WASHINGTON BLUES – LES MORAN 1932 FORD – VAUGHAN FARMER 1931 FORD
The term; “Blood is thicker than water” usually applies when family is involved. It’s a term that I think is very appropriate when describing the brotherhood amongst our vast number of Aussie-based Kiwi hot rodders. These two outstanding traditional styled hot rods, Les Moran’s Deuce and Vaughn and Jarrad Farmer’s Model A roadster, are a perfect example of Kiwi helping Kiwi. The New Zealand connection extends further than just the shores of either Island, with international input from renowned USA based Kiwi Connection founder Squeak Bell, coincidentally added into the mix on both cars. With each rod finished just a few months apart after both enduring an extended build time, they complement each other perfectly. Painted in Ford Washington Blue only adds a further ironic twist to the story of two stunning hot rods with timeless appeal.
LES MORAN – 1932 FORD COUPE
Born a New Zealand native, Les Moran was infatuated with cars from an early age.
“As a kid growing up in NZ, there were hot rods all around me, and I have always liked them. In 1972, I moved to Australia because a mate told me that the drinking age is 18. He was going, and I said that I was coming with him. We’re still mates and still drinking beer,” he laughs.
After settling in Perth, Les founded a career in offshore oil rigs, progressing from roustabout to tool pusher and ultimately being in charge of operations. Working on a month-on, month-off roster provided Les with plenty of continuous garage time once home, where he continued to enjoy his passion for cars and assemble a long list of pretty cool hot rods.
“I’ve built three ‘32 roadsters, a ‘33 roadster, had a couple of ‘40 Ford coupes, a couple of ‘36 Fords, half dozen Chevy pickups, two or three ‘33 pickups and had a neat ‘36 3W coupe for quite a while,” he recalls but a few.
When his hobby outgrew the home garage, he moved his workshop to bigger premises that eventually grew into a business.
“I had this warehouse out at Malaga where I could work on my cars. It evolved from just my cars into working on other people’s cars, where I was joined by a mate to help out while he worked on his. At one point, I came home from the rig and had about a dozen cars on the go. It all got a bit too much, as it was never the plan. I love to build for the sake of building them. It was never about the money; it was about sustaining my hobby.” Les confides.
During this evolution of grass roots garage builder to hired help needed, Les established Superior Hot Rods as a sideline, selling traditional hot rod components to like-minded enthusiasts for the past 10 years.
“Most of the parts that I stock are imported from Duane Jones at California Roadster Company, which was originally Squeak Bell’s Kiwi Connection business,” Les affirms.
Les first contacted fellow countryman Squeak, after meeting his Perth based brother, Kerry Bell and mentioning to him that he was in the market for a ‘57 Chevy.
“I touched base with Squeak in Bakersfield, and we just hit it off.”
The initial phone call developed into a long-term friendship and many more American based vehicles shipped to Western Australia, all stamped Les Moran.
“He is just a genuine guy; I’ve bought about 15 cars off him over the years,” Les adds.
The third character intertwined into this Kiwi thread is roadster owner, Vaughn Farmer, who Les met in Perth over two decades earlier.
“I met Vaughn in the very early 80s, and we kicked around in the same club for a while until he moved to Queensland,” he explained. “Then he went back to NZ and now back in Perth. We have always kept in touch, but it’s coincidental that our cars are the same colour,” he chuckles.
Back in 1997, Les received a fax from Squeak about a pretty decent ‘32 coupe body for sale. The guy wanted cash for a vintage octagonal barreled Winchester and offered the shell to Squeak for US$3,500. After perusing the accompanying pictures and learning that it was an old channelled hot rod, Les was in.
As soon as the deuce coupe arrived in WA, Les got busy on a suitable frame, enlisting the talents of local experienced rodder, Phil Pavacich. Together they added a tubular x-member and fitted Model A crossmembers front and rear. The boxed original rails were mildly notched in the rear to achieve the desired stance. Unfortunately once the body was settled onto the upgraded frame, it was pushed into a corner of the warehouse for way too long.
“That was almost 15 years ago, and then it just sat,” he relents.
As other projects vied for Les’s attention, and won, the ‘32’s progress stalled until the old channelled body was farmed out to a retired metal man, Kevin Best, for resurrection. With no immediate time slotted for completion, Kevin worked at his own pace replacing the floor with fresh steel as well as attending to any other age related blemishes and repairs.
Around five years ago, Les re-evaluated his evolved hobby shop and pulled the pin on the huge warehouse, moving back into the home garage where he could concentrate on his own projects. He retrieved the almost completed coupe from Kevin in bare metal and vowed that it was time to get it done.
Years of collecting vintage and period components to build the coupe were now about to pay off. Most of the special components to complete the deuce in his head were already on the shelf, waiting for just this occasion. The naked body was hauled over to Balcatta Panel and Paint along with a combination of repro and genuine panels for final prep before the PPG factory Ford Washington Blue was applied.
With the workspace cleared of all old tin, Les concentrated his efforts back on the gennie frame, installing a host of traditional components acquired from his Bakersfield Kiwi pals. The I-beam dropped axle is located by hairpins and a mono leaf buggy spring up front, and the Halibrand quick change out back hung by a Model A spring is period perfection. Add a five-speed backed blown flathead into the mix, and it doesn’t get much better if you’re an old-school kinda guy. With the unchopped coupe hunkered down over a set of 15-inch Ford steelies with black walls and dog dish caps, it’s hot rod purity.
Unsure of a colour choice for the interior against the almost stock-appearing exterior, Les listened to advice from Squeak and searched for a light blue material that would not only complement his chosen colour palette but elevate it to a new level. Unsuccessful in matching a swatch that he received from Squeak, he ordered it directly from his Bakersfield buddy and delivered it to local trimmer Shayne Anderson. Tuck’ n’ rolled over an original ‘32 Ford seat, the Jetstream Cool Blue upholstery shimmers in dancing light. Interior highlights include chromed garnish moulds original to the body, gorgeous art deco 1950 Mercury handles and cranks, an engine-turned dash panel filled with Classic Gauges and a ‘32 gear stick. Flaming River column and a ‘40 style steering wheel cap of the tastefully accomplished cabin that embraces practicality with dark blue carpet underfoot.
Les admits that if he had built the coupe when he first purchased it, he might have chopped it, but it was never on the revised agenda. He also worked hard on the chassis to achieve the desired stance without airbags and such, and it was just time to get it done.
“I knew that I was going to give up working on the rig at 60, if not before, and I just needed to do it. I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together as I was ready. Out of all of the hot rods that I have had, it’s perfect. It’s got the supercharged flathead, the five-speed and the quick-change humming in your ear. As far as I’m concerned, it’s got everything. It’s exactly as I wanted it to be. This coupe I built for me, and it’s a keeper.”
VAUGHAN & JARRAD FARMER – 1931 FORD ROADSTER
“When I first saw American Graffiti, I went out and bought myself a ’55 Chevy.”
That was Vaughn Farmer’s first introduction to cool classic muscle cars and hot rods at the age of just 19. He has been into cars ever since.
Just like his friend Les, Vaughn grew up under the shadow of the long white cloud and, ironically to this story, only about 100 miles from New Zealand-come-Californian hot rod guru Squeak Bell.
“Even as a kid, he was the one who was a bit of a legend in his own time back then,” he recalls.
And just like Les, he too was enticed to make his way to Australia in his teenage years, only for different reasons.
“I met Kerry (Bell) in Melbourne about the same time that I left the homeland, and we both headed to Perth because we had read an article that said there were more women over there than anywhere else,” he laughs out loud.
After settling in Perth and making lifelong friends like Les, Vaughn enjoyed a few years on the opposite coastline in sunny Queensland before heading back to New Zealand, where their son, Jarrad, originally embarked on the roadster project.
“It really started with a donated chassis from Dave Alexander,” Vaughn explains.
Dave and Vaughn are members of Whakatane Rod and Custom Club in NZ and Dave invited the boys to have a poke around his personal collection of parts to see if there was anything they needed.
“We didn’t know what to expect, and what we discovered was almost a wrecking yard inside a huge shed. Everything was tagged and labelled; it was awesome,” he recalls, savouring the past-tense moment.
Amongst the varied inventory, Jarrad showed particular interest in a stock Model A chassis which Dave offered for nix in an act of good will to kick-start Jarrad’s involvement with his own hot rod.
Keen as to get underway as soon as the frame was back in dad’s garage, progress was swift and enthusiastic, right up until youthful distractions and lack of surplus cash became a disparaging factor.
“Jarrad, being a young bloke with limited funds, I took up the lead when it stalled. I have imported a few cars over the years, and every now and then, I would add a front end, hairpins and so forth as I could afford it.”
Another important factor that helped this project forge ahead in the right direction was helpful advice from their friendly neighbour.
Adding to the already featured twists outlined in Les’s story, Vaughn’s tale is just as extraordinary. When he purchased his house in NZ, you wouldn’t believe your jandals who lived next door. None other than one Squeak Bell! We’ll… ‘live’ might be a stretch, but Squeak did come home for summer on a regular basis, then back to Bakersfield for a second helping of desirable weather.
“He has the best of both worlds! It was awesome to have him next door, though. It was just a basic stock frame, and over the years, Squeak gave us advice on how to set it up, and we sought a professional welder for the Z in the rear and plating. I did the boxing plates and K member and mounted the diff.”
From the outset, the intended body style to reside on the revamped frame was going to be Ford’s improved Model A. Squeak located a decent cowl and doors for mock up. When Duane Jones took over Kiwi Connection and morphed it into Californian Roadster Company, he had an order for almost a dozen new steel Brookville Model A’s bound for the shop. One had a connecting departure cruise.
“We are both big boys, and a ’28 would be just too small. We needed as much room as we could,” Vaughn grins, “’32 bodies were a third again in cost, and I just couldn’t see the sense in that.”
When Vaughn made the move back to Perth just over three years ago, he figured that storage costs for the unfinished roadster and his Chevy coupe would eventually outweigh their worth, and had them join him on the journey. Re-established, Jarrad chose to head back to Queensland to be with his mum, who wasn’t doing so well. Around the same time, Vaughn lost his dad, Alex, to the disadvantages of age. To his surprise, he left a modest inheritance, which Vaughn invested into the completion of the roadster, serving as a farewell legacy and a bonding agent for him and his own son. After his mum’s health failed, Jarrad joined his dad on the West Coast, and together, they got serious about finishing his old Model A project.
Over the years, Vaughn has relieved America of more than a few of their classic collector cars, importing them both here and back home. Between his locally sourced automotive toys, his last count was around 60 noteworthy vehicles that have come and gone.
Every now and then, when he was a little more flush with cash, he would include a front-end component, set of shocks, air cleaners and other hot rod-related parts and shelve them for a rainy day. Although Perth’s not renowned for its precipitation, they were about to become the roadster’s life preservers.
One of those 60-odd cars that he imported to the homeland was a 1955 Oldsmobile 98 that had been in storage for around 30 years.
“Squeak put me onto it, got it running and driving and sent it home. I eventually stripped it to bare metal and repainted it black and orange with a flaked roof and Watson-style scallops. It was a killer car, and every power option it came with worked.”
From that day forward his appreciation for Chevrolet’s less popular cousin developed into an affectionate romance that continues with his current ‘61 Old’s bubbletop and the reason behind the healthy mill powering the roadster.
Wanting to capture the essence of a 60s style hot rod, the boys searched the internet for a suitable engine and only an Oldsmobile would do. Hitting pay dirt In the USA, old pal Squeak was only too happy to give it the visual once over and box it up.
“It was supposed to be a good runner, but it did have some internal issues,” he sighed.
On closer inspection the bore wasn’t matched with the pistons and the skirts were grabbing the block like Velcro on wool. After it was re-machined, Jarrad pieced it all together with the assistance of Mick Waters, Kerry Bell and dad’s watchful gaze.
“I’m really proud of him (Jarrad). A lot of kids his age don’t know how to gap a set of points, and he is really good at getting it in tune.”
Vaughn says that it was the motor that dictated the styling cues for everything else. The 394 Rocket V8 was only produced between 1959 and 1963, and he wanted to make sense of it being there. Kerry also necessitated a two-inch recess into the firewall, which was expertly performed by Kerry. A further two inches was also gained by moving the front crossmember, wheels and grill shell forward of the rotating assembly. Out back, a similar approach was employed, positioning the rear buggy spring behind the Ford nine-inch like hot rods of a past era.
With the body slightly channelled over the frame, the timeless appeal is hugely enhanced by the reproduction Chevy artillery wheels, and Kerry Bell fab’d the over-the-rail headers. Functioning rag top and three pedals torturing a ‘big ‘n’ little’ rubber rake on a less-is-more highboy, and it’s a knockout from any angle.
Drop the top, and its throwback to yesteryear, when all ‘show and go’ rods were as flashy inside as they were out. Stitched locally by Kiwi Pete, the deep blue and gold flake upholstery is not your average old car interior.
“Jarrad reckons I get carried away at times, and he tries to calm me down. He thinks that the trim is a bit over the top, but I love it.”
Complemented by a matching trunk space with rocket embossed battery cover, it reeks of 60s nostalgia. While mesmerised by the visual refreshment rearward, cast your eye over the period style nerf bar and check the rocket shaped mounting points just ahead of the ‘32 fuel tank. That’s Vaughn getting carried away and we like it!
With paint being the final hurdle before the finish line, they enlisted the help of Mick Waters for final body prep before Vaughn drew on all of his painting experience to lay down a beautiful gloss of Washington Blue. After ten years and more miles than either of them could count, the roadster was ready to roll under its own power. A vision brought together by a father and son that instantly transports your mind to simpler times and raises a smile from every admirer.
Vaughn and Jarrad expressed a clear vision when they conceived their version of a 60s high-end highboy. Enduring ten years and sticking to their plan is truly a credit to their dedication and empathy for the era, which parks perfectly next to Les’ ‘32 coupe. Another long-term build that could have been completed in the past, present and, hopefully… the future. Both are perfect examples of what a real Kiwi connection can achieve, even on Aussie soil.
