When you are the type of person that can’t leave anything alone – which is most car guys – what do you do after you’ve spent two years restoring your 1933 Chrysler back to 100 percent original? Simply tear it down and rebuild it as a street rod! John Logue of Englewood, Florida, did exactly that.
When I bought the car, the interior was in shambles and the rumble seat was only springs. – John Logue
As a teen he owned several 1940 Ford coupes and when he graduated high school he was driving a 1950 Ford two door that was nosed and decked with ‘53 Olds taillights, and period correct dark primer. John married one year after graduation and he and his wife raised three girls. As they neared driving age, he built a VW Baja bug for his first daughter to drive to school in 1974.
His second got a 1965 Mustang and his third got a 1969 Datsun 2000 roadster. After the girls got out of college, John rodded a 1936 Ford Cabriolet from Argentina (right hand drive). Then he did a 1935 Ford 3 window rumble seat coupe followed by a 1958 Chevy Impala convertible, which he still owns. Not one to let a good deal go by, he built a few dune buggies, one with a Corvair turbo engine. To top all of that, he built a chopper motorcycle and restored two Simplex Servicyles that were donated to a museum. His first try at a full 100 percent restoration was a 1954 Jaguar XK 140, he soon realized he could not afford it and the car was sold.
John bought the 1933 Chrysler project from a friend in Michigan, he’s been a big Mopar fan for years. He started on the full restoration of the Chrysler in 2011 and finished it in 2013. John explained how the car looked when he started; “When I bought the car, the interior was in shambles and the rumble seat was only springs. The car had been painted over with some tan paint to preserve it and it kinda matched the brown mohair interior. While I was restoring it to its original look, beneath the tan paint I found the original color – Buckingham Blue.”
Near the end of the restoration, John attended a Chrysler regional meet in Michigan to talk with some of the other owners there and noticed how little use their cars got. He decided he wanted to drive his car anywhere and every place he wanted to go.
Back home in Florida after the event, he looked at the two-year restoration one more time and decided the car needed a new Hemi engine (a perfect fit for a Mopar) and a new smoother riding suspension that would make the coupe more roadworthy for those long distance trips he intended to take.
Problem was, he didn’t have a spot at his Florida home to work on it. Determined to rebuild his car (again), he rented a couple of storage units near his home and proceeded to tear the Chrysler down. As body parts were removed, they were toted to and stored in one unit and the rolling frame was set up in the other. Needless to say, when the original engine and transmission were removed and placed off to the side, it got a bit crowded in the unit while he worked on the chassis.
The original rear-end was removed and leaned against a corner while he figured out what suspension to use for his ‘new’ Chrysler. After doing some research, he utilized a Kugel independent front suspension as well as a Kugel independent rear, to that he added disc brakes on all four corners and decided a 3:73 rear gear would be great for the highway.
Once the suspension was set, he ordered a 6.1 Hemi crate motor – and ordered a 545RFE five-speed automatic transmission. When that arrived in large crates, the storage unit became difficult to move around in, let alone try to get anything done. At that point it was time to pedal the original Chrysler stuff. A Chrysler restorer in Pennsylvania was only too happy to take the original running gear off his hands, besides, that gave John a bit more spending money and he took an original Chrysler frame in trade. John’s original stuff is being used under a two door convertible.
Once the rolling assembly was finished, he turned to the body. It now needed a paint job and of course, a new interior. With a modern drivetrain and accouterments, he decided to leave the coupe looking original on the outside. Once the body was ready, it was painted PPG Dark Shadow blue, but the green tint was left out of it and of course, done in base coat/clear coat.
The paint work was handled by Marty Lindner and it’s as close to original that they could get. With the body and paint done, John called up Left Coast Trimmers (Joe and Diane Ruelle) and had them use a nice tan BMW Leather – five hides worth – using the original seat springs for the interior. One of the best parts of this build is the original dash is used and of course, new Classic Instruments gauges are used in the original dash insert with the glass overlay. Vintage Air was added and Custom Auto Sound stereo with the hidden remote control makes highway cruising a bit more comfortable.
The first outing for the street-rodded Chrysler when finished was in mid-2015 to a Mopar show in Florida, close to home – sort of a shake-down drive to see if it all worked. The next event was across the state to a show in Cocoa Village. The car was then shipped to Michigan and driven to Pueblo, Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Nationals. From there it was driven to Columbus, Ohio, and back to Florida.
John was enjoying the event and the Colorado weather when he found out on Saturday that John McLeod and his Classic Instrument’s crew picked his Chrysler for one of their five “Pro’s Picks.” During the course of the interview for this article with John, he mentioned he’d been on three other Street Rodder Tours and had a great time on each of them. When asked why he came to Pueblo, Colorado, this time, he replied, “My grandson lives in Colorado and my wife has four nieces here, so this summer was a great time to visit them.” John and his wife also had two other friends attend the event with them. John reports the car now has 5,200 road miles on it and it’s a joy to drive. It took twice but he got it right where he wants it.