Hot Rods 27 Roadster with a 35 Grille

A picture of this car taken at a car show in New York awhile back popped up in a recent(?) thread, and for the life of me I can't remember which thread it was. (I even tried a reverse image search using the pic I saved to my computer, to no avail) Anyway, in the thread, some folks were curious as to the origins/whereabouts of this car. I found the attached article last night while culling the car magazine collection in the garage. It's from the August 1996 issue of Street Rodder and details the roadster's construction. If anyone knows what happened to this car, or can remember in what thread this picture originated, feel free to add info or link this post to the proper thread.

 

There is some discussion of this car on pg. 22 of the "Tired of homogenized hot rods" thread.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tired-of-homogenized-hotrods.1002926/page-22

 

All I can say is Yuck.

 

I used to live in Burlington and I've never seen this car. Wonder where it went.?

 

Great looking car, wouldn't have thought that would work so well but it really does, made better by reading that rundown of the parts list, this one got it right even where you can't see it.

 

Thanks, Sancho. I linked this up to that thread.
I didn't realize until now some of the differences between the car show pic and the magazine article. Notably the Steering set-up.

 

????? Really ?????

 

Yes really. I don't think I have ever seen as ugly a grille on a T roadster. And those headlights along with it look like shit.
The 35 grille is the first in the line of fat fendered cars and has no place on an early car like the T.

 

Not what I was expecting, it actually works pretty good.

 

And the different headlights....

 

I love the 35 grille on that car, just my opinion.

 

It might be 2 different cars. Rear suspension different as well

 

I'm firmly in the"this looks awesome" camp. What doesn't quite work for me is the hood profile (might look better without the hood) But it's unique, cool and authentic-looking.
Despite the differences, I think it's the same car. One of the tipoffs is both cars have exactly the same stickers on the frame rails in the same locations.

 

The 35 grille is great on this car, and others. Some place out there is a widely known image of a T with the same treatment but I can't find the image right now. I've also seen another T track roadster with one, a more modern street rod deal. If they re-popped them, or I could find an inexpensive original piece... Gary

Here is the old image...

 

I think in the original thread there was a picture with no hood and it didn't look as good. I think it looks awesome!

 

Larry, Larry, Larry..
I'm almost ashamed you were named after me...
The '35 grille is one of the neatest grilles designed IMO...(after the 32,33,34 grilles)...It looks killer on that T.
I have to agree with you about the E&J headlights, they don't look good on anything...my .02 cents

 

And ill-proportioned radial tires don't belong on a fender less RPU but...

 

I think it looks great! A neat example of NOT doing the same ol', same ol', while still staying traditional.

 

Thanks Stingbean you've helped unravel another connect the dots.... I will read through this when I have a moment.

 

i like it. never thought a 35 grille would look good on a 26/27 roadster.

 

Well Larry, I have to say that I like the 36 grille better but I still don't want one on a T.
I guess it's a matter of taste and or opinion.
We are all different in that.
You are right, the E&Js look lousy on anything.

That again is taste and opinion.
I have another set of wheels and may in the future go with a more traditional looking setup like the Coker bias look radials in 560R -15 and 820R-15.

While they will look more traditional in appearance and size they will still be radials for the ride and handling.

I presently really like the big and little look of the wheels and tires I have on my RPU.
I'm in the process of fitting some nice cycle fenders that will look good and be able to be run, most of the time they will "fall off " however.

 

Hmm..... it looks cool.... kinda ...in the pic. I'd like to see it in person. But to be honest, when I read the title of this thread, I opened it expecting to read WWIII coverage on the car. Sometimes, pics aren't worth a thousand words.

 

Couldn't agree with you more, Larry!

Oh, how I wish that Edsel and Bob Gregorie had used the '35 grille on Edsel's Model 40 Speedster!!!

 

Same car, in the text it was mentioned that the rear end was changed, to go into a later project ('23 Track car)
In the color shot, a '40 cross steering may have been used, as the builder was SO era correct, right down to 6 volt electrics! (now, that's commitment!)
Meaning that it's doubtful that cross steering was a Vega box!

The '35 grille flows so nice to the '27 body I'm surprised somebody didn't like it.
(well, not surprised, really...there HAS to be some contraire)
But, in a perfect world the Earnest & Julio headlamps wouldn't be on this car, and it would sit atop '32 rails...(the stickers could stay, if you could get 'em off. Try white vinegar)

 

Yeah I'm from Hamilton, and have never seen this car either....

You've never seen as ugly a grille on a T roadster????? man....I could find a dozen pics of rat rod T roadsters with tractor grilles that would make this one look like the Dick Flint T roadster by comparison

 

Good point

 

I like the car, even better with the E&J headlights. Not many cars that look better with those headlights, but this seems like one of them.

The grille is so different that it makes you wonder a bit if you are going to like it. And then you do.

Only thing I can think that might improve the car is a 32 frame, but it's not really necessary (obviously).

 

View attachment 3219789 I Googled the original owner's name to see if I could find out any more info on the car, and this is about all I found. This Larry Wendt had a 1953 Ford truck at a car show back in 2014 in Amherstburg, Ontario. Am I crazy or does he seem to be possibly sporting the same sideburns as the guy in the lawn chair in Stogy's original car show photo?
http://www.amherstburgsgonecarcrazyshow.com/media-29-07-2014.htm

 

Great little roadster! When that thing was starting to show up in magazines in the 90s (I can think of more than that SRM issue) it really stood out for its vintage track appearance and trad style. There was a lot of ugly shit built back then and this is NOT one of those. Typical of that same SRM issue was pastel with heartbeat graphics or the new at the time large billet rollers. This car was an actual hot rod. I have dug that car ever since and knew what this thread was when I saw the title.