car was ready for paint. In January of 2015 he brought it to Euro Sport were it received a Maroon paint job by Eric Pillow. Eric did also help Kipp prep the car before paint.[1]
Hopped Up
Fellow Throttlers member Larry Elmer built a 1953 Mercury flathead V8 engine for the car. The engine was bored 30 over before it was fit with Aires pistons, adjustable lifters, stainless Chevrolet valves, smoothed and polished rods on a 4" crank and a flywheel and a 11" clutch from a truck. It was also hopped up featuring Navarro heads, an Edmunds dual intake manifold, Stromberg 97 carburetors, a 400 cam, and Fenton headers. The heads, intake manifold, fuel pump and several other engine parts were polished to dress up the engine compartment. Other parts, such as the oil filter, fan and generator mount were chromed. A newly built 1939 Ford transmission with newer gears and an overdrive from Gear Vendors in California were also installed. The rear end was rebuilt by Brian Thomas of Thomas Speedworks. Brian did also perform the machine work needed to install the overdrive. Mark Lockhart of Lockhart Engineering ran the exhaust, brake and fuel lines on the car. Mark also helped Kipp form some of the large sheet metal panels during the build.[1]
Final Assembly
Miss Scarlett was dressed up featuring Hollywood flipper hubcaps and chromed garnish moldings, before Kipp in July of 2015 drove the in progress custom to the Bo Huff car show in East Carbon. A 142 miles trip each way. A month later, Kipp drove the coupe mostly finished to the Hot Rod Hill Climb in Georgetown, Colorado. He competed in the race and received the Colorado Springs Rod and Custom pick.[1]
Hop Up and Upholstery
The newly built custom caught the attention of Hop Up photographer Tim Sutton at the Hot Rod Hill Climb. Flabberagsted by Kipp's custom he promised him a Featured Story in the magazine as soon as the upholstery was completed, so in November of 2015 Bill at Rage to Riches began stitching up an upholstery for the car. Bill gave it a traditional white tuck and roll interior with Maroon piping and matching Maroon carpets. The upholstery work was completed late in January of 2016.[1]
Customs by the Sea
In October of 2016 Miss Scarlet will be shown at the first Customs by the Sea in Pismo, California.[2]
Further Reading
The HAMB - 36 Ford Custom Build (Miss Scarlett)
References
Did you enjoy this article?
Kustomrama is an encyclopedia dedicated to preserve, share and protect traditional hot rod and custom car history from all over the world.
- Help us keep history alive. For as little as 2.99 USD a month you can become a monthly supporter. Click here to learn more.
- Subscribe to our free newsletter and receive regular updates and stories from Kustomrama.
- Do you know someone who would enjoy this article? Click here to forward it.
Can you help us make this article better?
Please get in touch with us at mail@kustomrama.com if you have additional information or photos to share about Allan Winward's 1936 Ford.
This article was made possible by:
SunTec Auto Glass - Auto Glass Services on Vintage and Classic Cars
Finding a replacement windshield, back or side glass can be a difficult task when restoring your vintage or custom classic car. It doesn't have to be though now with auto glass specialist companies like www.suntecautoglass.com. They can source OEM or OEM-equivalent glass for older makes/models; which will ensure a proper fit every time. Check them out for more details!
Do you want to see your company here? Click here for more info about how you can advertise your business on Kustomrama.
