Model T Gallery - Our Favorite Hot Rods and Jalopies

As the story goes, the first Model T came clattering out of the Piquette Ave. Ford plant somewhere around October 1st, 1908. The humble car for the working man literally put America on wheels and from 1908 through 1927, over 15 million Model T's were produced. So when our speed-hungry forefathers decided it was time to invent the American hot rod, there were plenty of Model T's laying around just begging for some speed parts and a life of action and adventure. The rest is history.

In celebration of that history and of Model T Day, here are a few T's that are near and dear to us.

In the early 60's, Larry Kruse was a young guy working as a firefighter in our hometown of Lincoln, NE. He picked up an early Speedway Motors fiberglass body and got to work building a chassis for his T-bucket. He dropped in a '56 265 Chevy topped with a nasty Offenhauser 6x2 intake purchased at Speedway Motors. Around this time, he also took a job at Speedway Motors to supplement his income and doubtless bolster his speed parts budget.

The car's distinctive look comes partly from the mean and nasty combo of spindle mount fronts and huge mags wrapped in slicks in the rear. But how about those fenders? Larry made them from scratch, creating a one of a kind T-bucket that looks just as cool now as it did 60 years ago.

Another full-fendered T-bucket? You bet. Taking some styling cues from Larry's Kruse's car, this one was put together by the "Bucket Beauties," an all-female crew of builders from the Speedway Motors marketing team. A few of them had never built a car before, and a couple really knew their stuff. Their forces combined to equal a unique purple hot rod that looks like it rolled right out of the 60's.

The car is based on a Speedway Motors T kit, topped off with our T-bucket fender kit for a distinctive look. The purple paint is actually latter-day Mopar Plum Crazy, set off with some stripes from local Roger Nunn and a white T-bucket upholstery kit. The BluePrint 383 provides more than enough grunt to spin the big slicks wrapped around the kidney-bean wheels.

Ford made over 15 million Model T's. The first 12,000 or so were made at the old Piquette Ave. plant and were assembled more or less the old fashioned way. When Ford moved to Highland Park in 1910, things really got cooking. Stop us if you've heard this one before. Ford implemented the first automotive assembly line in 1913. Model T production times were cut dramatically, allowing millions of them to roll out the door and into America's hearts.

This is the 10 millionth Model T, produced on June 4th, 1924 and Highland Park. It spent most of that year touring the country on a promotional tour celebrating Ford's achievement, travelling from New York to San Francisco on the Lincoln Highway.

This car needs no introduction. Before Ed Iskenderian became "The Camfather," he was a hot rod crazy kid trying to figure out how to go fast with his friends. But Ed would be quick to remind you that they didn't even call them "hot rods" when he built this car in the 1930's, the term hadn't even been invented yet.

Starting with a project that pal John Athan had tired of breaking, Ed decided to try out one of the new flathead V8's. He topped it with some extremely rare Maxi heads and hit the streets and the dry lakes. The combo worked and Ed went 120 at El Mirage in 1942. As time went on, the car was driven less and less as Ed built Iskenderian Racing Cams, but he always kept the car in it's original condition. As such, it provides a rare window into the early American hot rod, and we never get tired of looking at it.

All of the hot-rodded T's on this list are roadsters. Thank Norm Grabowski and Tommy Ivo for setting the precedent that buckets are best. But Ryan saw magic in this ratty, bullet-hole riddled sedan body when he spotted it languishing in a field. Starting with what was left of that body and a Model A frame, Ryan built what has to be one of the baddest T sedans on the planet.

It takes a lot to make a T sedan look good, and the formula her involved a 9-inch chop to the top and the sneaky addition of some height to the cowl. He built the flathead with a little help from his Grandpa Dale, and it's lumpy. Ryan is a local guy, and we always love seeing this thing come loping into Cars and Coffee, but he's not afraid to hit the road. This car has been all over, including a couple trips to Bonneville.

It's not often that you get to see an unrestored lakes racer that was featured in Hot Rod Magazine (in it's third year of publication) and treated to it's own Rex Burnett cutaway. This is Art Gerrick's hot rod, and boy is it cool.

It's based on a '24 Olds frame with a '27 T body narrowed a wind-cheating 10 inches. And that engine is a thing of beauty. The '24 T block was bored and fitted with a B crank, Winfield cam, and an 8-plug Rajo head sparked by a Pierce Arrow ignition. A big part of this car's nasty look comes from that windshield, which Gerrick made by heating plexiglass with a torch and shaping it over a form. This car has never been restored, and at a glance it may appear a little battle scarred, but we love it just the way it is.

This it what it looked like to tour the country with a race car in 1920's America. The Riverside Roadster in an important car on its own, but paired with its Frontenac-headed hauler, it's a priceless glimpse into the past.