Thrice As Nice
By Dave Wallace

Back in 1981, Ivan Hess bought a Deuce roadster project from a local Philadelphia rodder. The deal included not much more than a body-and-frame roller with a built flathead.

In the next dozen years, in-between other projects, Ivan learned to work metal and gas weld. He "unchanneled" the body, replaced the flat motor with a junkyard 283, sent the axle out to Mor-Drop, added '46 hydraulics, '39 trans, '32 rear, Rootlieb hood, Speedway Motors chopped windshield and 16-inch solids.

The tasty result is a car that looks like it has been parked in an East Los Angeles garage since 1950. Ivan's other '32 is a Fordor he drove off a used-car lot while still in high school ('63). Completing the Hess fleet is a '29-A roadster pickup powered by a hot Cragar B.

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