Joe Ischkum’s ‘38 Ford Five-Window Coupe

It’s About the Journey

Photos and Story by Joe Secka

I’ve always been intrigued when talking to the builders about how long their current project took to complete. I’m amazed when someone says the project was completed in a single year or even two years. Maybe that is because anything I do seems to take forever! I just don’t know! Years ago, an old hot rodder friend told me that complicated builds will seem like a journey that goes on forever.

Joe Ischkum bought his 1938 Ford five-window coupe about twenty years ago. I can relate to that kind of timeframe. He had sold a ’32 Ford Sedan with a blown V-8 under the hood and was searching for a fat fendered Ford. He was driving around a wooded area near his home and spotted the nose of this ’38 peeking of a garage. It took several trips and numerous conversations to convince the owner to part with it. The coupe was in pieces scattered around the garage but Joe thought it looked solid and said it had “good bones!” He had always liked the lines of the ’38 Ford Coupes. The clean and smooth body lines were just what he was looking for.

And the journey began! As is often the case, life and other projects interrupted Joe’s journey. Once he was able to focus on his new build, it took about five years to complete. Joe is a retired pipefitter who has acquired fabricating skills that comes in handy on big projects like this one. He decided to change up the lines enough to make it be different and to stand out from other cars from the late 30s era.

His vision became time consuming as the ’38 had to fulfill his vision and he would settle for nothing less. The original frame