1938 Ford Coupe Hot Rod SCTA El Mirage Muroc Bonneville

1938 Ford Other Description

Up for auction is a very special hot rod. Chuck Edwall's 1938 Ford five window coupe, a real deal hot rod in every sense. This is a home built, street driven car that was run at El Mirage, Muroc and Bonneville. It ran a best of 157.9 at Bonneville and was driven from San Diego to the salt. Chuck made this trip several times. The car also ran a very impressive 162.4 at El Mirage dry lake, the car was a regular competitor there for several years. Chuck also drag raced the car, in the quarter mile it has run a best time of 11.22 and a top speed of 129.
Chuck purchased this car as a project in 1987 at a local San Diego swap meet. It had already been chopped at that time and Chuck learned that the chop had been done in 1948 by John Vesco, Don Vesco's father. The metal work is top quality, it was gas welded, hammered and filed. It also came with real 1937 DeSoto bumpers and Chuck added a pair of 1941 Studebaker tail lights.
Chuck first got the car on the road soon after with a mild 472 inch Cadillac and turbo 400 transmission. After driving it in primer for five years, he blew it apart and painted the car in 1992. To be clear, Chuck painted the car himself in his garage as you see it here. Soon thereafter he installed a much hotter 500 inch Cadillac stuffed with Arias 11.25:1 forged pistons, Eagle H beam rods, nitrided forged crank, ported heads, roller rockers, custom camshaft and ARP main & head studs. The motor features an early prototype Edelbrock intake (with no script) and an 850 Holley from Braswell.
Also around this time period, the rear suspension was changed over to it's current setup, a Ford 9" with coil overs and a four link. The front suspension is a 1937 Ford tube axle with a buggy spring and split wishbone. It has a Vega steering box and disc brakes up front.
Chuck drove and raced the car with this combination until 2007 or 2008. Around that time he built a brand new motor, an even hotter 500 inch Cadillac and new Turbo 400. The car has about 8000 street miles on the current drive train. It has a few 1/8 mile passes on this setup.
The car runs well on the street, the motor is very torquey but easy to drive. It runs on a combination of pump gas mixed with a couple gallons of 105 race fuel. Everything works in the car and this includes all lights, wipers and radio. The sale includes a complete SCTA legal roll cage (built by Autopower), a legal race seat, a parachute, a set of landspeed wheels with Goodyear Front Runners and Moon discs, a bolt in lead box and fire bottle tray. There's also a set of early Oldsmobile hubcaps that are included. There's tons of paperwork, including Chuck's hand drawn wiring diagrams for the car.
The car has been featured in a number of publications including Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, Street Rodder, Hop Up and My Classic Car (five page feature plus the cover). It has also been featured in a few hard cover books.
This is a very, very rare opportunity to become the first custodian of what is sure to become an iconic hot rod. Please ask all questions before you bid, feel free to contact us directly at 626-804-3780.