The Leonard Onckelet ’23 T Roadster

Its September of 2009, and I walking around an outdoor hot rod gathering somewhere near Kansas City, when a true hot rod survivor appears in the crowd. This humble, period-built Model T had a sign (ostensibly created by the original owner) inside the door stating :

Hand Maid (sic) by: Leonard E. Onckelet
1923 Ford Model T Roadster. Hand Built in 1952 thru 1957
Hood, trunk & floor pans made from World War II aircraft aluminum from Kaiser Corp.
1933 Ford grill (sic). 1942 Ford Flathead manifold.
Homemade headers: 6 into two
1932 Ford truck rear end ‘Columbian’ 2 speed vacum (sic) shift
2 speedometers: One is an aircraft with pitot tube
Tractor seats with cut for the backs
Number One of One Only!

Lord only knows why I waited over 15 years to share about this car, but here we are. First, do an KC area folks recognize the car? It looked like Leonard still owned it back in ’09, as the little T felt very much like a one-owner homebuilt hot rod that was lovingly kept on the road with minor updates along the way (radial tires, newer replacement gauges, extra lights, etc.).

A rudimentary internet search on Leonard and his ‘T’ turned up nothing, and I would really love to see some pictures of this car from the 50s…