Kit Car

A Steal In Steel

Rod Bods' All-Steel Body Is the Beginning of Jim Foley's Show-Stealer

From the March, 2003 issue of Kit Car

There are lots of '32 Ford replicas around. They are the lynchpin of the street rod industry and have been a kit rod favorite since the '70s. Most are manufactured with fiberglass bodies, but Rod Bods has borrowed from the past, with an all-steel body, and ventured toward the future, with some major design improvements to create a Deuce for the ages. Rod Bods has produced and delivered nearly 300 Ford roadsters since 1997 and have fine-tuned the Deuce to an automotive art form. They start with a reproduction of a Deuce roadster with modern advancements. The body is all-steel, die-stamped, and the same thickness as the original. All exterior dimensions are identical to the original, but the car is braced in a much stronger fashion. The car is jig-assembled on '32 framerails for a good fit, and the body ships as bare metal.

Design improvements include a heavily braced front cowl area for added strength and support and a shaved front cowl bead and filled front cowl vent for a smooth look. The rear seat and trunk areas are heavily braced with a support cage of 1 1/4-inch steel tubing, and the firewall is recessed for a small-block and welded in for more strength.

Hidden, fully adjustable door hinges, modern Chrysler door latches, modern weatherstripping on the trunk, and shaved exterior handles are included for smoothness of appearance and quiet operation. The floorboard is fabricated steel with a removable front floor section, and the dash is an original-style flat design.

All this, for less than nine grand, makes this all-steel beauty a real steal, and Rod Bods owner Jim McCain estimates that most projects of this configuration can be completed in 200-250 hours.

That brings us to the sharp Deuce you see pictured here. Jim Foley's Rod Bods Ford is a Red Hot Red beauty that he got into after 15 years of restoring and building rods. He put his Deuce on a steel chassis that was bobbed and stretched 2 inches, pinched 2 inches, and rear-kicked 2 inches by Ron Attebury of Morgan Hill, California.

A Halibrand Champ Quick-Change rear, a ring-and-pinion ratio of 3.70:1, Aldan coilovers and rear shocks, and Wilwood 13-inch brakes offer a great-handling rear, while Ford Buggy Spring suspension, Aldan monoleaf springs, Deuce factory spindles, and a handmade pedal assembly in front finish out the chassis and suspension.

A Flaming River Vega steering box works with 16x11 Halibrand rear wheels, and a NASCAR rear sway bar and electric vacuum brake pump complete that aspect of the car.

Under the hood, Foley uses a throaty, powerful '69 Chevy ZL1 427ci V-8. The polished, all-aluminum, blueprinted mill was machined by Superior Machine of Sparks, Nevada, and employs a forged steel crankshaft, Crane roller cams, chrome-moly rings, Clevite bearings, Spal electric cooling fan, GM ZL1 heads, Moon breathers, and custom sheetmetal valve covers.

A Hilborn injector EFI system and Hilborn manifold works well with the MSD electronic ignition, Lakes 2-inch headers, and GM 4L80-E tranny with a Cadillac Northstar converter to create a monster powerplant. With a curb weight of 2,450 pounds the setup can pump out a whopping 600 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque, and the car can reach a top speed of 160 mph.

He finished the package with PPG Red Hot Red, Pearl Orange flames, Process Blue pinstriping, '46 Ford taillights, and So-Cal headlights, to create an all-steel Deuce that steals the hearts of those who see her--the car has won show awards at the Oakland Hot Rod Show and several Goodguys events. It's a steal in steel.