Another Day, Another T

The roadster conversation continues, this time with a nicely proportioned Model T from Canada’s westernmost province. Starting with nothing more than a few channel rails, Gary Cooper decided to build a lightweight streetster for show and go in his Vancouver, British Columbia, garage.

Gary stayed true to a simple formula that would become standard procedure in the not-so-distant future. He scratchbuilt a Z’d, 104-inch frame with an early Ford axle up front, while a set of Hillman coilovers suspended an Oldsmobile axle in the rear. For the motor, he went with a 324 cubic inch Olds backed by a ’37 LaSalle trans. Much like last week’s subject, Gary ran a single carb with an aftermarket air cleaner. But rather than simply bolting dumps to stock manifolds, he built a set of flowing lakes pipes with caps and full mufflers. They’re one of the car’s finest features.

The real attention grabber here, however, was the blue roadster’s homebuilt turtle deck. When viewed in profile, it worked harmoniously with the body, which was based on a Model T touring. The deck helped fill the void behind the driver while also creating a space for the battery and gas tank. That being said, it does look a little heavy when viewed from the rear; maybe a single-bar nerf would help break up the flat sheetmetal?

There’s no denying Gary Cooper’s Model T is a genuine product of the early-’60s. It’s detailed to the hilt and has all the right touches from the chrome radiator shell to the two-spoke wheel of marine origin. Note the lack of lanterns, wide tires and just about everyting else that became mainstays of Model T hot rods less than a decade later. The car’s not perfect, but it has a simple clever look to it—and that’s why it piqued my interest more than half a century after it was built.

—Joey Ukrop

Photos by Peter Sukalac, Hot Rod Magazine, July 1963