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2010/07/05 28 Speedster
Trivia Question (answer below)
For what model years did Ford produce the ‘Model A’?
Trivia Answer
The first model A Ford was produced
for model years 1903 and 1904. Ford would reuse the A designation from
1927 to 1931.
Modified '28 Ford Model A morphs into Speedster
Read
Dean's fascinating story of how his Speedster came to be!
It was a fun-filled weekend for The FIN MANtm and Pablo as we set up our Take A Kid To A Car Show booth last weekend in Washington, Missouri at the Kustom Summer Nationals... a first-time car show with special attractions.
Producer Frank Luigi promised we’d see some really unique vehicles at the show and so we did. One such specimen was a cherry-red, 1928 Ford Model A Boattail Speedster owned by partners-in-’grime’ Dean Bittick and Palmer Lawson.
Was it coincidence or fate that these two strangers, who lived only five miles apart, should meet and discover that they had a similar affinity for Model A Fords?
Dean was the one who brought this unique, one-off Model A speedster to the Kustom Summer Nationals show in Washington. I must point out that this car was NOT a production Ford that you might have driven off the floor of Sunset Ford back in ‘the day’. Long story short, Dean had a Model A motor that needed rebuilding and someone gave him Palmer’s number. When he went to Palmer’s place, (sounds like a great name for a restaurant doesn’t it?) he saw a 1928 engine and drive train just sitting there with no car to put it in.
Palmer said he didn’t know what to do with it and Dean replied that he had always wanted to build a Speedster. As Dean reports, "He grinned at me and said, "Then we’ll build a Speedster!" And so a friendship was forged which would lead to the culmination of the beautiful Speedster you see above.
That’s Dean in the driver’s seat as he headed off with Pablo as passenger for a tour of the fairgrounds. (Hey Dean... what about me?!? I guess he figured if it didn’t have fins, I wouldn’t be interested.)
Read Dean's fascinating story of how this car came to be!
Modifications to the original car included a Diamond A block, 12 volt, 60 amp alternator; 6-blade fan; balanced crankshaft with counterweights; balanced and lightened flywheel, V-8 pressure plate; high speed ring gear and pinions (3.54:1); forged rods with inserts; high compression head (5.9:1); halogen headlights; turn signals; oil filter; cast iron brake drums; modern shocks and a shortened pitman arm.
The speedster features an incredible airbrushed illustration of Henry Ford on the dashboard, which is actually the back panel of the gas tank! The image is so good, I thought it was a photograph!
As you might expect, this car has received numerous awards and appeared at events across the midwest including the photo shown above which was taken at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
Read
Dean's fascinating story of how his Speedster came to be!It was a fun-filled weekend for The FIN MANtm and Pablo as we set up our Take A Kid To A Car Show booth last weekend in Washington, Missouri at the Kustom Summer Nationals... a first-time car show with special attractions.
Producer Frank Luigi promised we’d see some really unique vehicles at the show and so we did. One such specimen was a cherry-red, 1928 Ford Model A Boattail Speedster owned by partners-in-’grime’ Dean Bittick and Palmer Lawson.
Was it coincidence or fate that these two strangers, who lived only five miles apart, should meet and discover that they had a similar affinity for Model A Fords?
Dean was the one who brought this unique, one-off Model A speedster to the Kustom Summer Nationals show in Washington. I must point out that this car was NOT a production Ford that you might have driven off the floor of Sunset Ford back in ‘the day’. Long story short, Dean had a Model A motor that needed rebuilding and someone gave him Palmer’s number. When he went to Palmer’s place, (sounds like a great name for a restaurant doesn’t it?) he saw a 1928 engine and drive train just sitting there with no car to put it in.
Palmer said he didn’t know what to do with it and Dean replied that he had always wanted to build a Speedster. As Dean reports, "He grinned at me and said, "Then we’ll build a Speedster!" And so a friendship was forged which would lead to the culmination of the beautiful Speedster you see above.
That’s Dean in the driver’s seat as he headed off with Pablo as passenger for a tour of the fairgrounds. (Hey Dean... what about me?!? I guess he figured if it didn’t have fins, I wouldn’t be interested.)
Read Dean's fascinating story of how this car came to be!
Modifications to the original car included a Diamond A block, 12 volt, 60 amp alternator; 6-blade fan; balanced crankshaft with counterweights; balanced and lightened flywheel, V-8 pressure plate; high speed ring gear and pinions (3.54:1); forged rods with inserts; high compression head (5.9:1); halogen headlights; turn signals; oil filter; cast iron brake drums; modern shocks and a shortened pitman arm.
The speedster features an incredible airbrushed illustration of Henry Ford on the dashboard, which is actually the back panel of the gas tank! The image is so good, I thought it was a photograph!
As you might expect, this car has received numerous awards and appeared at events across the midwest including the photo shown above which was taken at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
Content copyright . Bruce Kunz. All rights reserved.
