Notes on the Tidy T

Mr. Sully, c. 1958

Of all the possible platforms to hot rod, Model Ts are some of the hardest to get right. For the past several years, I’ve been conflicted about how I’d build mine if I ever did get my hands on one. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how you see it, that day is still far down the road. But for now, I have been studying different Ts, taking notes and hopefully saving some of that information in my back pocket for later. In the meantime, let’s take a look at a car that may look familiar.

Back in 1957, Gordon Sully of Portland, Oregon, took on his personal T project with nary a doubt in his mind. Starting with a solid pair of Deuce rails, he set out to build a radical hot rod to terrorize the dragstrip and possibly make a few quick runs around town. Up front, he sourced a tube axle from a 1936 Dodge, while a later Ford axle was used in the rear. Power came from a 296ci Mercury flathead, which was treated to some high performance components including Forgedtrue pistons, a Potvin 400 cam, Johnson lifters and an Evans three-carb manifold with a trio of thirsty Strombergs. Other highlights were a Wico V magneto and a set of Evans 10:1 heads. With the exhaust gasses routed through a chromed set of lake pipes, there’s no question that Sully had a hot setup.

I’ll wager that it wasn’t the flathead that drew onlookers to the Pine Ridge Green coupe—it was the chop. With a few moves of the hacksaw, Sully sliced a decisive 10 inches from the T’s roof and then channeled it over the rails another 10 for good measure. Now that the car’s profile was more than a foot closer to the terra firma, he fabricated a scooped hood to close the gap between the cowl and shortened ’34 Ford grille shell. Whitewalls all around—and slicks out back—got the car rolling, while Moon discs added the final bit of streamlining to the heavily hammered coupe.

How’d these radical rearrangements leave the interior looking? Cramped, I’d say. Although the car received a two-page feature in the May 1958 issue of Hot Rod Magazine, there isn’t a whole lot more information. Was the car finished at this point despite its lack of detailed interior to match? What did the “A�? on the nerf bar represent? Did Sully ever mount plates and taillights to drive it on the street? What the article did say is that the car was a driving force at the drags, capable of reaching 113mph in the quarter mile.

Now that you have the details, does anything seem familiar? I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between this T and Ralph Umhoefer’s New Mexico-based roadster from the “Simplici-T�? article earlier this week. They’re both nicely detailed channeled Model T hot rods powered by three carb flatheads and rolling on wide whites with Moon discs. The coupe has a longer wheelbase and a slightly more svelte silhouette (see full hood, et al.), but they make a good looking pair.

Comparing and contrasting is an important exercise used in the learning process. After taking notes on both of these Ts, which one would I choose? That all depends on what day you ask me.

—Joey Ukrop

Photos by Peter Sukalac HRM May 1958