This is one those roadsters that an experienced fabricator built just for himself. Simple and traditional, he used original Henry parts throughout. But Gary Evans is a machinist, so the tolerances in this roadster are more akin to NASA than pre-WWII Detroit. It’s obvious in the fit and finish. But it’s even more evident in the things you can’t see, like the total absence of shimmies, shakes or rattles in the suspension, the ****ery-smooth transmission, the head-jerking performance, and the wonderful road manners. The car pulls from idle to over 5000 rpm smoothly and quickly, with no stumble or hesitation. With its 26 tooth Lincoln Zephyr gears and 3.54 ring and pinion you can easily hit 60 in first gear, 80 in second, and outlaw status in third. The engine is a powerhouse. The ’48 59L block has been bored and stroked to 286 inches. The machine work, balancing and ***embly was done at Gary Howard’s Flathead City in Grants P***, OR. Detailed specs are outlined on our shop website (Seabright Hot Rods) -- but of special interest are the heads. A couple of years back Evans Speed Equipment was persuaded to recast a few of Earl’s heads from his original tooling. Ten sets were cast, of these six were finish-machined. Gary’s roadster got Set Number Five. The polished Evans intake is an original, as are the three big chrome Stromberg 48 carburetors. This three carb setup required repositioning of the generator so Gary machined a handsome, one-off side mount plus a new bearing mount for the fan. Inside the block are a **** 4 1/8 inch crank and H-beam rods, Ross pistons, and a Schneider 400SR cam. Fired by a modified Mallory distributor, the balanced internals drive the car through a 26 lb Weber flywheel and McLeod 10.5 inch clutch. Headers are Fenton and Gary built a stainless straight pipe exhaust system with just enough baffling to keep the neighbors at bay. The big motor, lumpy cam and straight pipes combine to produce a rumble so delightful it can’t even be put into words. The car always runs cool and strong, even on the hottest days in our relentless tourist town traffic. The ch***is combines ASC rails with a Model A front crossmember and a ’34 Ford-style crossmember. The front end includes a forged Ch***is Engineering dropped and drilled axle with stainless hairpins and a pair of Pete & Jakes’ shocks. All of it, including the ’46-’48 Ford backing plates and modified So Cal scoops, is either plated or polished. The rear end is ’36 Ford with an original spring (a couple of leaves removed) and a pair of Monroe tube shocks. Rear brakes are ’40 Ford. As noted above, the ring and pinion have been updated to a highway-friendly 3.54 and the entire rear end protected with one of Gary’s ingenious pinion seals. These machined seals prevent lubricant in the banjo from drilling its way up the torque tube, starving the banjo and flooding the transmission – a concern in all early V8 Ford cars, especially those sitting on a rake. The steel wheels are shod in Excelsior Stahl radials: 5.50-16 in front, 7.50-16 out back. In order to run original-style ’32 hubcaps, Gary milled a set of adapters out of solid billet aluminum blocks. The body, grille shell and insert are Brookville, the firewall is original Henry Ford. The louvered deck lid is from Steve’s Auto Restorations. All of it, including the ch***is, is shot in hand-cut Centari 99A Pitch Black. Inside, the seats are covered in oxblood-colored leather; the wool carpets are colored to match. The trunk is also fully carpeted and upholstered. The wheel is an original ’40 Ford Standard and the dash is filled with Stewart Warner “Wings” gauges. Mounted beneath is a super-rare Indy 500 fuel pressure hand pump. Sorted out, tuned, and detailed, this roadster needs nothing except a new owner behind the wheel. Asking $89.5K Detailed specs and more photos can be found on our shop website: http://www.seabrighthotrods.com/
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