This Little Deuce Coupe Packs a Serious Punch with almost 700 horsepower
Keith Murt has raced professionally in ARCA and Busch Series stock car competition, in addition to campaigning an NHRA Top Fuel dragster. With a go-fast resume like that, it’s no surprise he’d want some serious horsepower in his street-driven ride, too. When he turned to Brad Starks at Brad Starks Rod & Custom to build this ’deuce coupe, big power and a nasty attitude were two top priorities.
Starting with an unfinished project shell, Keith and Brad decided they wanted to find a way to stuff a modern 6.2-liter Chevy LT4 V8 between the deuce coupe frame rails – with closed hood sides. The supercharged engine produces 680 horsepower – more than enough power to make the full-fendered coupe scoot – but is not exactly svelte. Stuffing it under a Deuce hood was no small challenge.
To fit the compact engine compartment, Brad fabricated a custom accessory drive system for the LT4 and mounted a custom intercooler water tank on the firewall as part of a reengineered cooling system. Exhaust flows through custom stainless steel pipes built with MagnaFlow components and mufflers. A GM 4L70E automatic transmission controlled by a Power Control Solutions shifter feeds power to 4.10 gears in the rearend.
The coupe’s foundation is a custom frame that features a 5-inch dropped axle, Posies spring, flat front crossmember, Ridetech shocks, and a Flaming River Unisteer system. The Winters quick-change rearend is suspended with Ridetech coil-overs. Wilwood disc brakes are fixed on all four corners and all suspension pieces are nickel plated. Custom-machined 16×6- and 16×8-inch wheels are wrapped in smooth blackwall tires (195/60 in front, 265/55 in the rear) and topped with satin black center caps with chrome spinners.
The steel deuce coupe body has a 3.5-inch chopped top, a three-piece hood, ’37 Ford taillights, and ’34 commercial headlights on a dropped headlight bar. The sheet metal has been massaged and gapped to an ultra-precise level and is covered in Axalta Toner Black paint.
The interior is the handiwork of the team at Starks as well as stitching by Speed & Design Hot Rod Interiors in Nashville, Tennessee. The stock dash is fitted with a ’50 Oldsmobile insert holding Dakota Digital gauges. The Glide seat is covered in black leather. An Ididit column hosts a Billet Specialties steering wheel. The coupe is not air-conditioned, but it does feature a Vintage Air Retro Heater mounted under the gauge cluster.
There’s little doubt that this sinister-looking black beauty can satisfy the need for speed of a racer like Keith. In a completely safe and legal way, of course.
Photos by John Jackson and Damon Lee
