1935 Ford Custom Coupe - Ruby Deluxe

Oftentimes we can be in awe of a hot rod so well done we aren't sure where to begin or even where to point and say, "There, that's what makes this car so special, so different from the rest."



"Bugs", from SoCal, enjoyed the lines of the original Lincoln Zephyr, but not having one he took a different approach. He felt the Zephyr styling reflected his like of the art-deco era and knew he wanted to incorporate this look and feel into his custom. His '35 Ford custom coupe just might be one of those cars that's special, different from the rest. Well, we called it a "coupe" but the reality is this piece of historic Ford tin began as a '35 humpback sedan and turned into a coupe by Troy Ladd and his staff at Hollywood Hot Rods (HHR) in Burbank, California. To get to this point, a great deal of effort and talent was pressed into service.



HHR began with the sedan body, chopping it 5 inches, fitting it with a fabricated steel roof insert, all the while retaining the sedan rear window, utilizing suicide sedan doors along with custom sweeping window frames. Look closely at the lower door body line and you'll see that it "flows" into the custom-fabricated rocker panels. The sharp non-symmetrical peak rear fenders are custom, pontoon style, extended 8 inches, and filled with fabricated-full cover fender skirts.




The rear section of the car is extended 6 inches and outfitted with '46 Hudson taillights, integrated into a custom rear rolled pan. More custom work in back includes the fabricated rear bumper using '49 Merc bumper bullets, while resting between the rear fenders is an aluminum decklid made from a Bentley hood skin.

The rear suspension is again a combination of Air Lift, Firestone, and KYB linked to a triangulated four-bar built around a Ford 9-inch with 3.08 gears. More corner items include Wheelsmith Smoothies, measuring 15x6, wrapped with Coker radial wide whites, and dressed with '41 Studebaker caps.