Replica '34 Ford roadster a joy ride for its San Ramon owner

Jun 17, 2023

Some have said that the 1933-34 Ford models were some of the prettiest that the compnay ever built.

That statement is hard to argue with, but in my view, the 1930s produced some of the most beautiful cars by all manufacturers. This was an exciting time in the auto industry, which was really coming of age and clearly graduating from the horseless carriage era to the modern way people and products were transported.

Ford had been extremely successful with the Model T (1908-27) and equally successful with the Model A (1927-31). In 1932 Ford introduced a brand-new model and flathead V8 engine, and it was a good one. This was a major event because, while it wasn’t the first V8 (Cadillac developed that in 1915), it was the first V8 for the masses.

Rated at 85-horsepower, the model’s 221-cubic-inch engine used a three-speed manual transmission. Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger supposedly wrote to Henry Ford that they discovered that the model was an excellent car for their line of work because of the engine’s speed and durability.

That early V8 Ford weighed only 2,461 pounds, which helped with its performance, and it was competitively priced at $575 (about $12,805 in 2023 dollars). Ford used that same engine design through the 1953 model year.

While this new V8 was very exciting and Henry Ford thought maybe he should use the V8 exclusively in all his cars, he knew that four-cylinder Model A had been pretty popular and reliable too. The public can be pretty fickle, so Henry made two models for 1932, a conventional four-cylinder model called Model B and the V8 model called Model 18. Other than the engine, they were identical.

For the 1933-34 model years, minor styling changes were made. A flatter and slanted grill plus curved fenders were new. The car manufacturers learned that not only were mechanical enhancements important, but modern styling sold cars. Even during the Great Depression, the 1932-34 Ford sales improved, with about a million units sold in those years.

After World War II, the Ford V8 became the engine of choice for hot rodders. By this time, Ford had built millions of cars and trucks using the dependable and durable flathead V8 engine. Modification and souping up a Ford V8 engine became popular, affordable and relatively easy with a plentiful supply of parts for the job.

This issue’s feature appears to be a 1934 Ford roadster, but is it really? San Ramon owner Kyle Madison acquired the car about a year ago in Fairfield from the man who built this kit car.

The interior of a replica 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Kyle Madison of San Ramon. (David Krumboltz for Bay Area News Group)

The interior of a replica 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Kyle Madison of San Ramon. (David Krumboltz for Bay Area News Group)

The interior of a replica 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Kyle Madison of San Ramon. (David Krumboltz for Bay Area News Group)

The interior of a replica 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Kyle Madison of San Ramon. (David Krumboltz for Bay Area News Group)

The interior of a replica 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Kyle Madison of San Ramon. (David Krumboltz for Bay Area News Group)

The interior of a replica 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Kyle Madison of San Ramon. (David Krumboltz for Bay Area News Group)

“He did a fantastic job on it,” said Madison. “I was really impressed with the detail. When I buy a car, I’m not looking for a project car.”

Other than some very minor interior work on the door panels, the owner has only had to wash and wax his new favorite possession.

Madison says he paid $30,000 for the car and thinks he got a good buy, as he estimates its current value at about $40,000. He said he has owned 40 to 45 cars in the past and usually keeps them for two to three years but isn’t sure what he’ll do with this car.

“I’m going to keep it for a while. A lot times I get a car and turn it pretty quick, but this one I really enjoy driving. I have a 9-year-old son who loves cruising in the car. That’s a big motivator to me.”

The color is an attention grabber. It’s a Honda color called Del Sol Pearl Green and has chrome Foose wheels that are slightly larger in the back than the front. Some would consider this car a “hot rod” but it is really more of a “street rod.”

The car is powered with a 350-cubic-inch Chevy V8 engine that only has about 2,000 miles on it since it was rebuilt. The transmission is the analogous Chevy turbo 400 automatic transmission. There is no top, but it does have some very popular creature comforts including heated leather seats and power steering and windows.

“The side windows,” Madison said, “reduce some of the air flow into the car and allow you to enjoy the heat and air conditioning.”

He says he drives it on nice days and likes the feel of the wind through his hair. Madison takes it to car shows, where it usually gets a lot of lookers.

“It gets a lot of attention. People appreciate a classic that’s so well restored,” he says.

It may not look like it to you, but this is a pleasure car for the owner.

Have an interesting vehicle? Email Dave at [email protected]. To read more of his columns or see more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles, visit mercurynews.com/author/david-krumboltz.

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