1934 Ford Roadster – Meguiar’s Street Rod D’Elegance Finalist
Most of us hope to leave some sort of legacy when our time on Earth is done. And for car enthusiasts, one legacy we often envision has four wheels, brilliant chrome, and a throaty internal combustion engine, much like this 1934 Ford roadster that Dale Withers began building more than three decades ago, which was recently finished in his memory by Ramin and Karla Younessi and the team at Ron Jones Garage.
Dale was an Oregon-based hot rod builder and metal master who was well known throughout the Pacific Northwest. He picked up this 1934 Ford Roadster in the 1980s and endlessly tweaked and modified it in between finishing other projects. His perfectionist tendencies may have prevented its completion, as he was constantly refining the car in a quest to create the ultimate clean, simple, and sleek traditional ’34 Ford roadster.
Ramin and Karla acquired the roadster two years ago, after Dale had passed away. Their desire was to complete it the way Dale envisioned, so they reached out to Ron Jones Garage to help make that happen.
The car’s stance had already been established with a modified original frame built by Dale using a dropped front axle, split wishbones, and a Halibrand quick-change rearend. Buick finned brake drums and Mercury chrome reversed wheels with wide whitewalls were all pieces Dale had incorporated into the build.
The engine is equally old school – a 255c.i. Mercury Flathead fitted with Edelbrock heads, a four-carb intake supporting a quartet of Strombergs, and a Hunt magneto. Custom headers lead to a stainless exhaust, while power is transferred through a ’41 Cadillac three-speed column-shift transmission.
The body is original Henry Ford steel, though it’s hard to say how many subtle nips, tucks, and slices Dale made to achieve the car’s sleek profile, which is aided by a leaned windshield and modest top chop. Louvered hood tops and deleted hood sides help the Flathead breathe. Jim Smith, who worked for Dale, gets credit for the final bodywork and PPG single-stage black paint, while chrome was handled by Oregon Plating and Advanced Plating.
A ’40 Ford dash has been seamlessly integrated inside, with restored original gauges and a ’40 Ford column and wheel maintaining the classic look. Sid Chavers was called on to stitch the brown leather upholstery and black cloth top.
The 1934 Ford roadster was completed in time to debut at this year’s Grand National Roadster Show, where it competed for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and took home the AMBR Outstanding Engine award – both of which would have made Dale proud. With a Meguiar’s Street Rod D’Elegance finalist award added to that list, Ramin and Karla are looking forward to putting some miles on this legacy build.
See the other Meguair’s Street Rod d’Elegance Finalists:
Photos by Michael Christensen, Damon Lee
