The car is on a boxed, drilled, and Zd Model T frame. My friend Gary Byrd was a European car enthusiast and restorer, and we made a deal on an early Lancia V4 engine and transmission that I connected to a Model A diff with an 3.54 R&P and open drive line conversion. Gary was a fantastic fabricator and vintage car racer (he participated in 31 of the first 33 Monterey Historics) and was instrumental in helping with the build. The Lancia engine and trans are out now and a hopped up Model A engine and trans are currently in the car. The suspension is Model A with split wishbones and a tapered leaf Model T rear spring. The radiator is from an early 20’s Lancia Lambda and that shape defined the basic layout of the body. The lines of the boattail body were laid out with 5/8” square steel tube. Once I had the shape I wanted I simply formed aluminum sheet over the steel framework. Backyard paint job. Bought an industrial sewing machine and did the interior. It took three years, and I’d guess somewhere between 1000 and 1500 hours. The car performs well and can cruise on the freeway at 65mph. In 2008 I drove it from LA to Monterey and back for the Historics at Laguna Seca. Quite a drive! I remember how excited I was to begin that trip, and how relieved I was to get out of the damn thing in Monterey. I stopped every 100 miles or so to stretch and gas up, decided to take Hwy 1 from San Luis Obispo to Monterey, and was on the road for nearly 8 hours. John
I'm chopping my T , and wanna run the top channel, not open glass... I was gonna leave the bottom and mod the post... but is that a buy able piece.. or did you mod the postd... I'm 71 and got way more money than time and don't wanna spend a day or to mod.n the post's if I can just buy them
Well, this ain't a roadster, and far from being best gow job around. But if i have any clue what cow jobs are, this should fit right in. Model T touring front half, Model A frame, trans and axles, model B engine.
Saw this '27 on CL the other day. Priced a little high but according to the seller it's last dirt track race was in Idaho in 1937. Been stashed away since. Chevy two port head and extras are included. Wish I had the room.
A glimmer of progress! My daughter now seven was so excited and proud to push it out on tires for the first time!
'Modified Model T Ford Special' - State Library of Queensland (I posted this a little while ago in the 'Specials' thread.)
'Group of mates driving in a Model T Ford' - from left: Joe Hooper, Henry Mallett (owner), V. Ross, B.H. Campbell and Naher Buttress; State Library of Queensland
Probably three Aussies: 'Two soldiers standing in desert (possibly Egypt) another man wearing a Pith helmet sitting in car' - State Library of Victoria; soldier crouching on the right appears to be boiling a kettle or 'billy' to make tea.
I think this is a photo of Number 1, Light Car Patrol of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. taken on the road to
Kharga Oasis , Western Desert, Egypt in 1916. The officer in long trousers and soft hat is 2nd Leut. Alfred Lindsay from New Zealand. Sorry about half message - sending this from my phone and I have fingers like a pig’s tits….
@Royalshifter How's the 34 coming along? https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rodders-journal-85-tooting-my-own-horn.1274514/
Good @RodStRace slow but progressing it gets exhaust this month. Yesterday I did all the front sheet metal fitting and hopefully paint in the spring. Thanks for asking.
While I have full faith in your ability to jump from project to project and would love to see your take on a gow job, that car still haunts my thoughts.
Me too. I have my hands full with another project but if I could find a driver 24-27 T roadster or a 28-29 roadster pickup I might bring it home. The A of course isn't a gow, but I like 'em. I should have looked into 'SUDS" at the top of this page.
Great to hear, sad the thread isn't being updated. I have a 25 Aussie roadster waiting it's turn, step 1 will probably be fitting to my A rpu chassis. Eventually I have plans for a proper Gow Job,
Getting ready for paint, I can understand not being thread worthy for some. I am more surprised by a car that not only made a magazine, but TRJ and ON THE COVER needing more fitting before paint. Like my dad often quoted; Perfection is the infinite capacity to take pains.
Gow job, as I have researched, refers to a home-built car or home modified car, prior to the hot rod era. That isn't my opinion but that of Hagerty, Hot Rod, Hemmings, etc. In essence it was stripping a car to it's essentials, with an emphasis on speed and performance and aggressive stance and appearance. I heard from a friend that the term "gow" possibly referred to narcotics, more directly opium? I have always said cars were my drug of choice but perhaps there is more to the saying than I realize. I hear the term has roots in California in the inter-war period. Are you saying gow was a person or referring to a person?
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