It took nine years of saving money, scrounging parts and working with numerous shops before Lenny Mabey could finally fire up and drive this blown-Hemi-powered 1933 three-window coupe. Yet in that span of time, Mabey never lost sight of his original vision of building a gasser-influenced street rod that he could run on the street, strip or salt flat.
“It’s easy to lose focus on a build that takes the amount of time this one did and to get it right,” admits Mabey, a native of New Zealand who moved to the U.S. after visiting the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 1987 and meeting the woman of his dreams; Diane, his wife of 29 years.
The project is a ground-up build, starting with a Russ Nomore body and 1933 stamped framerails. Former America’s Most Beautiful Roadster builder Larry Ruth was the initial fabricator, working out of his facility in Spearfish, South Dakota. After Ruth retired, the shop morphed into Deluxe Rod & Custom with Shaun Slovek at the helm to finish the build.
The wheelbase is stretched 115 inches so the Hemi’s blower drive will clear the Bell drilled dropped axle. The front suspension is also made up of Pete & Jakes spring and shocks, Unisteer rack and late Ford spindles. Stopping power is provided by a Wilwood pedal assembly and master cylinder and Pete & Jakes 11-inch brakes with a Buick drum cover. The rear suspension features a Winters quick-change rear axle, Strange coilovers and Wilwood brakes. Hung between the rear frame rails is a 20-gallon aluminum fuel cell.
The rolling stock comprises 15×4.5 ET Gasser wheels up front that are wrapped with 195/65-R15 Continental Vano Contact II tires. In the rear, fat 31×18.5 Hoosier Pro Street tires adorn 15×15 ET Fueler wheels.
The most conspicuous element of the car is the supercharged 528ci Hemi assembled by Automotive Machine out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Internally, there’s a 4.150-inch stroke Callies crankshaft, Eagle H-beam connecting rods and Wiseco pistons that provide a 9.5:1 compression ratio. The Indy hydraulic roller camshaft boasts specs of 248/248 degrees of duration at .050 with .616-inch total lift.
Breathing is provided by Indy cylinder heads and intake manifold to support to the Littlefield 10-71 blower. Topping off the package is a Hilborn four-port mechanical fuel injection unit. Other engine goodies include Donovan rocker covers, Holley/MSD ignition and 2.25-inch zoomie headers that can be fitted with custom baffles for boulevard cruising.
“I was fortunate to work with some great guys from Automotive Machine, Hilborn, Holley and Littlefield,” says Mabey. “They were able to work together to build an engine that would handle all three aspects of what I wanted to use the car for. It had to run on 91 octane and have different tunes for the drag strip and salt flats.”
Mabey estimates the Chrysler elephant motor is good for about 1,000 horsepower on pump gas and minimal boost. With the right overdrive pulleys and race gas the power levels could climb towards 2,000 ponies. Backing up that torque is a Tremec six-speed and Ram two-disc clutch.
The fiberglass body features a “Bonneville style” chop, and the firewall was set back by Chris Walker and Levi Borwnell at Deluxe Rod & Custom. Dave Marcoe applied the PPG satin black paint. Accents include 7-inch headlights and cat-eye taillights from Speedway Motors. Behind the relocated grille is an AFCO aluminum radiator.
R&D Chassis of Rapid City, South Dakota, fabricated the rollcage that meets a number of sanctioning body requirements. Jaz Products racing seats, Simpson six-point harnesses, fire suppression system and parachute also contribute to the safety interests.
Mabey keeps tabs on the engine functions through the Moal Bomber series gauges mounted on a machined-turned aluminum dash panel. Wiring was handled by Walker and Toby Harley at Deluxe, and the shop also handled the tin work on the doors.
As a youngster, Mabey helped found the Papakura Rod & Custom car club in New Zealand while the family enjoyed “racing anything we could stuff a V-8 into”.
“We started out with lots of determination and gumption to figure things out and build cars we all enjoyed,” remembers Mabey. “I have been into cars my whole life, and this car is the accumulation of everything I have learned and dreamed about since I was a kid.”
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