Hughesie's Hot Rod

Hot rodded in the seventies by Brian Flynn, this striking ’35 Ford three-window was the first of its kind in Australia...

- ROD

If you have ever buckled a wheel or needed new tyres around the Ballarat area, there is a pretty good chance you have had to deal with one of the nicest blokes around, Paul Hughes from Wheels Ballarat.

This incredibly beautiful ’35 Ford coupe graced the Wheels showroom 25 years ago, when Paul’s uncle, the late Dave Currie, owned it. Paul has done an incredible job rebuilding this sexy ’35, transforming it into the beautiful ride it is today.

To get a true understanding of this killer coupe we need to travel back to the ’70s when the late Gary Pring shipped this ’35 coupe in from the States as a roller. Gary sold the car on to Brian Flynn of Warrnambool who hot-rodded the coupe, adding bright red paint, Keystone Raider wheels, a 350 Chev engine, a Muncie four speed gearbox and a Tank Fairlane rear end suspended from Customline semi-elliptic springs. The interior featured brown carpet, pleated dark tan vinyl upholstery, a tri-spoke, wood-rim steering wheel and a Holden speedo with Smiths instruments monitoring the oil, temperature, fuel and rpm levels. In 1982 we featured Brian’s coupe in ASR number 25 and at the time, we were fairly sure this was the first ’35 Ford three window coupe in the country. Brian later sold the three window to Dave, who had wanted it since first laying eyes on her, and he drove the living beejeebies out of it!