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1924 Model T Modified - More than a sum of it's parts. Built to go trialling, auto testing and just a hint of draggin'. 

Early 1970's, as an oddball child of eight years or so, a chance copy of Custom car came my way. A four page spread all about the Tin Lizzie. Something about look of the early track roadsters just clicked. Hungry kid eyes soaking up the early culture of tall skinny tyres, early customs and the folklore of Henry's flathead water boiler. Years of tinkering began. Ford field cars, various; and a brace of Austin pickups before getting my driving licence, followed by a dozen scooters and a rather unnecessary amount of modified and tuned Minis which were hurled at the scenery to see what stuck. Mud mainly. 

And Hemsby. Well, Caister, Yarmouth and the Isle of Wight, followed by Hemsby. Where suddenly a contingent of nostalgic hot rods arrived. Deals struck, and I've bought a 21 stud, BB steering box and a set of wires. Still have them sitting on the shelf unused! Before I know it I'm picking up a pile of axles from a fat fella in many degrees of frost. In the dark. In an open top pickup...Some more horse trading and I've gathered the parts to solve that all time hankering to build the 24T I'd been sketching since a nipper. 

The build began late 1980's on the pitch pine floor in the living room of my old house. Everything had to fit through the kitchen door and turn sharp right. Mocked up, it came apart when I moved, and didn't go back together until I'd built a garage. For five wilderness years I played every spare moment in a bluegrass band and didn't touch it. Pushed into action by Mark, a long time motoring friend, tack welds became seams, G clamps became brackets, problems became solutions. Finally, one frozen winter, a vehicle shaped object was rolled outside. Squint. Looking good. After cranking the engine for two days with sticking valves, I left it a week,  and it fired up straight away. Never touched the engine again till recently when it came out to be replaced by something newer and bigger...

Details. Bugger those details take some time. Stripped again for painting and fitting lines, rebuilding axles, brakes and on and on. Mark pushing again. "Just put the body on and get it on the road. Try it. You may hate it".  I remember the first drive down the road. Bloody hell it handles! I love this car. Steering and controls are positive and light; hunkered down and sitting up high makes even crossing the country at speed in driving rain on the way to the drags almost fun! Scratch that. Real fun. I've used it for drag racing, twisty sprints, auto-testing and production car trialling (although it's a bit large when the canes are set for Dellows). Just having a ball, throwing it at the scenery to see what sticks. Still mud it seems.

Couldn't have done it without Nervous Bob, purveyor of all things flathead and Man Who Goes Inside Back Axles. And Mark, fellow wheel nut, who came round every Tuesday night for months to help and convinced me to "put it on the road for the winter, then take it apart and finish it for the summer...". It's STILL in that shakedown state all these years on! 

Chassis:  Ford Model A frame, narrowed and fitted with a tube front crossmember and a large, fabricated central 'X' member. 

Axles:  1939 Ford front axle and brakes, spring in front wishbone split just enough to allow setback of the gearbox, NOT out to the frame edge (softer springing, better turning circle, more articulation, less terminal understeer...) cheap Mini dampers. 1939 Ford rear axle, half casings reversed, Model T spring in front. Shortened torque tube, 3.54 final drive, more cheap Mini dampers. 

Steering:   Series 2 landrover steering box spliced to prewar Ford column. Topped with a string wound Model BB truck steering wheel. 

Wheels:  Stock 1939 16 x 4"  wide five rims. 7.50 x 16 Mud n' Snows rear, 6.00 x 16 "water bowser" tyres up front. 

Engine: Originally built with a 1937 flathead, thrashed till the head gaskets cried "woah!" - now replaced with a slightly more powerful 24 stud of French extraction.  Owner built Megajolt programmable ignition system. Cheaper than a Mallory...Stock manifolds feeding through a pair of Fordson Dexta silencers 

Gearbox:  939 Mercury closed drive 3-speed gearbox. 

Body:  1924 2-seater Model T Roadster body, 1927 Model T nickel shell over a Fiat tractor radiator, Ford ET6 truck petrol tank and cycle wings cut down from scrap T rear wings.  Quarter of a tea cup of Farmsheen black, thinned and applied with an old pan scourer. Buffed occasionally with a smidgen of diesel.  

Norm Grabowski and Chuck Vranas hear first-hand the intricate details of Megajolt ignition systems…