When’s the last time you saw a hot rod Model T sedan? For most, it might be Lil’ John Buttera’s beer-bottle brown ride as seen on the September 1974 cover of HOT ROD. Nothing else has come close to that, until now.
After finding a fairly good basket case 1926 Ford Tudor, just a wee bit down the road, Dave and his buddy Brent Housley took the four-hour drive to pick up the parts. Pleasantly surprised, Dave found it was in great shape for its age and even included an original frame. The frame was used for reference points as the new homebuilt frame came together.
That frame is made up of 1 ½x3x.125-inch wall and a 1-inch square lower framerail. The front crossmember comes from Mad Max Creations owned by Brent to drop the front 1 ½ inches. The rear is Z’d 4 inches, and 1932 Ford frame horns with spreader bar are used to encase the 1923 Ford gas tank. Up front uses a Magnum 5-inch tube axle and steering arms, a five-leaf spring, 1940 Ford split wishbones, and Pete & Jakes tube shocks. Stopping happens with ’39 Lincoln brakes, Wilson Welding hubs, and Buick finned drums. A ’60 Edsel gave up its 3:89:1 rear axle. Aldan LB coilovers and Speedway torsion bars with ’75 Ford brake drums put it on the ground. A new Vega 400 13.6:1 power steering box with reservoir by MMC provides the steering.
Go power was found in a 1985 Ford 302ci V-8 and overdrive transmission, and gears selected by a Lokar shifter. Exhaust manifolds are both left-hand Falcon sprint with owner-built exhaust. A beautiful aluminum and brass air cleaner is an owner-built item and The Brassworks built the 3 ½-inch copper and brass radiator.
Henry’s body now has a recessed firewall, wood-backed floor panels, tubbed rear wheelwells, and widened rear fenders by Kiwi Metal Fab. MMC then added the 1915 Center Door Ford Model “T” rear window. The revamped sunvisor has three vents to ease airflow against the tall car’s windshield. Final body and fender metal finish and alignment came from Kiwi Metal Fab in Vancouver, Washington. The beautiful paint of Raven Black was laid on by Mike “Early Times” Parsons, also of Vancouver, Washington.
Solid brass features made by the owner are hood hold-downs and formed hood plates, gas tank straps, solid brass bumper mounting brackets for the stock bumpers, modified brass-era Franklin door handles, copper headlight wire tubes, a steel spoon pedal assembly and hinge mirror brackets. The stock Model T Ford headlights are now filled with Halogen bulbs with the 1934-style taillights having LED innards with brass doors.
Dave’s interior is class all the way; upholstered in distressed Antique Whiskey & Aztec Black Buffalo leather in Jack Mayeaux’s studio in Tigard, Oregon. The exposed top of Ash and Mahogany and Jelutong back window garnish molding was accomplished by the owner, and the dome light was crafted from 1915 Ford cowl lamp parts. A modified 1936 Ford dash has Classic Instruments and Vintage Air installed in it. Up above is a homebuilt header panel filled with map lights and a storage pocket. The steering column is owner built and topped with a restored original 1920 16-inch Ford Model T steering wheel spider with a Fordite wheel ring to give the feeling of a factory special edition. (Editor’s note: Fordite is the slag left over in painting areas.) As it built up it had to be removed because it hampered production. The pieces were used to make the steering wheel ring.
Check out these way cool wheels that started as Rocket Fire as-cast 16×5. Russ Meeks, out of Portland, Oregon, machined the outers and then added a translucent ceramic finish with a gold tint. For a 1920s factory look, Marv Norton machined mounting rings to retrofit 1934-style Ford four-cylinder caps matching the design of the oval rear window. The wheels are wrapped with the R 500×16 Excelsior Stahl Sport Radials on the front and 700×16 on the rear.
It’s very refreshing to see Dave Rocha’s perception and creativity on a body style hardly seen since the ’70s as a basis for a hot rod project. With so many wannabes these days, it’s nice to see a fresh approach from the Ford Model T era, specifically one with this quality of build. It’s my guess that you haven’t seen the last of this one.
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