KEE INGREDIENT – GREG KEE 1934 FORD 3W COUPE
When car junkie Greg Kee found himself an empty nester with no cool wheels to consummate his newfound freedom, he set out in search of a project to fill the void — and the empty garage space.
“My first car was an EH,” he recalls with fond memories, “and I’ve had dozens of vehicles since then, but never a hot rod.”
To get his fuel-enhanced kicks during his formative years, Greg knocked around with good mate Graeme Stoll, who raced Toranas and tackled hillclimbs in a Farrell Clubman. Graeme would eventually step up to a Matich-built A50 Formula 5000, with Greg assisting along the way.
“Frank Matich was the engineer behind the A50 that ran a flat-plane V8, similar to the current Volvo and Nissan Supercars,” he explains.
Crewing for Graeme on race days only fuelled Greg’s appetite for fossil-fuelled fun, which was further amplified by his then girlfriend’s sister’s hot-rodder boyfriend — also named Greg.
“I went to school with Lyn, but we started dating after I had left school. At the same time, Greg Jones was taking Lyn’s sister Jenny out, and we became good friends.”
If the name Greg Jones sounds familiar, it’s for good reason. The former owner of specialist windscreen supplier Red Fox Frames has built many award-winning hot rods over the years. Greg remembers that Jones owned an EH Holden as well, until he shifted focus from street machines to a ’34 Plymouth, which eventually became the couple’s wedding car.
Originally proud Victorians, the Kees would eventually escape the four-seasons-in-one-day weather for a holiday in Queensland — and never really looked back.
“That was over 30 years ago,” says Greg.
Drawn by Queensland’s easygoing lifestyle and climate, Greg and Lyn raised their two children, Rebecca and Travis, while maintaining close ties with family back south.
It was during a return visit to Victoria that the coupe gracing these pages first came into the picture. Greg had been sharing his frustration about not finding a suitable project car.
“I had been looking to buy something for a while, mainly Aussie muscle car stuff, but most projects were either too far gone or overpriced. Greg J and I were enjoying a couple of beers at his place when I told him about my fruitless search, and he casually mentioned he had a fibreglass ’34 Ford body and chassis package he might consider selling.”
The rolling chassis and body came with a fair collection of parts, enough to make the idea very tempting.
“I had always admired Greg’s green ’34 coupe in the past and thought, why not? We talked it over and I left him to come up with a figure we’d both be happy with.”
A couple of months later Greg called his Victorian namesake for an answer, only to hear that the offer had been withdrawn — though not without another option.
“He said that if I still wanted to go ahead with the project, he’d just build me another chassis and organise a new body.”
With the idea of a hot rod already firmly planted in his head, Greg quickly agreed.
Greg Jones jigged up a pair of Lilow outer rails and combined them with Rod-Tech suspension components to create the foundation.
“I wanted a hot rod that I could just jump in and drive whenever I felt like it,” Greg says.
He was also certain about the engine choice, instructing Greg J to include Chevy motor mounts during chassis construction. With disc brakes installed at both ends, the completed chassis was sent to Deuce Customs for the ’34 body to be fitted. Unfamiliar with early-era body alignment, Greg wisely had the fenders installed before the entire package was shipped north to Queensland.
Once it arrived, the scale of the project was a little daunting compared with reassembling factory Holdens. Fortunately, Greg had five CDs containing photos of Greg J’s previous builds.
“When I needed to know something about a particular part, I’d scroll through the photos to see how he did it and try to copy it. If that didn’t work, I’d just ring him,” he laughs.
As a member of Sunshine Coast Rods & Customs, Greg also attended local events with camera in hand, photographing cars and details he liked so he could study them later at home.
“Depending on what I was working on, I’d look at how others had done things. It was really just a process of learning again.”
Greg tackled much of the build himself, though he wisely outsourced specialist areas including the engine, paint and upholstery.
Initially he approached a reputable local engine builder for a quote, but the price left him uneasy, so he began looking online.
“I saw a guy at Brendale advertising United Racing Engines at a reasonable price. I jumped on my bike and rode over with a mate to have a look. I don’t think he was too impressed with two Harley riders turning up late on a Friday afternoon, but after discussing the specs I realised the price was less than half of what I’d been quoted elsewhere — and that was with a brand-new block. I ordered it on the spot.”
A few weeks later, while in the United States, Greg rang United Racing Engines to check on progress and was told the engine was getting an upgrade. Concerned about drivability, he was reassured it would still be street friendly.
Producing 480 horsepower and 525 ft-lb on the dyno and backed by a three-year, 100,000-mile warranty, the engine has proven a great choice.
The Bowtie small-block is backed by a GM700 transmission sourced from a local Statesman, spinning a Hughes lock-up converter. Final drive duties are handled by an Aussie Diffs-built nine-inch with a 3.5:1 Truetrac centre.
Unfortunately, Greg’s good fortune in the engine bay didn’t extend to the paint shop.
“The colour was originally meant to be Tangerine with a candy hue,” Greg explains. “I had the dash painted that colour but the painter moved away. The next guy didn’t want to do the candy finish and suggested finding a factory colour we liked.”
While browsing car parks, Greg spotted a GT Falcon finished in a striking green shade. After obtaining the colour code from a Ford dealership — Envy — he had PPG mix the paint and delivered it to the painter.
“He stuffed it up,” Greg says bluntly.
With the help of his PPG representative, the car was eventually delivered to painter Richard Rein for a third attempt.
“I took it down on the Tuesday and got the body back on Sunday, finished. The rest of the panels followed about ten days later. Richard was brilliant and far more affordable. He’s the best painter I’ve dealt with.”
With the gleaming green exterior complete, attention turned to the interior. Standing tall, Greg needed seats that would suit his height, so he raided a Subaru wrecker.
Armed with a tape measure, he found a pair of low-mileage Liberty buckets that fitted perfectly. The electric driver’s seat sits an inch and a half lower than the passenger seat, giving him the extra headroom he needed.
The rest of the interior was completed by Warrick Briggs at Ideal Auto Upholstery in black leather with contrasting tan. Mercedes-Benz quality cut-pile carpet adds refinement, while highlights include an Ididit column with banjo wheel, Lokar shifter and pedals, repro handles and winders, and gold-faced Dolphin gauges.
When the time came to mount the wheels permanently, Greg faced a small dilemma.
“I had the wheels powder-coated when the car was still going to be tangerine,” he admits. “It was such a pain getting the tyres fitted that I wasn’t about to strip them and start again.”
Steel smoothies capped with V8-embossed hubcaps — which took nearly a year to source — complete the classic look, wrapped in Coker rubber from Antique Tyres.
After three years of learning the ropes of hot rodding, the coupe was finally ready for the road.
“Building a hot rod from the ground up was a huge learning curve. I couldn’t have done it without the help and guidance of my brother-in-law Greg Jones,” he says. “I’d also like to thank Jenny, Greg Smith, Richard Rein, my wife Lyn and our family.”
For the past two years the coupe has joined family trips to the Yamba Rod Run, where Greg enjoys the cars, the people and the fun.
“We really should get the kids more involved for the future of the sport.”
After almost four decades of messing around with old cars, Greg Kee has officially caught the hot-rod bug — and he’s already working on another early-era project.
“I tell everyone the same thing,” he laughs. “The second one is sooo much easier!”
