By: Kevin Preciado
Photos by: Kevin Preciado, Scott Schmeiser, Skeeter Rader & Phil Salvatti
Strange things happen when one looks for parts for an already in the works project. Just cruising thru a classified section of Hot Rod ads, I happened upon what could make a good foundation for a former Dry Lakes Racer that deserved proper chassis so I went out to give it a looksee, It had been a whole car and had recently been disassembled by its previous owner to upgrade to a contemporary Hot Rod chassis. Under a equally cool quality and customized body.
That’s where we come in, by a chance reading of that ad we met several people that had something to do with this chassis that we purchased, from here on out we’ll refer to it as C’Deuced’s chassis. When looking the chassis over I noticed that it had several really cool elements that dated back to the early Hot Rod days, such as it’s Bell Auto Parts sold Cragar chromed tubed axle, It’s hair pin radius rods as well as it’s 1955-57 Chevy rear end set with semi eliptic springs straight off of that donor Chevy.
It had really bad early to mid 80’s Enkie wheel tire set up (Still need to return em), They were just rollers to keep it mobile. The more that I looked at C’Deuced I became seduced. I thought we can’t cut this sucker up, we got to see what else we can do with it. So while at a restaurant in the San Fernando Valley called Beep’s I spotted a cool image on the wall. It was a 31 roadster on deuce rails with a Duvall windshield and getting pulled over by the cops!
Thought that may be it. Earlier while looking at C’Deuced at the sellers house he showed us the previous owners house/garage and on the wall was a photo shoot of the whole car. That was to become C’Deuced. It was a November,93 issue of Street Rodder Magazine and it had a 3 page spread. Well it had been a 32 Tudor sedan turned into a tub. Very Cool! It too sported a Duvall Windshield and a cool stance. The owner was around my age and also had a 1934 Woody Wagon as do I. Even Cooler!
We ordered a Brookville 30/31 Roadster Body, but after thinking about it for a week, we decided on perhaps making a 4 door tub, we rounded up a 32 cowl doors, sub rails and floor. We started looking for a rear half of a 32 4dr sedan to use, but once again thinking about it for about 6 months this time, It was decided that we should do a sister to our 64b Cyclone 32 roadster instead, That car is an original 32 chassied roadster that is flathead powered and Cyclone quickie equipped. 
Thinking about this sister deuce, we figured that Cyclone Racing Equipment/Cook’s Machine Works could benefit from this build as well. Since Cyclone produced Flathead Caddy Speed Equipment back in the mid 40’s this car could be made to use that engine as well. We continue to produce these heads and we have a 38 Cadillac 346ci flathead, Cook’s has the La Salle trans and we could reconfigure the rear cross member to use the ends of the 32 and the 28-31 Model A center.
In the meantime, we’d build it on the existing chassis that already was set up with a set of small Block Chevrolet Engine Mounts and a center cross member that included part of the original K-Member from the chassis, set up for a automatic transmission.. It was decided that since we had a 1958-62 Chevrolet 283ci engine in stock that was pulled out of our 1934 Roadster 15yrs earlier that it should see duty in C’Deuced.
A junkyard Turbo 350 automatic transmission was sourced and used in the chassis and the drive shaft was cut down, new yoke was sourced and new u-joints were installed at Cyclones parent shop, Cook’s Machine Works. It was decided that we’d give this particular roadster a 60’s personality since that is what I personally remember seeing growing up. (Mind you, The Cyclone Cad build for this chassis is still I the loop, but we’re still collecting the parts for the build and will change the chassis to a Flat Cad When we tire of enjoying it as a OHV V8 that is a kick to drive).
While we were building this car it was taken to our great pal Ozzie’s Garage and Speed Emporium. In Alhambra, CA. where this car became C’Deuced. It was a casual build that took several months and lots of resources that we didn’t know that we had. A great many friends donated their time, parts even finances in order to see the 32 build happen.
Glen Storey who I met at the former G&H Auto Parts store in Alhambra back in 1986, stepped in and sponsored this car by fitting it with an interior and a tachometer, gas pedal, Radiator Re-Core and other numerous items. Ozzie stepped in with a set of Dietz 6-82 sealed beam head lights, Accelerator spring bracket, air cleaner, gauges, 
spray paint, Model A tail light, electricity and numerous hardware. John Byron stepped up and provided a 1st generation Gennie Shifter for a the trans and a fuel and temp gauge that really hooked us up. Mike Valentine donated a 60’s era 160 mph Stewart-Warner speedometer to make them all match.
The front wheels are of the 5 spoke variety, 14” x 6“ in diameter. I believe them to be of the E.T. mfg co. and they are of magnesium construction, so in actuality a true MAG wheel. The rears are 16” x 8.5” diameter and of unknown manufacture and most resemble American Racing Equipment 5 spokes but I do not see the manufacturers name on the inside of the wheel. Front tires are F70-14 BF Goodrich Bias Ply that came off of my neighbors boat trailer when they bought it back in the early 80’s.
The rear tires were bought brand new for a movie shoot that was based on The Beach Boys 11yrs before I used them on a driving car. Ribbed sided 750-16’s that had the look of the iconic Tom McMullen roadster who was coincidentally the founder of Street Rodder magazine an L.A.Roadster Member and Cruised Harvey’s Broiler in Downey which as a lead in The Coalition To Save and Rebuild Harvey’s Broiler is another reason we built C’Deuced as a 60’s Hot Rod. (Sidenote, The Beach Boys Movie spoke about earlier was filmed there when it was called Johnie’s Broiler).
The original steel firewall came from former Rod and Custom Magazine feature Editor Jim Aust now of Austin, Texas. The body was assembled by Antique Automotive Sheetmetal-Brookville Roadster of Ohio by using the cowl, doors floor and sub rails spoke about above by us. The ¼ panels deck lid, rear upper and lower panels are new steel and has achieved the goal of having our C’Deuced gaining a # of 64c. The body is painted in a oil based enamel in basic black just as Henry Ford that you could get a Model T. “Any Color as Long as It’s Black” The radiator shell is a replacement steel unit and the insert is a original 32 part.
The radiator spoke about above is a 1932 BB 1 & ½ ton truck unit that has had its lower tank and bracket reversed and its lower neck moved from the left to the right in order to be used with small block.
The gas tank came with the chassis and is original. The rear spreader bar was made by an unknown source and is chrome plated mounting the rear license plate and also came with the chassis. Dash board is a modified 3W coupe unit that is now produced by Brookville. Stitching was done at Tito Auto Trim in San Gabriel/Rosemead, CA. Seat Springs came from my brother Robert and his Hot Rod project. Green Glass windshield was done at GTO auto glass in L.A.
“Tight Tuck Lakes Style Headers” Manufactured by Cyclone Racing Equipment in order to fill a need in the exhaust arena of header manufacturing of being able to have a good looking header that fits within the confines of the body/engine bay and being able to shut a hood without obstruction. Single low mount alternator bracket also made by Cyclone was also used to mount a 1wire internally regulated chrome alternator. The 60’s era steering wheel is of Covico manufacture and is the same style as what was used on the American Graffiti 32 5W coupe. It was free ;). We made the mount for the center cap and used a Grant GT500 cap. The steering column is a simple quick release upper and lower splined and d shaft with a bearing supported mast held in place with a Chevrolet Sprint 3 cylinder connecting rod.
C’Deuced has been on the road for about 6 mos. as of this writing and she has not been without new car bugs even though she is virtually 80yrs young. She is trying at times, steers with play and brakes have a hard pedal at present. I must say that I have met some wonderful people over my lifetime and have met more including Mike and Rene, who we received this chassis from, Mike Gamel and his wife who own the upper half of what is now C’Deuced and provided me with much info when I called him out of the blue to inform him that his old chassis was alive and well and back on the road.
Automotive Illustrator-Conceptual Artist Thom Taylor who when started to describe the car that this formerly was knew it’s history before Mike Gamel purchased it. The builder was a lakes racer named Butch Carlton who I believe resides presently in AZ. He was the builder that whacked the top off of the 32 sedan and installed the DuVall windshield and when Mike Gamel purchased it a 50’s Cad was in the chassis that C’Deuced is now.
Mike G. who takes his car to Bonneville yearly relayed a story involving “our” cars. A guy is at the bend in the road of the Flats, he sees the Tudor Tub and reads the license plate and says ”Who owns that? Mike says that he does, the guy says his dad built it. His dad was is Butch Carlton. = Too Cool!
[…] C-Deuced by a Deuce […]