Custom Car – September 2019

Thebodyworkhas,asStevenputsit,“been

fermentingsince 1933 ”,thoughthecarwas

afour-doorsaloonwhenitwasoriginally

builtandisthoughttohavebeenconverted

intoapick-upeitherduringtheSecond

WorldWarorinthe 1950 s.

It’sbeenweldedsomuchit’sgotlikea

volcaniccurvetoit

thatwouldworkaroundtheengine,Steven

hituponaSeries 2 LandRoverbox.Notthat

unusualinitself,excepthe’susedtheentire

LandddRoversteeriiingsystem,iiincllludddiiingthhhe

relayunitandtrackrodends,reamingthe

’40’sFordsteeringarmstofit.“Everyonesaid

itwouldn’twork,butitworksbrilliantly,and

partsaresomuchcheaper.”

Talkthetorque

“Ididn’twanttogodowntheV8routefor

theengineonthisbuild,soIconsidereda

dieselforawhile,butthenwhena’ 78 Ford

Fairmontwitha200cisixbangercameupon

eBay,Iknewthatwasforme.”

Theydon’tmakealotofpowerthese

aptly-namedThriftpowerengines,but

torqueiswhereit’sat.Like 150 +at 1 , 600 rpm

withonly 85 - 90 bhp.Itwouldn’thurttosee

iiifffthhhereareanyperffformancepartsavaiiilllabbbllle

forthemthough,wouldit?“That’swhenI

discoveredCliffordPerformanceinWildomar,

California,”recallsStevenwithaglintin

hiseye.Theseguyshavebeenmaking

performancepartsandbuildingstraightsix

enginessince 1967 whentheywerevery

successfullyracingHudsons,andreallyknow

theirstuff.

“ImadethecalltotheStatesandspoketo

LarrythereaboutwhatIneeded.Duringour

conversation,IdiscoveredhelovesEngland

andsharesagreatpassionofmineinreal

ale,sowehadplentytotalkabouuut.

“Idon’tthinkhebelievedme,ttthough,

whenIsaidI’dcomeoverandseeeehim.”

Youcaniiimagiiinehhhiiissurpriiisethhhenwhhhen,a

fewweekslater,StevenandClaireknocked

onhisdoorandpresentedLarrywithtwo

bottlesofrealale.“Hewasbowledover,but

verywelcoming.Weendedupspendingthe

wholedaywithhimandhiswife,andhe

evenranupa3 50 +bhpstraightsixhewas

buildingforaFuelAlteredonhisdynofor

us.Whatacoolguy.”

Withthetuningpartsheneededinhand,

thecoupleheadedtoVegastomeetupwith

theirfriendLennyatSo-CalSpeedShopof

LasVegasandthenheadedtoClaire’suncle’s

houseinLaMirada,CA.“ThanksJennand

Stevea.k.a.Carpy’sCaféRacersforyour

kindhospitality,andallowingustouseyour

houseasapostoffice!”

Thebigsix

BackintheUK,firedupbywhathe’dseen,

Stevenimmediatelysettorebuildingthebig

six–newshells,valvesandgaskets,allstock,

butwitha38DGASWeberonaClifford

Performancemanifold,electronicignition

andasix-into-twoCliffordtubularheader.

“It’sprovedtobetheperfectcombination

foragreatsound,abitofpunchandsimple

reliability.I’mwellhappywithit,”hesays.

WheretheoldFairmontcamewithan

automatictransmission,Stevewanteda

clutchandgears,soboughtaFordType 9

’boxandoneeveningsneakedinwithhis

brother,Jimmy,toPyburnEngineeringin

Desboroughwhereheworksandhadhim

turnupanadapterplateandspigotbearing

tomatethetwo.Afterthat,allhehadto

dowasmakethepedalsfromscratchand

14 CUSTOMCARAUGUST 2019

©ThatsteeringwheelisfromaMorrisMinor

andthegaugesareSunProwithaswapmeet

findJaeger120mphspeedo.

NotetheAustinofEnglandbadgeonthe

dash.StevenisproudoftheBritishheritageof

hiscreation.