STREET ELITE CHOODA – TONY WILSON 1932 FORD TUDOR
Four years ago Tony Wilson, aided by his more than handy brother-in-law Glenn Stevenson, pieced together a pretty appealing 1932 Ford Tudor that was almost ready for paint, when a visit to SEMA changed everything.
“We got serious for about two years, and then we went to SEMA in 2012 and that really kicked us into gear to get it done,” Tony explains, “we virtually pulled it apart and started again.”
Tony’s rodding background is like many of us who have tinkered with all things automotive for most of our lives. He grew up in country Victoria and was fortunate to hang out with many of the Castlemaine rodders, including such luminaries as Rod Hadfield.
“Over the years I’ve had customs, hot rods and Aussie muscle cars, the usual stuff that young guys had back then. I’ve always been involved with cars in some way, shape or form,” he says.
At the time of taking on the tudor project, Tony was getting his hot rod kicks by tooling around in a 1928 Ford roadster pickup, a neat little road rod that he built over three years before obtaining rego in 2006. He still owns it today and is currently treating it to a birthday makeover. On the back burner, there is also an all steel, Denver Deuces 1932 roadster that he hopes to start next year for his wife. “It was just something that just came up for the right price and we put it in the shed for later,” he says.
After the roadster pickup, he chose a tudor for the added appeal of a roof and his long-term admiration for that particular body style. Further inspiration to own and build a two door ‘32 was stimulated by eyeballing Ross Mayes’s scalloped and true fire flamed black beauty. “I have known his dad all my life and met Ross when he débuted it. It’s a great car,” he says with high regard.
Once his mind was set on acquiring the desired Deuce, Tony searched high and low for an original Henry Ford steel body, but after an endurance of elapsed time turned up either unaffordable offerings already rodded or basket cases, he decided to take the aftermarket route. Choosing a Deuce Customs body was a no brainer and Tony coupled this with a Lewis built chassis, accelerating the project immensely in the process.
“I had this car in my head for about 15 years,” he expounds tapping his temple.
The project premise was akin to the KISS principal; build an elegant car that fitted together easily without any stress. A tried and proven Rod-Tech IFS a four-bar rear and a Chevrolet power plant… what could be simpler? Tony’s self-admission explains that it grew from there.
“The engine was to be my point of difference. I didn’t want just a naturally aspirated engine and I didn’t want to go for a blower or turbo, injection was something that I always wanted to try.”
Tony’s belly button bypass was achieved by installing an original 1960s McGee fuel injection intake to the top of his bowtie block, whilst retaining all visual additions under the three-piece hood. The old school fuel mixer is reportedly to have done the hardtime down the quarter mile, feeding alcohol to a Funny car in the USA before purchasing.
“The stacks were about 18” high and it had pipes everywhere,” he recalls.
Luckily, Tony’s old school mate Leo Nankervis and his son Brad, (Nankervis Marine) are experts in this field and modified the ancient alky dispenser to fit its new confines. The former Ford Performance Racing employee and his dad cut the stacks accordingly and plumbed the entire affair to a MOTEC module that is concealed beneath the mechanical manifold. Tony says that once mapped, it will be a snap to maintain.
Although Tony’s 15-year-old vision of how he wanted to complete the Tudor altered after their Vegas jaunt, it was really the aesthetics that changed. Paint, wheels and interior were the major components along with a massive leap in fit, finesse and final finish. Sitting idle after two years of solid progress, the second coming consumed a further four years with a flourish to make MotorEx during its inaugural Melbourne instalment.
“Seventy percent of the build was done between Glenn and myself, and we hastily put it together for MotorEx 2014. After that we enlisted the help of Carmine DeMaria at CAD Customs, who spent almost six months completing it to how you see it today,” he adds.
At the time of its incomplete show debut, the interior was as sparse as Homer Simpson’s hairline. While Carmine was busy on the exterior, Adrian Morgan at Kooltrim was given an upholsters dream; a blank canvas with a licence to thrill.
“I knew what I wanted but things had changed since we came back from SEMA loaded with ideas,” says Tony. “Adrian explained that it was now a different era and we needed to step up another level while preserving the styles that blew me away in the States.”
Combining timeless materials with new age styling whilst incorporating the latest in state of the art technology, Adrian completed his mission in seven weeks. From the blue tooth command centre steering wheel to the overhead embellished headliner, the stunning leather lined interior is truly a work of art.
“I got photo updates so anything we didn’t like, we could change. I swapped the seat belts to a different colour but the flat roof was something Adrian really wanted to do.”
Tony continues to say that the Tudor evolved electronically and visually due to the modern era of paint products and wheel design. “I am a painter by trade, but my friend Lee Mitchell put up his hand to shoot the Sikkens clear over base final coat. Glen and I did all the prep work, including smoothing all undersides of the guards and running boards before he had his way.”
“I originally wanted a neat streeter, then I went to SEMA and changed plans to take it up a notch and we achieved what was in my head. I remember thinking that it’s not beyond us to complete it to a standard where it can sit comfortably in a high calibre show like MotorEx. It’s not a trophy hunter car. It’s my car. I built it for me.”
With that said, Chooda has claimed a fair amount of silverware over the past year at major shows around the country, including Top Show Car at Queensland Hot Rod Show along with a Top 10, and a MotorEx ‘Super Six’. That’s pretty huge accolades for a road registered hot rod.
“I would just like to thank everyone involved with this build and especially thank Glenn for all his hard work and dedication for almost four years, as this wouldn’t have happened without him. Also my wife’s patience and for allowing me to complete CHOODA, that became my obsession.”
