The first time Bert Sturm saw this 1932 Ford 5-window coupe a tree was growing out of it. "We had to cut the tree down to move the car," says Sturm, a welder by trade and a hot rodder by heart who lives with his equally car-crazy wife, Shelley, in Sherwood Park, AB. Needless to say, the only interaction the Deuce coupe has with trees now is when they’re sucking back the exhaust produced by the monster, 650 horsepower, big block Chevy nestled between the frame rails.
     The minute I spotted this car in the parking lot of Edmonton’s Albert’s Family restaurant it was clear the ICANDIE license plate wasn’t just trash talk. The 8-71 Weiand blower, dual carbs, Shotgun scoop and fat Mickey Thompsons out back are enough to cause a stir, but the attention to detail and the measured excess of this car make it easy on the eyes and easy on car show judges. Just hand over the hardware baby.
     Of course, I had the benefit of eyeing up the finished project. Sturm saw potential in this car when even its previous owner regarded it more as a backyard planter than the icon of hot rod history that it was and is. His first sighting was in 1979 while the then-19-year-old gearhead was cruising Edmonton back alleys to see if he could score motors, parts or vehicles people had lost interest in. The owner of the Deuce was a Corvette guy who bought Vettes in the States for resale in Canada. He sold the frame, body, doors, windshield, rad, and gas tank to Sturm for $750. He’s probably still kicking himself.
     Despite the tree growing out of the frame, Sturm says the Deuce coupe was actually a solid, all steel car and he towed it home without even bothering to put air in its flat tires.  It didn’t see asphalt again until 1995, when I hit the road as an American Graffiti-type coupe, colored Cayman green instead of Canary Yellow, like Milner’s coupe. Back then the Deuce had a small-block Chevy with a tri-carb  setup, a suicide front end with a kicked-up front frame, Super Bell axle and a 8 ¾-inch rearend out of  Maverick. Shelley did the interior and the couple drove the car for about eight years.
     "It went straight down the road at 120 mph and I was happy to see what I could do," says Sturm of his first effort with the Deuce. "But I wanted to have the car build exactly the way I wanted it and takes professionals to do that."
     In 2003, the car was taken to Wadson’s Hot Rod Parts in Edmonton for a little magic time. With Sturm’s vision and Cory Wadson’s deft touch and professional experience, the car began to take shape. The first trick Wadson performed was ditching the rails Henry Ford built for a slick TCI chassis, complete with a Mustang II front end, with disc brakes,  shortened 9-inch Ford posi-rearend with not-too-tall, not-too-small, 3:50.1 gearset. Like most gear heads, the lure of  big block power is always present, though Sturm had  never owned a car with a big block. He figured he had waited long enough. The 454 Chevy was overbored to 460 and stuffed with 8.5:1 pistons, and topped by a Weiand blower and double-gulp carbs. "The torque is unbelievable," says Sturm of the Campbell Automotive of Edmonton built engine. "It’s scary, you touch (the gas) and you’re gone. I stepped on it one time going around a corner and the back-end swung right around. I told myself ‘no more of that - lets get it going in a straight line.’"
     The black and purple leather touch upholstery was masterfully stitched by Floyd Eby while a set of Classics gauges in the original dash monitor all the goings-on up front. A new roof was grafted onto the car and the rest of its sheet metal was worked to perfection by the boys at Wadson. 
     Laying on the purple paint, with blue and red pearl, was something of a gamble, though it was always Shelley’s favourite colour.  "We weren’t sure it was going to turn out," she says. It turned out. That’s not just me saying it.
     The car was essentially finished in late 2004 and entered in its first show, the Edmonton Power Rama Motoring Expo, in early 2005.  It placed second overall in the pre-1935 street rod coupe class.  At the next show, in Calmar, the car added to its pedigree by winning Best Street Rod, People’s Choice and Competitor’s choice trophies. At the 2005 Edmonton  Street Rod Association Summer Cruise at Hawrelak park, the Sturms’ Deuce took home the Rodders’ Choice trophy. It also won Best Pre-40s, Best Paint & Finish, and the Wild Thing Award at that year's Strathmore Fun Runners car show.
     But trophies and honors never really entered Burt’s mind when he decided to rebuild the car. He loves driving the car and it’s not like there’s a shortage of competition in Show N Shine land.  "There’s so many nice cars, I’m always surprised (to win)," says Sturm.
     Well, with a car this nice, Bert and Shelley are going to have to get used to surprises - because you get the feeling there’s going to be more hardware in the future.