It is a curiosity. Why would anyone want to chase the Devil? Perhaps the better question would be how does one actually chase him? Steve Becker of Longmont, Colorado, seems to think he and his just-completed ‘34 Ford three-window coupe can do it. The answer to “why” is simply because he can.

Another question that we had is: IF he catches the dark angel, what then? We know the Devil has powers a mere mortal does not and Steve, being a mere human, what chance does he have of surviving if he does catch the high demon?

So convinced is he of his survivability and to possibly add salt to an impending wound, lettering on the Ford’s trunk states: “I’m not afraid of the devil, in fact I dated his sister.”

Now, if dating Satan’s sister wasn’t enough to get the demon’s attention, perhaps the Devil should chase Steve, whose retreat would amount to a Hoonigan style tire-burning hasty exit.

Without impugning Steve’s moral character, if  “dating his sister” wasn’t irritating enough, certainly painting the Devil’s numerals on the side of the ‘34 in gold leaf might push the beast into action.

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The beauty of a '34 Ford three window is evident here. The chopped top enhances the body and the Coker bias ply tires add to the old-fashioned look.

The Number Of The Beast

The real number of this beast is 425. The 1964 401 cubic-inch Buick engine has enough power to make the pursuit loads of fun. The six deuce Stromberg carb set-up on the rare log manifold that he found on eBay, helps when it comes to putting a foot into the 425 horses on tap.

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The interior is sparse to say the least. Aluminum seat with pleated vinyl add to the ambiance. A brass knuckle shifter operates the Buick Jetaway transmission.

The hand-built brass knuckle type aluminum shifter makes shifting gears on the Buick Jetaway transmission fun and easy. The headers on the engine were built by Steve himself, and he wrapped them to keep the heat from coming into the interior as he motored around in the summers attempting to get used to the Devil’s weather no doubt.

To help enhance the ride and smooth the chase somewhat, Steve added some Speedway Motors parts to the front of the original chassis. A forged and drilled SuperBell I-beam axle directs the coupe and Steve used drilled split wishbones to keep it in place.

To enhance the look, he painted the axle inset body color and added Buick brake covers to the early Ford spindles, under those are So-Cal discs. Of course, the chase couldn’t even be started if the rearend wasn’t Ford. A 9-inch 3:55 ratio on coilovers makes the ride a bit smoother. The as-cast look of the 16-inch Rocket wheels and Coker Firestone bias ply tires add immensely to the traditional look of the car.

Back in the day, lacquer paint was the best one could get, and if one wasn’t adept with a spray gun, the flat look was unintentional and it would take a tremendous effort of sanding and rubbing to get a shine.  On this coupe, the House of Kolor Cinnamon Pearl is definitely flat – no shine what-so-ever – and that was intentional. It took Steve four tries to get it to look the way he wanted. He rubbed it out with six clay bars and soap and water over a period of two days.

The Inside Details

Looking in on the interior, the aluminum seat is from Ulysses in South Carolina and the rest of the aluminum work, including the radiator shroud, door panels, kick panels, and floor, was done by Steve. He also glued in the black, diamond pleated headliner and added hand-built aluminum bracing to hold it up “just in case” the glue fails. The gauges in the dash are Moon, the steering box is a Vega unit, and the taillights are ’37 Ford. All those louvers – 120 of them, 3 inches wide, were molded into the fiberglas deck lid. Matter of fact, the three window body is Outlaw Performance fiberglass.

Steve didn’t know it, but he’s followed a theme ever since his first build over 40 years ago. He built an awesome Anglia, nicknamed “The Kid” when he was only 23, put it on the street in April of 1976 and literally drove it all over the US for years. The second build of the theme was “Hell and Back,” a 1939 Ford truck that was chopped radically and Steve still owns it.

Just eight short years ago he built a ‘glass Deuce roadster he named  “The Hard Way” and has been having fun with that but then he debuted his ’34 three window. Now his pals asked why he built this one and he replied, “I needed something to do.”

This is quite a misnomer because Steve owns Becker Automotive in Longmont, Colorado. He works on a variety of vehicles daily including building hot rods for others and doing maintenance on nearly anything and everything that comes into his shop. His “needed something to do” doesn’t quite ring true to how he actually spends his days. Perhaps he should have said  “needed something to do after-hours and weekends.”

What Is It Really About?

After all is said and done, the “Chasing the Devil” theme is about the radiator ornament, made  by Jeff Decker, an artist out of Utah. Jeff is a sculptor and historian known for his bronze sculptures, the most notable of which is titled “By the Horns” (also known as The Hill Climber), a 16-foot-tall, 5,000-pound bronze statue located at the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Jeff Decker is the only bronze sculpture artist licensed by Harley-Davidson to replicate their products. The Devil’s head ornament on Steve’s ’34 radiator is made in Jeff’s image. Steve met Jeff in Sturgis fifteen years ago and purchased the sculpture because he liked it, but didn’t know what he was going to do with it.

While building the ’34, he decided on the “Chasing the Devil” theme.  The Devil’s head is always out front of Steve, atop the radiator and it keeps him focused on the chase, although he’ll probably never catch the Devil, but he did date the Devil’s sister!