RUST TO RICH’S – DEAN RICH 1937 FORD COUPE
There aren’t too many who can boast owning their first hot rod at age eleven, but Dean Rich can. Having a brother with a channelled roadster and a father tinkering with Cussos and FJs, it was only a matter of time before young susceptible Dean followed suit. But how many 11-year-olds even contemplate owning a car, let alone acquiring one?
The enterprising young fella brokered a deal with mum and dad to pool birthday and Xmas money with whatever he could earn to buy an unfinished T-bucket. Dean describes it as a ‘throw-together car’. It was an original steel body (not that any youngster would ever know the potential worth of such precious metal), with an I-beam front end, atop which was perched a Zephyr six-cylinder powerplant. At such a young age, it was more a voyage of discovery as he pulled it apart to see how it all worked.
After four years of meddling, he shifted focus onto a new project. The next venture was third in an FJ drag car, again, an unfinished project. The bucket was parted out, and the FJ never saw a drag strip, but then at age 17, he got himself into a 1955 Plymouth. The previous two cars got him through automotive puberty and now, with some maturity, the Plymouth got a whole lot more serious. Not only did it get finished, but it also hung around for a while, serving as a conduit for experiencing life’s highs and lows.
Dean toughed out a three-year build that resulted in his first mild custom car. In that time, he’d painted it bright yellow, dumped it on its ass and dropped in a 215 Chrysler six cylinder. Dean outlines the ensuing tragedy: “I finally finished it and got it registered, but it was only on the road for eight hours before it was ploughed into by another driver.”
Back then, it was considered an old car, not a classic, and the insurance payout reflected that view. Instead of throwing in the towel, Dean dusted himself off and set about another rebuild that would result in one of Adelaide’s most recognisable cruise cars. Unlike the bucket, this car not only developed Dean’s skills in metalwork and paint but also unlocked a passion for the associated processes that would be continually applied to subsequent projects and rides. Many years later, there was a pretty slick Model A tourer in the garage. While it cut a striking profile on the street with its traditional flamed gloss black paint and contrasting red trim, it lacked some practicality when the weather turned. Dean’s solution was a coupe, so the hunt was on.
“I found this one here in Adelaide, in a million pieces in a guy’s shed. There was a mountain of new parts, some old original parts, a new Lewis chassis and the body work had been done. I went down, did the deal and brought it home on two trailers and a ute.”
Like all of Dean’s cars, this was destined to eat up a ton of miles cruising at events all over our great land. As such, Dean painted the chassis and suspension in elementary gloss black. A perusal of his hot-rodding resume shows a host of extroverted cars that command attention with exuberant paint and custom bodywork, but for this build, Dean chose a more refined approach. He opted for a more sublime presence, tailored to a traditional 60’s elegance. When it came to the body, any alterations were to be faint. As such, the biggest mod was the Frenching of the ’39 tail lights. Apart from the front being void of a bumper, the only other mods are the FJ bumperettes and an FC number plate moustache.
“I’d had a shade of blue in mind for the colour, but then I saw a freshly painted FC on a trailer that was obviously on its way home from the paint shop, and I thought the colour would be perfect,” says Dean regarding the Hyaleah Green hue.
Following a final prep of the body, Dean waved the loaded gun over the sweeping curves. In another act of restraint over extravagance, much of the external chrome has been painted in contrasting Emerald Green, more prevalent up front on the three grilles. Likewise, the rims were also painted to match.
The assembly stage can’t be discussed without mentioning fellow Valley Hot Rodders member, Jim Wilton, who gave up his daytime hours running around sourcing and collecting required parts, as well as making many brackets, bits and bobs, and more major components such as the tailshaft.
The colour theme continues inside, where much of the once stainless trim is now dark green. As for the rest of the interior, the decision was easy: the tried-and-tested white marine vinyl he used on his rebuilt Plymouth convertible. Driving the sewing machine this time around was local stitcher, Aaron O’Hara. He covered the modern BA Falcon electric buckets in a classic tuck ‘n’ roll with black piping. Demonstrating his talents go beyond material and thread, he completely fabricated the rear seat before applying the same covering. The boot also received Aaron’s attention and shares the same colour palette and style.
There’s obviously something about convertibles for Dean and his wife, Joanne, as they also have a ’53 Ford Sunliner in the shed poised for maximum Vitamin D intake. However, should the weather forecast include the suggestion of precipitation, this exquisite coupe has gotta be one of the best Plan Bs going around.
