We saw a lot of standout cars at this year’s Grand National Roadster Show, and have brought many to our readers by way of car features and show coverage from the event. There was one roadster that kept haunting our dreams, begging for some more exposure. We couldn’t really put our finger on why this rod kept popping up in our thoughts like a song that gets stuck in your head for days.
It may have been the name, which almost certainly is a play on the “Honey-Do” phrase. Knowing this build came from San Grabiel, California’s Branch family, with Diana Branch listed as the owner, this was likely the genesis of the car’s name. Tom and Diana Branch have built several ’32 era coupes and roadsters, and are well known in Southern California for their love of traditional hot rods.
Our infatuation for the car may have come from the traditional build. Wrapping a Model A body around a flathead Ford V8 for a traditional Ford A/V8 build, is never boring or overdone – It is a rite of passage for every hot rod builder.
It may have been the traditional paint scheme in non-traditional, but very flattering, colors that drew our attention. Whatever it was, we needed to bring this work of art to our readers. According to information on the car’s display board, the project was completed in just five weeks, with the help of family and friends like Fabian Valdez or Vintage Hammer Garage in Yucaipa, California.
Congratulations to Diana Branch, and her crew, for taking this pastel covered Ford roadster back to hot rodding’s early days by blending a ’32 Chassis with a ’29 body. The drivetrain was traditional as well, with a ’40 flathead V8, a ’39 Ford transmission, and a ’40 Ford rearend.
Well done … all the way around … well done.