Joe Horsik’s Number 18 ’34 Ford Hot Rod built by Dutchboys Hotrods with Steadfast Manufacturing
Congratulations to Joe Horsik and Dutchboys Hotrods for being selected as a Top 5 Finalist for the Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year with this fun ’34 Ford Coupe
Joe Horsik has been a hot rodder for more than 70 years, with more than 100 cars passing through his signature. You may recognize many of them, such as the Double Bubble ’61 Impala wagon, a standout ’61 Pontiac convertible, classic trucks, and other high horsepower Impalas. His most recent project was all hot rod – a fun ’34 Ford Coupe – so much so that it garnered a Top Five position in the Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year competition.
Joe handed over a ’34 Ford coupe that had been restored long ago to the crew at Dutchboys Hotrods in Michigan for a “simple” hot rod transformation. However, as they dug into the car, previous issues with questionable repairs surfaced which were going to delay the project. To help keep things on schedule, Dutchboys collaborated with Henry Richards at Steadfast Manufacturing for some key elements of the build.
The original ’34 Ford body received a serious top chop and was channeled over a custom Steadfast chassis equipped with a quick-change rearend, resulting in a proper hot rod stance with serious attitude. Every panel was reworked to perfection before receiving a mirror finish of BASF Jet Black in the Dutchboys paint booth. Note the custom extra-wide louvers that work their way up the center of the custom-formed hood, and then work their way from below the narrow rear window down over the deck lid and rolled rear pan to finally stop just above the custom formed dual center exhaust outlet.
These exhaust outlets are connected through a series of carefully planned bends in stainless tubing moving forward around a Tremec TKX five-speed transmission from Bowler and finally to the custom headers connected to a 383c.i. stroker small-block Chevy V8 from Blueprint Engines. The 400-horsepower engine was treated to a dynamic LeMans Blue finish, plenty of polished ARP hardware, and a Borla 8-stack induction system.
Pull open one of the suicide doors and you’re greeted by a matching blue leather interior crafted in-house at Dutchboys. Underneath that colorful hides are custom aluminum panels and modified Speedway Motors bucket seats. The dash has been modified slightly and fitted with a Vintage Air system and Dakota Digital ’34 styled gauges viewed through a Speedway Engineering steering wheel.
Adding a touch of contrast to the outside, Joe selected a set of classic Coker wire wheels sprayed blue to match the interior and engine color. As for the flying number 18 on the door, outlined with blue speed stripes?
“It’s nothing particular, just a number,” Joe says. “But it was a fun project with a lot of talented people that came up with ideas and worked together to finish a great car!”
Photos: John Jackson, Marc Gewertz
