Here in the United States, we take for granted the availability of parts for our hot rods. Even those hard to find limited edition oddball pieces are a lot easier to find here than anywhere else in the world. Our American made hot rods are just that, American made. The majority of them have never left our shores. They roamed our highways and boulevards for decades and those that haven’t survived usually ended up in a barn, field or parts yard not far from where they were purchased originally. Because of the availability and abundance of hot rod culture here, it is easy to forget that the rest of the world enjoys hot rods as well. There are many hot rodders that have a serious addiction to anything American. Paolo Maggiori is one of those people and his amazing 1947 Ford Coupe is proof of it.

Maggiori got hooked on American culture through a passion for Harley Davidson motorcycles. “I was always fond of American culture. The history, music, food, traditions, cars and motorcycles.” said Maggiori. He purchased the car from a vintage car collector in Monte Carlo. It had some issues and was in need of a restoration. “It all started seven years ago,” Maggiori explains, “I had all black hair and fewer wrinkles on my face. Now I have some white hair and more wrinkles.” He was looking for a project to build as a kustom; something to enjoy as a hobby and challenge himself through the restoration process. He knew this car was the right one straight from the beginning.

With the help of amazing family, good friends and online forums from the United States, Maggiori calmly and patiently collected parts and made design plans. His good friend Scacco, of Sardinia, Italy, helped him tremendously through the whole process. Maggiori and Scacco did the majority of the work themselves. Maggiori leaned on Ronny, an American friend who lives in Rome, to help communicate with parts dealers.

The Car

In 1941, the Ford car saw a major refresh. During the middle of the Second World War, the updated car got shelved until 1946 when it would be fired back up. The car was built into coupes, sedans, convertibles, station wagons and trucks on through to 1948 when the 1949 Ford would take over. These cars were very advanced for their time. Cutting edge equipment that would later become standard equipment made this car a progressive movement toward future vehicles. The front fenders came in multiple pieces for easy panel repair or replacement. Window defrosters, booming radio, more than adequate brakes, a locking steering column and a push button start all brought this car up through the ranks from a basic car to high end and futuristic.

Maggiori took his further and made it even better. He and his friend Scacco spent hours upon hours dissecting the bad steel from the vehicle and replacing panels. The goal was to repair and then customize. Eventually, the top was chopped 2.5-inches, completely reshaping the slope and angles of the back section of the coupe. The rear windows shrunk but kept their same basic profile. Initially, the team grafted in a 1946 Chevrolet grille, adding to kustom an extremely unique look. The front headlights were frenched in, and custom taillights were built and mounted. The car was nearly done. Painted in a subtle gray, “Ford 47” painted on the door.

The original Flathead V8 and 3 speed transmission were rebuilt and put back in between the frame rails. Handling suspension duties up front were a set of stock leaf springs with a 4-inch dropped I-beam. Out back, stock leaf springs were used once again but this time bolted to a custom modified crossmember that provides 4-inches of drop. Unfortunately though, Maggiori ran into trouble finding one last piece for his 1946 Chevy grille. With no luck locating the missing part, Maggiori decided to track down and put in what he really wanted, a 1948 Cadillac grille.

The car then went under the grinder again. Maggiori took the opportunity to get a few more details done while he was at it. The complete ’48 Cadillac grille was dropped in after a fair amount of cutting and welding took place. To add some subtle changes, Maggiori rounded the upper rear corners of the doors as well as the rear hatch. These changes may appear minor but they help to change the overall feel of the car from a war-era commuter to a classy and smooth machine. And they most certainly were not minor tasks to complete.

To get right shade on all the sheetmetal, Maggiori enlisted the help of his friend, known only as “CHEVY39”. Within the walls of Maggiori’s garage, CHEVY39 painted the car in a custom mixed gold paint and quickly got the name Gold Nugget. The interior was restored in Maggiori’s garage using gold and white in the tuck and roll design. The original dash and gauges were all detailed and restored. Maggiori added 3 more gauges below the dash to supplement the sparse factory cluster. To keep the original look, a stock radio was used in the dash but to give some better tunes, an MP3 stereo was hidden inside the glove box.

Hot rodding isn’t just an American thing. Maggiori is a member of Wise Guys Car Club in Rome and others like him around the world are turning wrenches to build something beautiful and unique. Paolo Maggiori followed his passion and ended up with an amazing, one of a kind car that will seriously stand out above the rest on the Italian road ways. This car would even stand above the rest here in the States, too. Maggiori mentioned that he knows projects like these are rarely ever done. It is possible this one might get some changes in the years to come and you can bet that they will be top notch, just like the rest of the Gold Nugget.