The Jack Mickelson Roadster

I don’t really know a damned thing about Jack’s roadster. In fact, I don’t think I would know the car at all if it weren’t for the gorgeous color picture published in “The Birth Of Hot Rodding” a number of years ago (seen above and again below). It’s just a typical dual purpose hot rod of the late 1940’s – used to pick up chicks during the week and time slips on the weekend.

A decade or so ago, I decided to try to research the car as best I could to see what I could find. It wasn’t much. Some way or another, Jack had a relationship with Earl Evans and the roadster you see here was the first car to run Evans heads. And in 1947, running those very heads under the Gophers Car Club banner, Jack piloted the car to 129.31 mph.

Shortly thereafter, Jack started a family and gave up chasing women and time slips. He sold the car to Don Francisco… There’s no telling what became of the car. You have to think it went places and did things in another guise, don’t ya? Don wasn’t the type of guy to let things sit or even run unchanged.

In any case, I also had a folder full of images I must have picked up somewhere. Enjoy: