1933 Ford Five-Window Coupe | A Race-Inspired Traditional Hot Rod

Hot rods are all about attitude, and David Abell's North Carolina-based 1933 Ford has plenty of it. The heavily choopped top, stretched wheelbase and other race-inspired details give you the impression that this five-window coupe just returned home from a high speed run at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The truth of the matter is that it’s a highway friendly hot rod and gets driven quite often.

It’s powered by a 1951 Ford Flathead V8, which has been bored and stroked to 286 cubic inches, and equipped with aluminum heads. Gary Howard of Flathead City in Grants Pass, Oregon built the hot Flathead. It is backed by a T5 manual five-speed transmission, providing overdrive for long distance trips.

The body is a 1933 Ford, but features a 1934 Ford hood and grille. Kenny "The Chopper" Baker chopped the five-window top, while Tommy Kramer at Vintage Visions painted the modified body. Jeremy Kemp and Chris Cruz handled the artwork and pinstriping, which includes beautiful detail work on the steel wheels. Inside is a race-inspired interior, stitched by Billy Murdock. You won't find many creature comforts inside this bare bones hot rod.

Brad Scott and Garland Brown at Vintage Visions handled the chassis build, which features boxed frame rails, a dropped front axle and a four-bar rear suspension with coilovers.

When it came time for rolling stock, David went with a timeless big-n-little combination. He called us, looking for something that mixed traditional styling with the modern ride quality of a radial, so we set him up with a set of our Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial tires.

The 5.50R16 and 7.50R16 sizing provides the perfect rubber rake to enhance the aggressive stance, while a set of our Hot Rod Steel wheels (sized 16x4.5 and 16x6 inches) and 1940 Ford V8 caps put a nice finishing touch on this radical hot rod.