Bob & Lynn Caruso's 1933 Ford Hiboy Coupe
(from Volume 24, Issue 295)

story by owner Bob Caruso, photos by Michael B. Kelly

 

I have always liked old cars and fast cars. I raced for 25 years in the Funny Car class with the Tasmanian Devil F/C, an A/Fuel Altered, in Super Stock, and a 1941 Willies A/Gas car. I also used to build custom hot rods for people that could afford them when I was in my 20’s to 40’s. I had many of them win the Autorama car show in Hartford, Connecticut over the years, and always hoped I would be able to build a cool street car for myself to enjoy.

For more than 15 years my wife Lynn and I would always talk about building a 1932-34 Ford 3-Window Coupe. We wanted it to be blue with a white interior, and the top chopped three or four inches. Of course, it would have had to be built with all Ford power. We sat down one day and started to put a parts list together and before you knew it, holy crap! It totaled over $125,000 for what we were dreaming of building.

We were both crushed, and thought it was probably the end of that dream. As two stubborn folks we were not about to give up, and instead we refocused our dream and decided to start looking for a car someone else had built, that we liked well enough to pull the trigger on. Well, the search went on for about 5 years and one day I was cruising the internet at night and there it was; a 1933 Ford 3-Window Coupe that was chopped 3-inches, painted in Ford Sonic Blue pearl paint, with a white interior, wood dash, banjo steering wheel, and bucket seats. It was powered by a Ford 351 cubic inch Windsor motor with 375hp, had a C-4 automatic transmission with a 2,500 stall converter, Ford rear end with 3.25:1 gears, plus power brakes with discs up front and drums in the back. It was all sitting on a tubular chassis by Scott’s Hot Rods, and it even had a Vintage Air system....a must for keeping cool in Florida.

The car had everything on our list, and we were floored. So we called the seller and went down to Ft. Lauderdale to see it at Gateway Classic Cars. As soon as we walked in we spotted the car about 100-feet away in the back of the garage, so I began to walk at a fast pace towards that beautiful Sonic Blue pearl beauty. It was like a dream come true. As I turned around to grab my wife, she was already on the phone calling the bank to set up a money transfer. Yes, we fell in love with this beauty! Needless to say we made an offer, and the owner accepted! There was one thing left to do and that was to take her for a ride. Oh boy! I hit the gas and the tires lit up. I was not used to such a light car with that much horsepower. She drove like a dream....my dream! It was one of the best days of my life, since the car was everything we always wanted, and more. We now enjoy showing the car and taking long cruises, livin’ the dream in our dream car.

My wife Lynn and I share a love for cars, so through the years we have acquired several more since the 1933 Ford. One of them is my wife’s rat rod style 1949 Ford Pickup. It is powered by a 327 cubic inch motor with 400hp, thanks to a trio of Stromberg 97 carburetors and Trick Flow aluminum heads, and is backed by a Turbo 350 automatic transmission with a shift kit. The whole thing is sitting on an S-10 chassis with 4-link rear setup, and it’s just a beauty! I won’t take it to the same car shows I take the 1933 Ford Coupe to unless I park it far away from the “Rat”, as everyone screams for “The Dirty Rat”. We also have a 1950 Plymouth Deluxe which is also a good looker, and with a 350 Chevy motor and a 700R4 transmission it glides down the road. Our latest car is a Go Green colored 2017 Dodge Challenger RT with a Hemi motor, which drives like a scalded ape.

With several cool rides to choose from, including our dream 1933 Ford, it makes deciding what to take out each weekend a fun process. In the end we really can’t loose, since no matter what the choice is, we will be behind the wheel with a big smile on our faces....and that’s the whole point of this hobby! CN

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