Costello Rodders Journal

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Deuce roadsters.
There's not much that hasrit been said about them,
and there's not much that hasnt been done to them, either.
Nevertheless, hot rodders keep building b*, because to many
eyes the timeless '32Ford is the quintessential hot rod. When
still almost new and {lathead V-B powered, Deuce roadsters
wefe raced at the Dty Lakes before the war, and with their
strong frame design thatwould later accept V-8s of every
d.r.ription, '32s are still running hard-on the lakes and
everywhere else. Original or reproduction, a Deuce roadster
looks-and ls-great.
It wont take a tratned eye to see that
there's something
extra special about these two Deuce roadsters, though; it's
right up front and mounted in that strong '32 ftame. Both
(more about that in a minute), they're really more alike than
they are sepa rate,and the similariqr begins with those engines,
the legendary Arduns.
Let's talk about those engines. With its immense valve
covefs an Ardun-Ford bears a striking resemblanc e to a
vintage Chrysler hemi,yet the block is still the basic threemain-bearing flattie's. The Ardun name on those valve covers
is actual! contraction of the name of their designer' Zoru
"
ARkus-DUNtov, the brilliant GM engineer and racer who's
acknowledged as the "godfather of the Corvette." In the late
1940s,before his GM stint and working with his brother,
Yura, Zorafelt there was an opportunity to convert the
then-underpowered (and often hot-running) 100-bhp Ford
side-valve truck engine to a more efficient overhead valve
system. Duntov based his OHV cylinder head design on
that of the pre-war French Talbot, and after two years of
development work the brothers offered complete fudun OFIV
conversion kits, with single or t'nrin-carburetor manifolds,
for ff495. Fact ory literature claimed the conversion could
be made in 5-6 hours "by a competent mechanic""They
advertised that the result, without any other modifications,
would yield 175-bhp, run cool, and solve the lack of power
problem in over-the-road trucks. The Duntovs hoped fleets
would snap 'em up and they'd make a bundle'
Unfortunately, their timing was a little off. Ford soon
countered with a bigger, heavie4 1"52-bhp, 337-ctd flathead
for Lincolns and heu"y trucks, and then the company's own
OHV engines arrived in late 1953. Meanwhile, early tryers
overhead
ln the late 1 94Os ZoraArkus-Duntov along with his brother Yura created the Ardun
aluminum
valve conversions for the flathead Ford V-8. More than half a century later these
hemispherical cylinder heads have become part and parcel of hot rod history.
of thes e'32s are powered by what many consider to be the
ultimate evolution of the Ford flathead V-8, which is not
a legen daty Ardun overhead-valve
that venerable side-valve block. Pat
atop
conversion grafted
and Pam Costello's full-fendered'32 is the more traditional
member of this pair, with its nicely massaged factoty-original
body and frame, '40 Ford steering wheel, gennie StewartWarner gauges, '39 box with Zephyr gears, and Kinmont
disc brakes. And its SCoT:blown Ardun. In contrast, Steve
Kormondy's fenderless version of the '32 rcadster, with its
new Brookville steel body, American Stamping rails, and
a flathead at all, but
Art Chrisman's incredible handiwork-literally creating a
blower from scratch-is a contem porury interpretation of
that classic theme, and an intriguing blend of high-tech
and repro pieces. These two roadsters' seemingly built to a
common theme, were built for t'wo very different reasons.
But, as much as they might differ in their ultimate purpose
found the Ardun horsepower claims to be a bit exaggerated:
the valvetrain needed considerable work before it would
really put out horsepower; the cast steel pushrods and the
valves themselves were too heavy; and the heads were so big
Ardun-equipped engines were hard to fit in passenger cars
without significant sheet metal modification. Add to that
the need for wild ignition advance because of a distant spark
pl*g location and the challenge of period castings, and you
.urr-r.. what ear\y Ardun pioneers were up against' None
of this stopped seekers of high horsepower who recogntzed
the heads' potential. A British entrePreneua Sydney Allard,
bought a number of head sets for his Allard sports cars
(before he began offering the more powerful oHV Cadillac
V-Bs), and enterprising American hot rodders, like Clem
Tebow and Don Clark of C&T Automotive, soon rcahzed
the Ardun setup-appropriately modified-was one w^y
flatheads could get even with chrysler's powerful new hemi(Incidentally, because there afe several closely matched
internal dimensions between these rival powerplants, Chrysler
and Ardun , many believe that Chrysler engineers carefirllv
scrutin rzedthe Ardun before their engine bowed for the
1951 model year.)
Nevertheless, despite its problems Ardun conversions
made their mark in rodding, although never in large numbersIt's thought that about 250 sets were made, along with 20
pairs of smaller units for V-8/60s. If you're lucly enough to
find a complete patf of original Ardun heads today you can
ffi- $ffi
To the best of our knowledge a pair of steel Deuce roadsters each powered by the legendary Ardun
have never before been photographed together. Steve Kormondy's highboy is the more contemporary
iteration based all most entirely on reproduction pieces while Pat Costello's full fendered version is
a carefully collected conglomeration of original early Ford pieces and early hot rod hardware.
The Kormondy car was built by California Street Rods in Huntington Beach, California, while Roy Brizio
Street Rods in South San Francisco, California, gets credit for the construction of Costello's full fendered
roadster. The Ardun powerplant in the highboy was built by Art Chrisman who has been building
winning flatheads since the time when the Ardun conversions were the very latest thing. Every last
nut and bolt of the ScoT blown Ardun in Costello's roadster is 1950s era correct and it was a labor
of love for Bay Area engine builder, Rod Furtado who unfortunately passed away earlier this year.
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This is what full fendered street roadsters used to look like. Costello and Brizio conspired to build a conservative '50s style Deuce that
very well could have been the effort of a crafty and well healed hot rodder back when Truman or Eisenhower were in the White House.
expect to pay as much as $L5,000. Because of this scarcity,
Don Orosco first reproduced Ardun heads a few years back.
They're currently made in 35616 aluminum with numerous
modifications to rectift the original's shortcomings, and
they're currently sold by Don Ferguson, Jr., in Wilmington,
CA. (www.ardun.com). With modern materials and upgrades,
these heads are superior in every way to the originals, and
at this writing and from Ferguson, a set of new Ardun
reproduction heads sells for $ 72,950. These are the heads
on both of these roadsters.
Certainly in the mid-1950s, a SCoT-blown Ardun would
have been the ultimate street flathead setup, and that's
exactly what's powering Pat Costello's full-fendered roadster
today. Continuing that high-end-for-the-time theme there's
apaff ofvenerable Stromb erg97s on top that polished SCoT
(getting their fuel through also 195Os-appropriate red plastic
fuel lines), there's a repop Filcolater "beehive" oil filter on
the firewall, a Joe Hunt magneto handles the firing chores,
and internally a 4-inch Merc crank coupled with a 3s/rc
inch bore boosts displacement to 27 6 cid. Ross pistons,
Carrillo rods, and a Delong cam (with the appropriate lumpy
idle) help the Orosco-produced 8:1 compression'Ardun"
crank out beaucoup horsepower.
The driveline in Pat Costello car's is appro prtately classic,
too. There's a 1939 Ford top-shift transmission fronted by
^
Weber clutch and flywheel, and all that's mated to an eatly
torque tube running into a Halibrand quickchange equipped
with modern, Dutchman slip-in axles. Btggy springs survive
front and feat on the chassis, although the front is a ne\^/,
single leafDurant (I can hear you purists wincing) that allows
precise height control by varyng the spacers; the reat is a
traditional Model A arched to clear the V-8 quickchange.
Chassis Engineering supplied the dropped-beam front axle
and the radius rods are split stockers. The steering is periodcorrect 1956 Ford F-100, actuated by a7940 Ford wheel
that's been painted white to match the Sid Chavers interior
and top.The original body and fenders "were in pretty good
shape," says Roy Bnzto,who brought this dream roadster to
realrty for Pat, "but still required more work than any modern
reproductions would," he notes. The classic theme is
completed with stock'32 tatllights and bumpers, and from a
distance ofjust a few feet this car looks as though it reallv
could have been built-by a bucks up rodder-in the mid-50s.
Roy Brrzio says Pat Costello came to him with a plan
for this car that was akeady well thought-out. "He knew
exactly what he wanted," Brtzro says. "He'd akeady bought
There are very few reproduction parts on this car, the body, fenders, frame are all original 1932 Ford items. The arrow straight
and the mile deep paint are both a product of the labors of Camallari's Auto Works in San Ma.cos, California.
a set of Ardun heads and the polished blower, then he got
the Kinmont brakes and the old Stewart-Warner gauges.
And he wanted a '39 box with Zephyr gears, too." Pat picks
up the narcatrve, givingBrtzto equal credit for the look of
the finished car, "Roy and I never did a rendering befbre we
started," h. says, "but somehow we shared the same picfure.
Roy has a w^y of getting inside your head. The roadster came
out just the wry I thought it would. It's am azing."
To be certain Pat really knew what he wanted, and what
he was getting into, Brino g vehim a ride in a "moderrf"32
before they started down the road toward this one. "I let him
drive one of my roadsters with a smallblock Ford and a
five-speed. He thought it was cool," Roy says, "but it wasnt
what he wanted. He wanted a full-on nostalgia car." Which
is what he got, right down to that set of rare Kinmont disc
brakes all around, actuated with a 7940 Ford master cylinder.
I can attest, after nearly 5,000 miles on my own Kinmontequipped'32, that properly set up and with the corect lining
matsr ral, the s e ahe ad - of- their- ti m e Iate-1 9 40 s clutch - s fyle
disc brakes work well. The pedal is progressive and consistent,
there's no squeal or shuddering, and, of course, painted bright
red as they are in Pat's '32, the finned backing plates look
wonderful. Brtzio says a tt/ninch-bore master cylinder (vs.
the recommended 1.r/e-tnch) makes a big difference.
Roy also says that the bodyvork changes made to Pat's
'32 are minimal: the windshield was chopped a discrete two
inches; the door handles wefe shaved, but the cowl vent and
trunk handle were left intact. The roadster's hood side panels
were eliminated, of course, exposing that lovely Ardun.
The headlights are SoCal Speed Shop Arrow reproductions,
and the taillights, 1939 Ford teardrops, are in keeping with
the traditional look. trarly Ford wheels running 6:00 x 16
and 7:00 x 1,6 Coker wide white Firestone bias ply tires
provide a mild rubber rake, and '48 Ford caps and trim rings
complete the old-sryle look. The whole car is vety reminiscent
of the Chuck Price roadster that appeared on the cover of
the first issue of Rods U Customs (Iater Rod U Custom),
back in May 1,953.
What are Pat Costello's plans for this ca\ now that it's
finished? "I'm going to drive it," he insists. 'A lot." Asked
if he had any plans to sell the roadster, Pat quickly replied:
"No! They're gonna bury me in it."
Steve Kormondy's highboy '32 was built for an entirely
different reason. Steve built his Ardun roadster knowing
full-well that just as soon as it was complete he'd sell it and
start on yet another project. With no regrets. "For me, it's all
bodywo*
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iooks as if it very well could have be-en taken in 1954. The scoT-superchaiger and the duai Stromberg 9i carhs are soinewhat dwarfed by the massive cylinder
heads. The red and
chrome dngine against the off white firewall is a classic rodding combo.
in the building process," Steve
says, explaining his
build-
and-sell tactic. "I love doing what we do, standing back
and enjoyrng the caf, and then moving on to the next one."
Steve will have ample financing for that next one, too; at last
J anuary's B ar rctt-J ackson Auction in S cottsdale, Ar izona,
this Ardun highboy was able to coa:< ahefty ff172,800 from
avety willing buyer, and that's not the first time Kormo"dy't
been able to do this sort of thing. A yeaf before, and at the
same sale, he attracted ffi97,200 (commission included) for
his dar.zling yellow and purple '34 Ford "Yellow Jacket"
roadster. Say, aren't you supposed to lose money on these
things? Apparently not.
This time, and for this project, Steve also based his build
Ardun-Ford, if
around an Ardun-Ford, but not just
^ny
there is such a thing. "I always want to take it to a higher
level," he says. Impressed the first time he heard an Ardun
run (in an Allard at Montercy, he thinkt), "I decided right
there I was going to build a hot rod with one of those motors
in it." He did, and his Ardun is like none other. His trump
card with this car rests on top of the engine. "I asked Art
Chrisman to make a complete blower out ofbillet aluminum;'
said Kormotdy, "because no one else had one." And, we
would add, probably no one
else
but Chrisman could make
one. "You start
with
200 pounds of billet aluminum and this
is what you Bet," Chrisman says. The Carburetion Company
came up with apalr of matching chrome-plated Carter 4-bbls
(at $1400 apiece), and the combination is stunning, to say the
It took two and a half years to put this motor together.
fut Chrisman built the rest of the Ardun to a traditional
least.
by 4-tnch bore and stroke for 276-cid displacement,
exactly matching the size of Pat Costello's. Likewise, a
magneto provides the spark and again it comes from a
Vertex. Including the cost of the repro Ardun heads, and
Art Chrisman's remarkable labor intensive build-up, there's
nearly $50 grand in the engine alone.
The remainder of Steve Kormondy's highboy '32 was
built by Chuck Lombardo, Sr. and Jr., father and son, and
3s/ru
their talented team at Cahfornia Street Rods in Huntington
Beach. They began by assembling a Brookville Roadster
all-steel body, boughrfrom Brookville in knock-down form.
CSR's Bob Marchese and Rick Henry assembled the body
parts, then the finish work was done by Greg Morel (who
also painted the car) and Jorge Bustos. A liberal use of other
modern reproduction components includes a Dan Fink grille
Bee headlamps, and classic 1939 Ford taillights.The Brookville's smoothed dash accommodates a SoCal
insert, new
Kitg
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insert and black-faced Classic Instruments. The roadster's'39
banjo steering wheel (cut down to 15 % tnches) was crafted by
Dennis Crooks in San Diego. And lest you think that, aside
from its Ardun engine, Steve's roadster is a by-the-numbers
assembly, there's pleny of custom handwork too, besides that
steering wheel. CSR's Nick Perich fabricated the custom-built
wrapatound seat, upholstering the roadster in Burgurdy
Merlot leather and square-weave German loop carpet, a color
combination Steve admired in a Rolls-Royce also painted
black. And Steve's roadster is painted black for a reason,
too. "I knew it would show off a flawless body," he says.
A full-service rod shop, CSR's Rick Henry and JiArroyo fabrtcated the '32's chassis using American Stamping
rails, SoCal hairpins, a Posies spring, Super Bell axle, and
updated Vega steering with Pete &Jake's shocks. The rear
is a Halibrand quickchange with Pete &Jake's radius rods
and Aldan coil-overs. SoCal brakes use a Wilwood disc
setup in front and drums in back-both fitted with finned
aluminum Buick-sryle covers. There's all the chrome and
polish you could want everywhere, all of it set off by that
lustrous black finish. The polished Kidney Bean sryle knockoff wheels are from PS, fit with tall Coker bias plies-once
agaln for the right, old-style look. The custom four-into-one
headers were fabrtcated by CSR's Keith Hickson, and for
one more touch of engine compartment trickery, Indy
Speed Shop's Jackie Howerton built the aluminum radiator
that fits neatly inside a Brookville grille shell.
Completed and with just 100 miles showing on the
odometer when it rolled onto the auction block at BarcettJackson, Steve Kormondy bravely offered his just-finished
'32 (dubbed "Black Jack" for the sale) at "No Reserve." That
meant the car would sell, unconditionally, to the highest
bidder, no matter how high, or lornr, the final bid. Gutsy.
"But my focus was on creating this cag" Steve explains, "not
on what I think it's worth." App"rently, Steve is confident
in letting others determine that. "Besides," he continues,
"I like doing things that are a bit edgy. There are so many
hot rods that are alike these days, if you didnt do something
that's different, how would anyone notice?"
Steve Kormondy and Pat Costello neednt worry
themselves about building hot rods that go unnoticed. After
all, how often is it that we get to see-parked side by side,
no less highboy '32 roadster and a full-fendered version,
and they're both Ardun powere d? Zora Arkus-Duntov
would be delighted. No question, the Ardun is back, and
it's stronger than ever.
1932 Ford Roadster
Front and Rear Brakes
. Original Kinmont discs
Pat Costello, St Paul, Minnesota
.'40 Ford master cylinder
.'32 Ford
Body
1932 Roadster
. Original steel body
'Arrow
.'32
headlights
Ford taillights
Bodywork and paint by Camillaris
Auto Works, San Carlos, CA
. Black DuPont, acrylic enamel
Pinstriping by Rory
lnterior
.
White Naugahyde
Upholstery by Sid Chavers,
Santa Clara, California
. Wool carpet, cut pile
. Custom made seat
. Stock dash, filled
. Original Stewart Warner gauges
.'40 Ford Deluxe steering wheel
.'39 Ford shifter
pedals
Front Wheels and Tires
Chassis
. Original Ford frame
Restored by Roy Brizio Street
Rods, So. San Francisco, CA
Front Suspension
. Chassis Engineering axle
. Super Bell spindles
. '32 Ford split radius rods
. Durant spring
.'56 Ford F-100 steering
Rear Suspension
. Halibrand quickchange
.3:7O gears
. Dutchman axles
. Monroe shocks
. Model A Ford spring
. Pete & Jake's ladder
.16 x 4.5 Ford steel wheels
.'46 Ford caps and beauty rings
. 6.00 -16 Firestone bias-ply
whitewalls
Rear Wheels and Tires
. 16 x 5 Ford steel wheels
.'46
Ford caps and beauty rings
.7.O0 -16 F,restone bias-ply
whitewalls
Drivetrain
Ardun flathead by Rod Furtado
. 59A Block bored to 3%u inches
. Mercury crank
. Ross pistons
bars
. Carillo rods
.8:1 compression ratio
' Delong cam
' Reproduction Ardun heads
. Ardun lifters
. Ardun springs
. Ardun rockers
. Ardun valves
. Austin intake manifold
.2 x 2 bbl Stromberg
97s
. Restored by Jere Jobe
. SCoT superch arger
. Joe Hunt magneto
Custom headers by Dan Hall,
B
rizio's
Transm ission
.'39
Ford
. Lincoln Zephyr gears
. Weber clutch
. Weber flywheel
lncidentals
. Walker radiator
Wiring by Jim Vickery, Brizio's
Chrome and polishing by
Sherm's plating
Exhaust by Jack Stratton, Brizio's