SP Rides: Classic Coupe Done Right
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Year, make, model: 1932 three window Ford Coupe
Owner: Rodney Gouveia
Age: 64
Occupation: Morale, Welfare and Recreation sports and fitness director, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
Hobbies: Cars, attending motorcycle races
Color: Sandox Ruby Red
Engine: AFCO polished aluminum with fan, Ford 347 440 horsepower built by Prestige Motorsports, steel crank, forged I beam rods, SRP forged coated pistons, Edelbrock aluminum heads, Scorpion roller rockers, Edelbrock intake, hydraulic roller comp cam, full roller timing chain, Melling oil pump, Canton aluminum 8 quart pan, MSD digital 6AL, MSD blaster, MSD pro billet distributor, Taylor Pro 8 mm plug with wires, Powermaster Performance Master torque starter, Holley Black Electric fuel pump, Holley Ultra 650 double pumper carburetor, Ford Racing with billet breathers valve covers, March Performance Futura air cleaner, 2.5 polished stainless steel with 2.5 Screamer QTP mufflers, QTP electric remote exhaust cut-outs, Tight-Fit stainless steel headers, Aeroquip stainless steel braided hoses and fittings, Vintage Air front runner serpentine accessory drive kit system
Exterior: LEDs with built-in turn signals, Lokar LEDs, top chopped 2-inch suicide doors, rumble seat
Interior: Power steering, power brakes, power windows, Lokar 10-inch shiftl lever, Auto Meter antique street rod series, JL Audio speaker system driven by JL Bluetooth receiver, 12-inch JL subwoofer with 700 watt five channel amplifier installed by Progressive Auto Sounds, air conditioning by Vintage Air
Chassis/suspension/transmission: 32 rails, Total Coast Involved (T.C.I.) independent front suspension, Flaming River rack and pinion, Ridetech coil over adjustable shocks, four-bar with Ridetech coil over adjustable shocks, Ford 9-inch Currie aluminum polished Third Member 3.70 gears, Curie axles 31 spline, Denny’s 3.5 aluminum drive shaft, Ford C4 built by Hughes Performance with deep pan/3000 stall
Wheels/brakes/tires: Foose Nitrous SE forged custom 20-by-8.5/18-by-7, Saffiro 255/40R/20SF/225/45R/18SF, Wilwood 11-inch SRP drilled and slotted rotors, Wilwood polished 4-piston calipers, Wilwood 12.19-inch SRP drilled and slotted rotors, Wilwood polished 4-piston calipers, Wilwood aluminum tandem master with T.C.I. brake pedal, Hydratech braking system
Rodney Gouveia has always wanted to build a classic hot rod. He’s always been into racing and racecars. As his two sons got older, he ended up spending more time building the machines and watching them participate. When the racetrack closed, there was no place left to do any racing, so the opportunity presented itself to take on that challenge he’s always wanted.
Gouveia is the type of person that does it right, from the beginning. You can clearly see that in the build of this 1932 Ford Coupe, which just so happens to be Gouveia’s favorite version — a three window. Although this was his first attempt at building a ride like this, he approached it with gusto and enjoyed the constant challenges that presented itself throughout the build. This is a quality build, and even the undercarriage is absolutely gleaming in perfection.
Gouveia picked up the ride after a brief excursion to one of the cruise nights. He liked the looks of the car and took it home with the expectation of just giving it a paint job and adding some air conditioning to make it his own and keep him from sweating a little. But as soon as he started taking it apart, his personality wouldn’t let him leave well enough alone.
“If we’re gonna change the windows, might as well put power windows. The brakes, well, let’s put power brakes. We did everything. All that’s left from the original car is the body and the frame. And we even cut the frame to attach a new rack and pinion setup,” Gouveia said.
And my goodness, he’s not joking. This is a gorgeous classic. The bodylines are perfect. The engine is exceptionally clean and bright shiny chrome and the running gear is immaculate. This is a car that’s worth its weight in parts and assembly.
The top has been chopped by 2 inches with suicide doors and a brand-new rumble seat installed while the body is slathered in Sandox Ruby Red. His longtime family friend, Ronald Burkhart, applied an incredible coat of paint that makes this baby stand out in the crowd.
A large majority of the work was handled by Dennis and Kevin Krob, who brought this build to another level. Everything from welding to fabrication was applied, including chopping the front end off and its replacement. Gouveia had a fantastic support base of friends who really stepped up to the plate for this build and he attributes its success to them.
The upholstery was reworked by Aloha Upholstery and even features seats that were custom made with inserts and a supportive foam shaping. From the Autometer gauges to the Lokar shifter to a full 12-inch JL Subwoofer pushing 700 watts, the interior is majestically clean and incredible. The wheels are a custom set of 20-by-8.5 and 18-by-7 Foose Nitrous SE Forged, which fit the chrome profile wonderfully.
And last but not least is that engine bay — just wow! A Ford 347 pushing 440 horsepower, built and dyno’d by Prestige Motorsports, sits quite visibly. It’s so clean, you can eat off it, as the saying goes. Of course, it features an incredible assortment of aftermarket modifications and each one is perfectly fitted, aligned or routed. It’s a work of art.
Gouveia considers this an accomplishment. The build came out so well that he’s heard nothing but good comments. This ride was detailed down to the nuts and bolts — to the extreme. It was done right, and it was worthwhile.
