Paul Satras’ 1934 Ford Phaeton
“When I was a teenager, I worked at Mahood’s Auto Body, and Boyd and Fat Jack were on the same street,” says Paul Satras. “One day I saw [Bob] Kolmos’ yellow ’32 Phaeton and [Larry] Murray’s ’33 Phaeton that Boyd did, and I said if I ever build a hot rod, it will be a 1934 two-door Phaeton.”
It took a few decades, but Paul made that dream a reality when he found a ’34 Phaeton on Craigslist, an ’80s-era street rod in need of a refresh. He spent the next several years rebuilding the car with the help of his son, Vincent.
The car was built on a TCI chassis with an independent front suspension, Aldan coil-overs, and Wilwood disc brakes. Mike Curtis cut the custom 18- and 20-inch wheels, which get rolling courtesy of a Bob Devor-built small-block Chevy with an Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 fuel injection system, MSD ignition, and TH350 transmission.
The steel body was revived at Mahood’s Hot Rods, with plenty of smoothing, hidden hinges, and a brilliant red PPG finish sprayed by Mark Mahood. The windshield was chopped 6-inches and a custom top from Pop Tops was used to cover the cockpit. Al’s Garage stitched the custom brown and black leather upholstery inside.
When we think of hot rod tradition, we often look back to the 1950s and ’60s. But Paul’s Phaeton is a beautiful example of the enduring style developed decades later by icons like Boyd Coddington.
Photos by Marc Gewertz & Steven Bunker
