Beautiful '29 Model A with 250hp

Aaron Audio/Video clip:29 Model A with a Cosworth BDA 250hp

Folks give my old man he11 for building a hot rod out of a 55 T-bird. I explain that he did not. The man that started the project built a 55 T-bird out of three 55's. One of them was a hacked up drag car. The other two were complete junk. The rest was aftermarket parts. He basically made a 55 T-bird out of a scrap pile. A $15K scrap pile, but a scrap pile nonetheless.

I disagree with the fella that took a sanitary 67 Chevelle w/20K in showroom stock condition and built a hot rod. He destroyed something. This fella here and my old man did not. But on the other hand, it was his Chevelle...

Aaron

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Last summer, I bought eight Model As that were sitting in a woods and swamp. Many had trees growing through them. The guy that owned them is 92 years old. He told me he used to run a tractor and auto repair shop. Year's back many customers when short on money would pay their bills with Model Ts or As. He told me he dug several large holes in his property and buried many - complete with original sheet metal - most around the WWII era. I'm still wondering if any would be salvageable if dug up. I bought all the "above-ground" As for $50 each and it was a lot of work to retrieve them. I had to cut several large white pine trees and drag cutting torches down through the mud. All I wanted was the transmissions (many tractors use them OEM), but it was an "all or nothing" deal - he wanted them removed.

We're in a rural area and I suspect it's wasn't worth trucking the scrap long distance. Fuel was scarce too - and how much fuel would of been used to truck heavy scrap 50 - 100 miles away?
Even now, if I sell scrap within a 50 mile radius, it only brings half what does 100 miles away.

The Model As and Ts were very popular for making home-made farm equipment. This guy made many rigs he calls "buck rakes" from the As. He also made big winches from TT rears - I've got one here. He told me the sheet-metal was basically useless and he'd bury it to get it out of his way.

There are still many old farms around here have huge piles of old steel dating back to the 1930s, although they are disappearing due to scrap-prices being high now - and development moving in.