Ford SEMA EcoBoost Hot Rod Project

Where better than Hot Rod Alley for Ford to show off the completed rod, while hot rodders have lived by the motto: "there's no replacement for displacement," indicating the more kilowatts an engine has, the better resulting performance.

"EcoBoost technology shows that there is a viable replacement for displacement," said Dan Kapp director of Ford Powertrain Research & Advanced Engineering.

"Hot rod builds provide blank canvases for SEMA member companies, and this was an opportunity to show that horsepower and green power can coexist without scarifying performance or the cool factor," said John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology. "This '34 EcoBoost hot rod is a fantastic example of modern green technology being applied in a manner that any performance enthusiast would love."


'34 Ford EcoBoost hot rod project

Detroit Street Rods latest build is a 1934 Ford and is a joint venture with Ford Motor Company and Experi-metal. In this '34 application, the EcoBoost engine is configured for rear-wheel drive and is coupled with a Tremec five-speed manual transmission.

While the stock Honeywell turbochargers that drive the EcoBoost engine are used, they were repackaged to fit the engine bay of this all steel replica body. The engine configuration and turbocharger packaging was dynamo-meter tested by Ford Powertrain for proper calibration of the engine electronic control module. In addition to the all stock engine, other components including the fuel pump, ECM, fuel pump module, fuel pump processor and drive by wire throttle were utilised in their original production configuration.

The body is from Steve's Auto Restoration and is the recently released 1934 Ford 3 Window coupe. The complete body and fenders are from brand new tooling, and are designed, stamped and manufactured by Experi-metal in Michigan. This 'replica' '34 features all steel construction, full fenders, running boards, electronic power windows, air conditioning and custom bumpers.The engine was re-packaged and fitted with an engine plate adapter to mate with an aluminium flywheel, performance clutch and a Tremec five-speed transmission. The turbochargers were repositioned to the front of the cylinder heads and custom aluminium tubing was used to route the air from the custom air cleaner throught the air to an intercooler. The exhaust gases are routed from the cylinder heads through coated headers, through the stock wastegates, and pass through large custom cones located outside the engine bay and just above the front fenders.