THE CALIFORNIA KID’S OLDER BROTHER

TOM GOMEZ October 05, 2022 All Feature Vehicles

’33 Ford Three-window Coupe

Ask the average hot rodder about their favorite car and The California Kid will likely be part of the conversation. Pete Chapouris’ famous ’34 three-window Ford coupe starred in the 1974 TV movie of the same name and has inspired car builders ever since.

The Kid has spawned several clones. Pete & Jake’s even did their own copy in 1990, a few years after Pete Chapouris and Jim “Jake” Jacobs sold the company and The California Kid to Jerry and Peggy Slover (and the operation relocated to Peculiar, Missouri). One of the most recent and best-executed Kid tributes is owned by Mike Martin of Mick’s Rod Shop in Calhoun, Louisiana.

The 1974 made-for-TV movie starred Martin Sheen, Vic Morrow and Nick Nolte. We’d have to agree with the Rottentomatoes.com review: “[The] souped-up, garishly decorated jalopy gives the best and most consistent ‘performance’ in The California Kid.”

A stroker crate motor was built with an Edelbrock top end and F.A.S.T. EFI. For even better drivability, the engine was backed to a 200R4 automatic overdrive gearbox.

Martin originally saw his future Kid at a show in 2000. He was hooked by the three-window’s all-steel body and Bonneville chop (windshield posts shortened and laid back) like The California Kid’s. Knowing the extra work that goes into that type of chop and admiring the car’s overall craftsmanship, Martin approached the purple Ford’s owner. Purple Passion promptly got a new home at Mick’s Rod Shop.

The ’33 Ford had a Missouri ID tag on it. A Pete & Jake’s customer, Martin had developed a friendship with Jerry Slover. Martin called Slover to see if anyone at Pete & Jake’s was familiar with a purple ’33 three-window that had a Kid-inspired chop and had apparently been registered in Missouri at one point. Slover wrote down the serial numbers and said he’d do some research.

Jerry and Jason Slover at Pete & Jake’s provided schematics for louver placement. Mick’s Rod Shop also referred to old magazine articles.

The Slovers sent a template for the original Kid’s 4-inch domed louvers. Mike Martin digitized the template and created a CNC die to form the louvers. The Rootlieb hood also received ’34 Ford handles.

His findings were odd. Coincidentally, the car had actually been chopped at Pete & Jake’s years earlier by Gary Rhinehardt, using The California Kid as a model. Slover lost track of the ’33 after it left his shop. He was happy to hear that the now-purple car was in good hands.

Martin enjoyed the coupe for a few years. When its paint got tired, he and Joey Arbogast of Par4 Productions hatched a plan. (The two have day jobs at Superlift Suspension Systems: Martin is the lead engineer and Arbogast is the marketing director.) They bounced the Kid clone idea off of Jerry and Jason Slover, who loved it; although the original car has more than 100,000 miles on its odometer, it rarely goes out in public. A high-quality reproduction would help keep The Kid’s flame burning at NSRA and Goodguys shows.

The powertrain and suspension were installed while the new sheet metal was being louvered.

Repro ’33 coupe sheet metal was sourced from Steve’s Auto Restorations (Portland, OR). It and vulcanized rubber running boards from Bob Drake (Grants Pass, OR) were test-fit as phase one.

Specs and CAD files exchanged hands. The louvers were painstakingly reproduced. For the flame job, Martin scanned photos of the original Kid into SolidWorks CAD software and accurately reproduced Manual Reyes’ 1973 artistry, complete with side-to-side variations. Master painter/pinstriper Joey Hutson of Joey Hutson Artistry (West Monroe, Louisiana) paid homage to Reyes on the ’34. Just as Reyes had referenced Tommy the Greek by signing “Reyes ’53” on the original Kid in 1973, the Older Brother carries “Hutson ’73” as a tip of the hat to Reyes.

Not quite complete, Martin’s Kid debuted at the 2011 SEMA Show. It was one of a pair of cars out of 350 applicants that appeared behind the stage of Barry Maguiar’s Car Crazy TV set. Maguiar interviewed Martin about the car and its history on the show.

Hot rods are never really finished, but Martin fine-tuned many details during the past year at Mick’s Rod Shop to get it where it is today. Pete & Jake’s now considers the car an extended family member, The California Kid’s Older Brother.

“This is handsdown the best copy of the original i’ve ever seen.”

At times, Martin wondered if he was plum crazy for reviving an already-built ’33.

Halibrands are true to Pete Chapouris’s original creation The Halibrand Sprint has fluted lug covers and low-profile three-bar spinners: 15 x 6 front, 15 x 8 rear. The tires are Michelin 185/75R15 radials for the front and Diamond Back 235/70R15 radials for the rear.

Mick’s Rod Shop hung the suicide doors true to the original.

As part of the frame-off, Mike Marrable of M&M Motorsports (Calhoun, LA) took the tub down to bare sheet metal, then prepped and shot it with House of Kolor primer. The interior was laid out while the tub was being shot.

Ford 1939 taillights with blue dots were cut in per the original car.

The Older Brother follows the original fairly closely. In the movie, the close-up engine shots were actually of the Ford 302 from Milner’s coupe in American Graffiti.

Mick’s Rod Shop crafted the clean interior. It includes Auto Meter gauges and an ididit column with a banjo-style steering wheel from Southern Rod Shop. A Painless harness was used to simplify wiring.

Next was a House of Kolor basecoat at M&M Motorsports.

Artist Joey Hutson airbrushed the flames.

SPECS

-JERRY SLOVER
OWNER
PETE & JAKE’S HOT RODS.

Builder: Mike Martin, Mick’s Rod Shop, Calhoun, LA

Frame: Suspension front: Pete & Jake’s all-chrome dropped and drilled Super Bell I-beam axle, mono-leaf spring and spindles; suspension rear: posi transverse spring, Ford 8-inch, Bilstein aluminum-body gas shocks front and rear

Brakes: Front: 11-inch SSBC discs and stainless lines; rear: OE-style drums

Steering: Pete & Jake’s Vega steering, pitman arm and steering dampener

Engine: Balanced/blueprinted Chevy 383-ci stroker; Edelbrock Performer air gap intake, valve covers and fuel pump; Trick Flow aluminum heads, Zoops brackets and pulleys; Gotta Show stainless fuel line; F.A.S.T. EFI; Stewart Components water pump

Transmission: TH200R4, Gotta Show stainless lines, CT Powertrain, custom pan

Exhaust: Sanderson ceramic-coated headers, Magnaflow 3-inch polished stainless-steel system

Radiator: Griffin aluminum with a custom shroud

Gas Tank: Rock Valley, polished stainless, 15 gallons

Body Mods: Top chopped 3 inches in the front, 2 ¾ inches in the rear, filled; Rootlieb ’33 hood with ’34 handles; Nottingham Reproductions ’33 grille, custom-punched louver size/shape/orientation per original Kid furnished by Jason and Jerry Slover; shaved trunk handle; rear pan louvered per the original; ’39 Ford taillights added to rear pan per the original; Pete & Jake’s front and rear Kid chrome bumpers; Dietz 7-inch headlights; Steve’s Auto Restoration steel fenders; Bob Drake Reproductions vulcanized rubber running boards

Paint: House of Kolor Shimrin base/clear paint by M&M Motorsports, flames and pinstriping by Joey Hutson Artistry

Interior: Wise Guys bench seat, Mick’s Rod Shop custom interior panels, ididit steering column, Southern Rod Shop banjo-style steering wheel, Trique Manufacturing banjo-style door handles, Auto Meter gauges

Stereo: Kicker amp and speakers

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