John Mccue's '32 Vicky - Mission Accomplished
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John Mccue's '32 Vicky - Mission Accomplished
February 08, 2008 By
[ Website Article ]
Nearly a half-dozen years ago, John McCue noticed a rodded Deuce Vicky sitting in a local motel parking lot. It'd been there for a while and looked to be in pretty good shape. After taking a closer look, John tracked down the car's owner and asked if it might be for sale. It was, he bought it, and the rest is history-though not quite what you might think. You see, even though it was a finished hot rod, all John was interested in was the car's original steel body; the balance of the car just wasn't of importance. John got the Vicky home and immediately tore it down, selling off everything but the Victoria body and grille shell to help finance the car's fresh traditional-style rebuild.


John began by ordering up a new pinched-nosed Deuce frame from Barry Lobeck. Once the frame arrived, he set about assembling the unit into a finished rolling chassis utilizing a Johns-equipped 9-inch Ford rear hung by a Pete & Jake's rear spring and ladder bar assembly. A POSIES Super Slide spring, Magnum I-beam and spindles, and a pair of hairpins were installed up front, as was a Vega cross-steer box. In keeping with its traditional styling, John chose a set of early Buick drum brake assemblies to work in tandem with the 9-inch rearend's 11-inch drums and then mounted a quartet of steel wheels and blackwall tires at all four corners.




The chassis was then fitted with a Lobeck's pedal assembly and a full complement of stainless brake and fuel lines. The next step was to build and install a drivetrain that would look as good as it would perform. A '70 Chevy small-block was machined and prepped and then assembled using a host of quality components from a selection of manufacturers, including Manley, Speed Pro, Federal Mogul, Engle, and Edelbrock, to name but a few. The engine was topped with a Tri-power setup and dressed in traditional-style finery, and then backed by a warmed-over TH350 and nestled between the framerails.


With the chassis and running gear in place, the next step was to massage the Vicky body back into pristine shape. To start, John whacked the top a diminutive 1 3/8 inches, reworked and fitted a '34 Ford dash, filled the grille shell, and fashioned a cool license plate well in the rear body panel. Next, the myriad of dents and dings were worked smooth and the body prepped, primed, and treated to a glass-smooth coating of eye-catching PPG Yukon Yellow. Once the body and paintwork was complete, the sheetmetal was lowered onto the fresh chassis and the assembly phase began in earnest.


John wired the car using a Ron Francis harness, fit the doors with stock door handles, and then added a pair of '34 Ford commercial headlight assemblies up front and a stock Deuce fuel tank out back. With the car nearing total completion, it was then shipped over to Vintage Auto Trim where Rick Davin stitched up a traditional-style black and white leather interior that perfectly complemented the Vicky's styling. Once back from the trim shop, John attended to the countless little chores required to get any street rod truly roadworthy, all the while anticipating lots of future road time behind the wheel of his latest project.


As you can plainly see, John's efforts were well worth it. He's accomplished what we all look forward to-building a street rod that's a blast to drive and stays true to its original concept. Well done, Mr. McCue!


Facts & Figures

John McCue

Charleston, West Virginia

1932 Ford Victoria


CHASSIS

Frame / Manufacturer ’32 Ford / Lobeck’s V8 Shop (Cleveland, OH)

Wheelbase 106”

Modifications pinched nose

Chassis plumbing stainless

Rearend / Ratio 9” Ford / 3.70:1

Rear suspension transverse spring, ladder bars

Rear brakes 11” drum

Front suspension transverse spring, I-beam

Front brakes Buick drum

Master cylinder Mustang

Steering box Vega

Front wheels, size steel, 15x5

Rear wheels, size steel, 15x8

Front tire make, size Michelin, 145/15

Rear tire make, size BFG, 31/10-15



ENGINE

Make ’70 Chevrolet

Displacement 355ci

Machining / Assembly Minnick’s (Charleston, WV) / owner

Pistons forged

Camshaft Engle

Water pump Flowkooler (San Luis Obispo, CA)

Cooling fan SPAL (Ankeny, IA)

Radiator Walker (Memphis TN)

Alternator GM

Heads Chevrolet

Valves / Springs Manley / Engle

Rockers Manley

Valve covers Edelbrock (Torrance, CA)

Manifold / Induction Edelbrock / Rochester (3)

Ignition / Wires Mallory / Taylor

Headers ram horns manifolds

Exhaust / Mufflers stainless 2 / Borla (Oxnard, CA)



TRANSMISSION

Make Chevrolet TH350

Converter B&M (Chatsworth, CA)

Shifter Lokar (Knoxville, TN)

Trans mods Bob Daugtery (Dunbar, WV)

Driveshaft Denny’s (Kenmore, NY)



BODY

Body style / Material Vicky / steel

Body manufacturer Ford

Body mods 1 3/8” chop

Hood Rootlieb (Turlock, CA)

Grille original ’32 Ford

Bodywork owner

Paint type / Color PPG / Yukon Yellow

Painter owner

Headlights / Taillights ’34 Ford commercial / Pontiac

Outside mirror Vintique



INTERIOR

Dashboard '34 Ford

Insert / Gauges Haneline (Morongo Valley, CA) / Stewart Warner (E. Petersburg, PA)

Wiring Ron Francis (Chester, PA), owner-installed

Steering wheel Vintage Bell

Steering column Borgeson-Mullins (Torrington, CT)

Interior mirror Bob Drake Reproductions (Grants Pass, OR)

Seats Tea's Design (Rochester, MN)

Upholsterer Vintage Auto Trim (Cincinnati, OH)

Material / Color leather / black & white

Carpet Daytona, black

Seatbelts Juliano's Hot Rod Parts (Ellington, CT)
 
 
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