Why would those two words relate to a Ford Pilot exactly then! Well, English career hot rodders will understand, as back in the '70s when cars had names, as indeed they still should, California Dreamin' was the moniker given by Ted Powney (see page 67) to his hopped up Pilot. Made the front cover of this very rag too, complete with obligatory scantily dressed bird. Classy it was...

Tel had owned the Pilot for a number of years, but didn't modify it until '76. We ran it on the front cover of our February '78 issue which hit the shops just as Tel emigrated to California, the car's name being somewhat prophetic. Back then it ran triple carbs on the original, but tuned, Flathead V8, and wide steels.

Despite Tel's occupation as a custom painter, it was finished in understated, yet perfect, black. With Tel wending his way to the west coast, California Dreamin' disappeared, until it surfaced again in the mid-'80s.

The original seats were reworked and overstuffed, then upholstered in cream leather, with door cards to match. The 14in Lecarra 'wheel was similarly trimmed.

Around the time the Pilot was featured in CC, 21 year old Ray Barrett was tooling around in an RS3100 Capri.

"Looking back it was horrible, but at the time it was great. Spoiler, scoops, General Grabbers! I went to Ally Pally and Small Fry blew my mind. It was then I started to get Into hot rods. California Dreamin' was a real hot rod to me. I wasn't really into American tin, liked British-based cars, so the Pilot struck a chord."

When everything went pastel and graphics in the early '80s Ray fell out of love with custom cars and started buying classics. He bought Ava Gardner's Facel Vega in the States, which was bizarrely RHD, and shipped it home for a complete restoration, it eventually appearing in numerous mags and on the Top Gear TV show. This was followed by a Jensen CV8, a Beetle with a 912 motor, E-Types and a 'Batmobile' BMW.

Through his classics Ray knew the guys at a company in Shepherds Bush in London called Straight Eight, and while in there one day in '84 or '85 talking cars, spied a familiar shape at the back of the workshops, "covered in shit." Closer inspection revealed it to be not just a Pilot, but California Dreamin'! Apparently it'd been bought on a whim four or five years previously, but had been mistreated massively since Tel Powney's ownership.

"I bought it immediately," says Ray, "but it was knackered. I drove it a total of one mile from the workshop to my garage and never drove it again! It still had cable brakes, which didn't work, and terrible wiring. It was in an awful state!"


From dreamin' to reality

Fast fomard some 12 years to 1997, and Ray sold all his classics to fund the launch of his own advertising agency, but couldn't bring himself to part with the Pilot. After a couple more years of seeing it inactive in the garage, Ray's wife suggested he do it up, so he started buying rod-related mags again and undertook some research.

Eventually he approached Paul Burnham and Nick Butler, with Paul seeming to be keenest to tackle the rebuild.

Delivering the car to Burnham Autos the original plan was for the company to supply a rolling chassis, but as the car came apart it transpired that it was rotten, and the project snowballed from there. We asked who had the most input, to which Ray replied, "I had some ideas, some of which are on the finished car, and some which Paul rejected. I wanted independent rear suspension, Paul advised parallel eaves, which the car now has. I wanted IFS, which it now has. It kept going like that!

I liked Paul's 'can do' attitude and the way his whole team are so exacting. There's no compromise. Take the California Dreamin' script on the rear for instance; I'm in advertising and am often immersed up to my neck in designs. Paul rejected four versions of that script before we found one he liked! That script is the nicest thing!"

So, beginning with that rolling chassis, what exactly did Ray get? The stock frame was boxed and a Currie 9in replaced the old banjo rear, on parallel leaves, while up front a Mustang II IFS with tubular wishbones does the job previously handled by an I beam and transverse leaf. Camaro discs and calipers help bring everything to a halt, while a Rover SD1 power steering rack makes light work of directing the heavy old Ford, coupled to an Ididit column. Making it all move is a stock but fully polished TPI-fed 305ci small block Chevy, while the 'rolling' part of 'rolling chassis' wouldn't be possible without the subtle 15in chrome American Racing Rallye wheels, the use of which was a very conscious decision to blend with the resto theme of the car.


Sleeper

The resto theme is evident in the body, which, once it was stripped, was rotten, as mentioned earlier. In fact almost the entire lower half of the sheetmetal required replacement, again handled by Burnham Autos, with some subtle modifications. Did you notice the filled roof panel, smooth running boards or the headlights lowered by 3in? Then there's the redesigned firewall, flush petrol cap and third brake light, not to mention the new, infinitely cleaner than stock, grille fabricated by Keith Andrews. Saying it here makes it sound easy, but a lot of effort went into this body before it was handed to Beautiful Body Repairs in Northfleet, Kent for a total respray in black and lacquer.

Moving inside - and who wouldn't want to climb into this exquisite interior - the stock bench seats were over stuffed, before the upholstery was redesigned and stitched in cream leather by Keith Andrews. The door cards were similarly re-jigged and upholstered, while black Wilton carpet now covers the floor.

0ne of the finest parts of a Pilot, and where they differ from their closely related American cousin the '35-'36 Ford, is the BakeIite dash. Ray wanted to retain this so much effort was expended in rebuilding and recalibrating the stock instruments, as well as hiding the air conditioning and stereo. It's a fantastic achievement, and worthy of closer inspection should you ever get the chance, though as the car was built to be driven and not for shows, that may prove slightly difficult.

In Ray's own words, "It was built to drive and drive it I do. It's fantastic. It looks like a classic but it just GOES! I'm going to drive the wheels off it. I want to take it to the south of France but first we have a family holiday planned in the States next year, and we're going to ship California Dreamin' out to use while we're there, a kind of hot rod holiday. And people love it. They're always stopping me to say they had one, or their dad had one'' Ah, but how long will it be before they stop you, climb in the back and ask to be taken to Kings Cross station, eh Ray? Taxi!

Ray would like to extend his thanks to Paul Burnham for all his bright ideas, Keith Andrews for his ability to do almost anything, Sasha Burn and Ian Hodson, as well as his family for not having him committed. Oh, and this car's definitely not for sale!

Ray's dream becomes reality. This is what you get when a long-time classic owner tackles a rod.