Purple Hot Rod Hemi

Brian Young spent three decades building his purple, Hemi-powered Ford coupe. The project was a family affair. Every part of his ‘30 Model A has links to family or friends.

The history of the hot rod goes way back to 1984 when Brian’s brother Marty brought the all-steel five-window coupe to Wisconsin from Arizona. Marty started putting it all together. Brian told Old Cars Weekly, “Marty wanted to keep it all Ford, even though I was into Mopars and told him let’s go with a Mopar 440.” Marty was killed in a 1990 motorcycle crash and Brian became more determined than ever to finish the project his brother started.

“I never dreamed I could find a Hemi engine’’ Brian said. “But, there was a magazine for farmers published in Waupaca, Wis. and it had an ad for a 1957 Firepower Hemi.” After purchasing the Hemi, Brian scrounged up a wide variety of hot rod parts without breaking the family budget. “Whenever some car guy was having a rummage sale or moving or getting divorced, we would be able to buy stuff they wanted to be gone,” Brian said. “We even got a blower and a Dana 60 rear axle that came from a ’70 Road Runner that we took 22 inches out of.”

Young’s son wired the car. A friend who did furniture upholstery stitched up the seats. In the summer of 2013 the car was finished and started appearing at shows where it was a big hit. “It’s Marty’s car as far as we’re all concerned,” says Brian Young. “We just finished it.”