1948 Ford Coupe – Built Tough
October 18, 2019
When you think of a vintage American Ford, the natural conclusion to draw is that it’ll be floor-scrapingly low, it’ll have a whopping great V8 in it, and it will drive everywhere to the soundtrack of Sharp Dressed Man by bearded guitar-twangers, ZZ Top. Old Fords just are hot rods. ZZ Top themselves famously had the .34 Ford known as the ‘Eliminator’. John Milner had a ‘piss yella’ deuce coupe. Heck, even the Munsters has a Ford ‘rod in the guise of the Koach. And those are the on screen hot rods. In real life, old Fords are the bedrock of hot rod culture. An old Chevy is cool, but it will never be as cool as a ‘32 Ford.
With all that in mind, you’d think that any American Ford from before 1950 would have been subjected to all manner of hot roddery. And for the most part, they have. Though for every ten ‘rods, there are probably three or four really nice, original cars, too. But that’s it. Those are the paths most driven for old Fords. Until that is, one of them steers in a completely different direction. Much like the ‘48 Ford Coupe you’re looking at here. It would have made an excellent hot rod, make no mistake. But that’s not what it is. It’s taller, it’s angrier and it’s it’s tougher than any hot rod. This sucker would make the ‘Eliminator’ tremble.
We stumbled upon it when we went to Oxfordshire based Rally Preparation Services to have a look around and to take some photos of their magnificent Rover P5B rally car. Sitting there, covered in muck from a recent Peking to Paris event, we couldn’t help but be captivated. Sitting tall on Yokohama Geolander rubber, it was utterly beguiling, so of course we had to point our camera at it.
When the word ‘rally’ is uttered, it’s very easy to think of pace notes, jumps through forest stages and breakneck speed on roads that would worry most people at 40mph. The reality, however, is that rallying comes in many guises. This ‘48 Ford wasn’t screwed together to mimic the actions of WRC cars. No, it was built for endurance, for gruelling long-distance events that would shake a modern World Rally to pieces in a couple of hours. In all honesty, this big old Ford is tougher than a modern rally car. They’re designed to live no longer than a couple of days on event. Yes, they’re tough, but the expectation in terms of time in action is far less than that of the Ford. On a World Rally event, a car might cover 350-400miles. Peking to Paris? That’ll be over 8,000 miles.
So how do you build a car for such an adventure? Well, it’s a mix of making it as tough as a brass nail, but also making it comfortable. Yes, comfort is a big factor. Not in the ‘massage seat and air conditioning’ sense of a Bentley. More in a way that just keeps the driver and co-pilot safe, dry, cool and as such, alert. The last thing you want is to suffer from a bout of ‘highway hypnosis’ while tumbling through the desert.
On the tough front, there is a lot to talk about. The whole car has been lifted care of tough off-road, competition spec suspension. Not only does this help take the knocks out of the ride, it also gives the old Ford much better ground clearance for the rocky bits. The Yokohama Geolander off-road tyres were originally meant for a 4×4 truck but now call the ‘48 home. The rear axle (remember, this old beast is still just rear-wheel drive) has been upgraded to provide better traction off-road. The brakes are significantly beefier, with bigger discs, there’s a long-range fuel cell and fuel system, the V8 engine has been completely rebuilt along with the gearbox. But they’ve been rebuilt with standard parts, bar a cam and in the case of the ‘box, a fifth gear. Remember, it’s not about performance here, it’s about endurance.
In terms of the comfort side of things, there’s a race steering wheel, the interior boasts electric seats from a BMW, the co-pilot has access to a bank of gauges and instrumentation, there are auxiliary power sockets and of course, race-spec harness and a roll bar should the worst happen.
This old Ford is a big, imposing and frankly, intimidating vehicle from the outside. It’s only when you slide into that cabin that you get a sense of just how serious a competitor it is. So serious in fact, that on this year’s gruelling event, it came second in its class. Not bad for an old Ford.
As we type, the car is being checked over after its adventure and we’re told it will be for sale again soon. And honestly? It’s a car you should think about buying. It’s a proven competitor, and one that has the support of RPS behind it, and they know what they’re doing when it comes to long distance, endurance rallies. Buy it, do an event, and then pass it on. Be a part of this car’s rich history, and at the same time, have the adventure of your life. Cars like this, and what they can do… they just make us love classic cars even more.
