IF YOU ASKED CALGARY’S AL ACKLAND THAT QUESTION THE ANSWER WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY BE HIS ’31 PLYMOUTH COUPE - AND YOU WOULDN’T FIND US ARGUING WITH HIM.
     A few years ago, Ackland decided it was time to build an old school hot rod, but the desire for a new project often means cashing out on something you already own.
     For Ackland, that meant it was time to part ways with a 1937 Plymouth he owned for 18 years. But Ackland wasn’t finished with Plymouth products and he wanted something from the early 1930s that wasn’t a Model A or ’32 Ford.
     Thanks to friend Bruce Maslanka, Ackland didn’t have to go very far to find what he wanted. Maslanka spotted a ’31 Plymouth for sale in the Calgary Bargain Finder, a car then owned by Rusty Hilderman, an old time drag racer who had planned to build the coupe into a quarter mile screamer. Lucky for Ackland, Hilderman decided to build a rail dragster instead.
     The body, narrowed rear end and grill shell were Ackland’s for $1,000. The roof already had a three inch chop and the body was channeled four inches in preparation for drag racing, but those modifications fit into Ackland’s plans. The parts sat in the garage for months while ideas were kicked around and a few beers consumed. Ackland mentioned to a buddy that the ideal power plant would be an original Hemi, but he didn’t think he could find one.
     “I have a Hemi in my tractor you can buy,” says the buddy. (Hey, why can’t we all have buddy‘s like that?) The Hemi started its life powering a 1956 Chrysler New Yorker that had just 30,000 miles on the clock when its farmer owners’ son decided to take it out for a joy ride that ended badly in a roll over.
     The farmer yanked the Hemi from the wreckage and sold it to Ackland’s friend who installed it in his 1955 Massey Harris tractor.
     The Bargain Finder yielded yet another find, this time a 1932 Dodge coupe body and frame from Strathmore, AB. The body was very rough but Ackland only wanted the frame so the body ended up becoming lawn art in a friend’s backyard.
      Hey, it’s way cooler than a garden gnome. The frame and the Hemi were mocked up in the garage but as the owner of ABM General Contracting, Ackland knew that the four letter word “WORK” would get in the way of building his Plymouth, so he went to talk to the guys at Kustom Works about having them take on the project. He knew chief fabricator, Bob Smith, and Steve Teasdale, could handle the job.
     Those that speak Plymouth fluently know this car is three inches wider and six inches longer than a Model A. They will also notice that the Plymouths middle hinge is missing from the doors. It was removed during fabrication after they had too many difficulties lining up the doors with it in place. The back window is the original oval window with three inches taken out which turns it into a cat’s eye. The cat’s eye theme is repeated with the motorcycle taillights.
     The ’32 Dodge frame was chopped 16 inches to get it to fit properly under the body and Smith had to fill numerous holes in the frame left by previous owner mods it was then boxed for extra strength. The front suspension is a TCI set up with a transverse sleeve and a 4-inch dropped axle. Ackland originally wanted a hairpin setup, but was convinced to go with the 4-bar since it is so much more adjustable. A Vega steering box keeps the front wheels in line.   
     The rear end is a Prostock performance piece with an Auburn 4:11 posi and Wilwood disc brakes providing the anchor effect. Ackland liked the look of the Wilwood rear brakes so much he decided go with similar units up front, but was surprised by the vast price difference from rear to front. Darryl Loose at WheelMaster in Calgary supplied the chrome reverse wheels with wide white radar pie crust slicks that fit the theme Ackland was looking for.
     A Corvair steering wheel that has a custom made Hemi horn button. The more you look at this car the more you begin to appreciate all the custom touches. The hand-built dash was spruced up with a one off Plymouth logo insert that looks factory and retro Auto-meter gauges.
     A discrete roll bar was tied into the frame for strength but fits in the interior like its meant to be there. The classic ’60s looking interior was done by Ron Howry at his shop just East of the Calgary city limits. The custom low profile seat started out life as the back seat of a minivan but was heavily modified to fit the Plymouth.
     After the car was shown at the “World of Wheels” in a partially finished stage of black primer, its destiny as a 600 HP Hemi Rat rod was well on its way.
     When it came time to rebuild the Hemi, well known local engine builder Kenny Gilmour took on the job. The 700R tranny was built by rodder Gary Savage who owns a National Transmission shop.
     For fuel delivery a Holley fuel pump feeds the Demon carbs thirsty appetite. The Holley pump solved nagging fuel issues that plagued the car early in its first shake downs. After trying three pumps from another manufacturer and having issues with each one the Holley saved the headaches.
     A MSD coil and distributor keep the spark going to all eight of the Hemi’s cylinders. “Hot Heads” that specializes in Hemi parts was Al’s lifeline for the engine, supplying the intake, timing cover, and light weight water cross over. A classic look Moon fuel tank in front to the custom made rad serves as the overflow for the rad.
     The wicked air cleaner was something that Ackland had seen on a Don Prudhomme top fuel dragster poster poster on his bar fridge. He managed to find a reproduction one in the Johnson’s Rod Shop catalogue and it fit the vision of the car perfectly. The Sanderson Limefire headers look great and send the fumes through a set of Flowmaster hush mufflers with angled tips hidden below the body installed by Rick at Carline Muffler.
     Once the car was back in Ackland’s garage he started rethinking the final paint colour. The more he saw it sitting behind his Seafoam green and white ’62 Suburban work truck the more he started to think his Plymouth should be painted the same colour. He had initially thought about towing the car behind the Suburban to shows, but as the car neared completion he realized he wasn’t going to own a trailer queen.
    Not only did Bob Smith do most of the fabrication, he also laid on the 2 stage paint that was wet sanded and power polished to give it that always wet look. The trick pin stripping was handled by Bruce Ander The original idea of Pie crust slicks was changed to BF Goodrich Wide walls to give the car more drivability. The Rears are 285 70R15 and the fronts are 165R15. A retractable rear license plate adds a touch of mystery and prompts comments from the local police force when the car is parked outside for any length of time.
     The car has been shown in the World of Wheels twice while under construction and once after it was finished winning a Best of Class award. Al has put 5000 miles on the car since it hit the road in the fall of 2004 and is happy knowing the final product was a group effort from a bunch of 1960s gearheads.