Several years ago the marketing gurus at Arby’s came up with a short but sweet line: “Different is Good,” in an effort to entice burger lovers over to their roast beef sandwiches. Bill and Gail Rickman’s Denver, Colorodo-based ’37 Dodge coupe certainly stands out in a sea of red roadsters these days, or an ocean of red cars at any rodding event, simply because these days ”Different is Good.” 

Orphan makes like this Dodge coupe certainly fall into the realm of being ‘different’ and if this one doesn’t make you want to own and drive something completely different than any early square bodied car, then the engine powering this one certainly should.

No, it’s not a Hemi as one would imagine should be placed in a Dodge body, however, the 355ci Chevy engine equipped with the 671 blower and dual-quads was built by the former owner, Ron Offerson, and he knows how to make a Chevy engine run better than a lot of Hemis out there. It’s been blue-printed and balanced with a custom-ground Spitfire hydraulic cam and a 6% under driven 671 GMC blower built by L&M Blowers. Edlebrock Performer Series aluminum heads and dual 600cfm carbs dress the top. An MSD electronic ignition lights it up and there’s an electric fuel pump feeding the carbs through the fuel regulator. A C&R Racing custom built radiator takes care of the cooling.

Bill tells his friends that it’s a “genuine hot rod” since there is no heater or AC in the car. The only concession to traveling in comfort is the stereo system.

Remember the kid in your grade school that was ‘different’–maybe he had really thick glasses and ears that stuck way out but no one messed with him cuz he had a wicked left? Well, being ‘different’ means you gotta back up what you have, especially  when you have a blown Chevy engine in a Mopar. Backing it up equates to some good drag strip times. This Dodge has posted a ‘Best time’ (set up for strip) of an 11.21-second quarter and a ‘Best time’ (set up for street) of a 12.67-second quarter. That 355ci small block runs as good as any Hemi-powered rod out there.

The foundation that backs it up is a near-stock frame, other than boxing it and adding a couple of cross braces to stiffen it a bit. The exception to stock is the front suspension. The coupe was set up using a 1978 Chrysler Cordoba adjustable torsion bar with disc brakes. In the rear Aldan coilovers with custom built ladder bars were added to the 9-inch Ford  rearend with drum brakes. The steering is handled by a VW Rabbit rack and pinion with Chrysler tie rod ends and a GMC steering column sporting a LeCarra wheel.

The drivetrain consists of a Turbo 400 trans built for the blower motor with a Derale cooler and auxiliary radiator by Lee Dalton. A custom built driveshaft turns the Ford rear that’s equipped with Trac-Loc (by Bill Abels) and turns a 3.55:1 ratio rearend. Ideal for both street and strip and at a weight of 3175 lbs plus the long wheelbase, the Dodge rolls down the road very nicely. The ride is stable and solid and the engine puts out a whole lot of power boasting a little north of 600 hp, but it’s quite docile on the street.

Now if all that doesn’t impress you or make you want an orphan brand rod (or even a Mopar type rod), then perhaps the semi-rare coupe body will. The body is all steel that’s been left near stock save for some emblem removal and door handles and trunk handle taken off. The rear fenders have been smoothed a bit from stock, the license plate inset into the deck and rectangular halogen tail lights have been added. The original Dodge Brother’s emblem still sits above the license plate. The paint on it is Deltron GM Bright White combined with Ford Dark Blue for the flames with pink striping.

If you somehow miss that two-tone paint and the pink striping outlining the flames, then there’s the huge Cragar Dragstar 15×14 rims with 31/16.5R15 Mickey Thompson radials tucked under the tubbed rear to draw in your eyes.

Inside the coupe are a pair of comfortable gray cloth-covered front bucket seats, with seat belts, of course, along with something not seen in a coupe: a rear bench seat. The door panels are sculpted in flames and electric windows and remote entry doors provide access. A Pioneer stereo with 5-band graphic equalizer blasts out the tunes above the whine of the blower and the dash is full of SW gauges.

Bill has a full louvered hood which covers the polished aluminum engine components except for the blower scoop and runs that on the car most of the time, but he just finished and installed a custom front bonnet that leaves the engine open, and he plans to run it “exposed” this summer. Imagine the looks he gets when he pulls up alongside someone at a stop light!

Between the time these photos were shot and this article was written, Bill spent lots of time polishing some of the engine components as you can see in a few of the photos. He’s planning on doing a lot more polishing this summer keeping it clean.

Bill’s owned the car for several years and sometimes uses it to promote his business–he’s a RE/MAX real estate broker. How’d you like to go look at a new home in a very quick ’37 Dodge coupe, talk about getting there in a hurry!

Bill keeps the Dodge tuned for the street and isn’t afraid to take it out on the highway heading to some local rod run or a trip to the mountains to see his friends that are also into rodding. The car is not a fair weather street rod as a trip through the Loveland Pass in the rain will attest. We’d gone to Breckenridge (75 miles from Denver) to meet up with seven other rodders for a summer-time picnic and got caught in rain on the way home. Needless to say, Bill’s street rod is accustomed to lots of different terrain and he isn’t afraid to tread confidently

The rod has been driven to NSRA and Goodguys events from California to Indianapolis. Bill has enjoyed traveling to events all over Colorado, Kansas, and events in Logan and Moab, Utah. He’s also been on trips to Las Vegas and Deadwood, South Dakota. The car has been driven on track cruises at Vegas, PPIR, and Kansas Motor Speedway at speeds in excess of what’s ‘normal’ for a track cruise. The coupe is always a popular car at shows and cruise events and has won many awards including recognition for paint and engine.

As a little ‘aside” about Bill, he used to own a boutique ad/design studio. One of his employees was into rodding, having owned both a hot rod and a kustom and was always taking days off from work to go to car events. Having been told of all the exploits of rod running over the years apparently had an impact on Bill and he made the transition from sports cars (although he still owns an early bathtub Porsche) to rods a few years ago and says he enjoys rodding more than his involvement in sports cars. “It seems the guys that are into hot rodding are a lot more accessible and a lot easier to strike up a conversation with and owning a Mopar rod, instead of a Ford or Chevy makes for an unusual car to be rodding.”

Therein lies that “Different is Good “ analogy. Needless to say, Bill’s “Different-is-Good” Dodge turns heads on the strip, at the show, or out running the highway. It’s definitely a keeper.