A lot of guys look at pro-built rods and see the expense involved in having these talented artists build the car and figure they can simply do it themselves at home. And while there are some talented home builders, I’d argue that there’s usually a pretty vast gulf between even a nice home-built rod and something that comes out of a professional shop. This stunning ’32 Ford 3-window coupe, called “Torq’d” is an ideal example. You could probably build yourself a black 3-window coupe for less money, but up close, the details and exquisite craftsmanship outshine almost anything else you’re likely to see. This is far, far more than just an assembly of parts with a nice paint job, it’s a car where every single part was massaged, tweaked, and polished to make it special. If details matter, then take a good, close look at this stunning coupe because this isn’t something you’re going to duplicate at home.

The body is a Downs Fiberglass piece, and they do some pretty nice work. However, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect right out of the box, particularly when you’re building a show-stopper. The pros at Wild Wes Paintworks performed a long list of modifications to the body, including radiusing all the corners, changing the angle of the firewall and smoothing it, and channeling it down over the frame a bit. It’s all subtle, but that kind of attention to detail separates the garden-variety rods from the amazing ones. You don’t know what’s different, just that it looks better. On top, Wes Adkins added one of his trademark paint jobs, a slick black/red/silver combination that will always look and never go out of style. Custom graphics were laid out so the stripes wrap around the car, even on the firewall, and extend to the hand-built coil covers on the LS-based V8. Look close and you’ll see that the silver has a slight fade to it (that’s not the lighting in our studio, that’s how it looks no matter where it goes) and the red stripe seems to hover over the body’s surface. Flush-mounted taillights, trick headlights with LED halo lights, and a power-actuated trunk lid add to the super-smooth look. Up close you’ll note that every single bolt on the car is polished stainless without any markings—how many hours did that take?—and the gaps are even enough for NASA to calibrate their instruments. That’s what you get from a pro-built rod.

Despite the fairly dramatic top chop, there’s plenty of room inside thanks to a custom-built and contoured Glide bench seat. Jeff Elwood’s signature work shows extremely well, using black and red leather to tie into the exterior look. The bench seat has been re-shaped to look more like twin buckets and help hold you in place for the rather substantial cornering forces this rod can generate. A polished tilt column carries a custom steering wheel with a “Torq’d” horn button and a hand-built filler panel houses the A/C vents and controls, plus the power window switches. In the center of the dash, there’s an array of Classic Instruments gauges that resemble vintage aircraft gauges and the JL Audio Bluetooth control head is in the center where it’s easy to reach. Drilled pedals were polished to really sparkle and that shifter is a one-off piece built by Wild Wes himself, so you can slap the transmission through the gears without worries. The headliner is exquisitely stitched to continue the theme, as is the trunk, which also carries a polished stainless fuel cell and battery.

But what makes this rod special is the induction system that dominates the look. You undoubtedly noticed the trick shotgun scoop with integral blow-off valve being force-fed by a pair of Torqstorm centrifugal blowers via those gorgeous stainless pipes—all custom-built just for this car. Even the heavy-duty blower mounts were carved out of a single chunk of aluminum then mirror-polished. Those twin blowers feed pair of custom-built AEI 650 CFM blow-through blower carbs and a Holley Sniper sheet metal tunnel ram intake that’s been fully polished. It all feeds a 5.3 liter LS V8 outfitted with a set of Trick Flow aluminum heads, roller rockers, and a custom-grind roller camshaft. An MSD 6LS distributorless ignition system hides under the hand-made covers that were clearance for the blowers’ air cleaners and installed using hidden fasteners so they look like they’re just floating on top of the engine. The block itself was painted red to stand out against the black and silver bodywork but the blowers really are the stars of the show. Up front there’s a giant Griffin aluminum radiator with electric fan so this stout V8 keeps its cool, and ceramic-coated headers handle the exhaust. Of course, since it’s all out there in the open, every single part was finished to show standards, either polished or painted to look its best.

It sits on a custom-built Roadster Shop chassis that includes ’32 frame rails and extensive reinforcements. The front suspension is fully independent with upper and lower A-arms and coil-over shocks, plus a rack-and-pinion steering setup that’s so easy that power steering was completely unnecessary. Rear suspension is from Heidt’s, a fully polished independent system that is reminiscent of a Jaguar rear with inboard disc brakes and a second set of coil-over shocks. A Cyclone Transmission F-5 4L60E 4-speed automatic transmission manages the torque and sends it back to a set of 3.73 gears that make this thing feel insanely quick on the street. Giant disc brakes haul it down from speed and again, as is Wild Wes’ style, everything underneath the car has been finished as if it was going to be the only thing people see, including the fully polished 3-inch stainless Magnaflow exhaust system and custom-finished driveshaft. Great-looking Billet Specialties wheels measure 17x8 up front and 20x12 in back and carry 245/45/17 and 305/35/20 Mickey Thompson radials, respectively. This car has a wicked stance that’s both traditional and right for the 21st century.

Just an over-the-top build by one of the leading builders of recent years. Fully sorted yet still ready to show at the highest levels, this is an ideal example of the current state-of-the-art in rod building. It’s docile, it idles nicely, the A/C is cold, yet it pulls like a rocket sled when you lean on it. Both blowers come online before you can get your foot on the floor and some seriously scary stuff starts to happen pretty quickly, so you need to pay attention at the wheel. With just test and tune miles, this rod is available for about seventy cents on the dollar compared to starting from scratch. Pro-built quality at a home-built price. That’s pretty impressive. Call today!

This car is titled as a 1932 Ford.

Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory prior to purchase.