The T is making a comeback. Pushed out of popularity for a while by Models As, Deuces, and '33-34s, Ford's earlier model is elbowing its way back into popularity among hot rodders and street rodders. The revival of interest, especially in roadsters, owes a lot to the return to traditional rodding in the last several years. There was a time when Ts were the most prevalent hot rods around, and any list of historical hot rods is going to include some of the most famous T roadsters from the early days.
Some of those T's are: Norm Grabowski's Kookie T, Tommy Ivo's 12-second Nailhead-powered '25 T-bucket, Blackie Gejeian's wild '27, Frank Mack's timeless '27 track-style roadster, and Ed Iskenderian's ahead-of-its-time '23, first built in 1939. Walk through any hot rod show today and it's pretty obvious that Isky's roadster set the standard almost 70 years ago.
The reason Ts were popular then is the reason they're popular now. In addition to an appearance that screams hot rod, the smaller size and generally cheaper price tag on Model T raw material makes them the perfect choice for anybody looking for a low-budget, entry level rod project. One guy who has helped keep it that way is Mickey Lauria, the owner of Total Performance. For 35 years, Mickey has been making a successful living selling aftermarket Model T packages and components to enthusiasts looking for a simple, economical hot rod. You'd think the man would be out of ideas by now, but guess what? When we saw him at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in August, he was debuting his newest Model T package, which he calls the King T.
The King T, as presented by Total Performance, looks like it rolled right out of the early days of the hobby, when a black Model T roadster was the prominent hot rod on the street.
We asked Mickey what inspired a new addition to his long-established line-up. "I'm a real hot rodder from the old school, and I wanted to get back to a low-dollar hot rod. We're known for putting a package together that any customer can build and I wanted to continue that," Lauria said. "Part of the inspiration came from the emergence of all these so-called rat rods, which they're really not; they're real hot rods in my opinion."
The King T is different than other T-bucket packages available from Total Performance. The track nose, satin finish (Harley-Davidson Black Denim), and Moon discs on the roadster prominent on TP's promotional material (and shown here) is an instant clue that Mickey's imagination is calling upon some styling elements from way back when. It's just a no-frills, minimal chrome, nothing-fancy hot rod-the kind everybody likes.
Even the King T name is intended to evoke a sense of nostalgia, based on the idea that the Model T was and is the "king" of hot rodding.
Original plans called for using the complete Total Performance '23 T chassis, but as the ideas evolved, Mickey decided to construct a completely redesigned, longer-wheelbase chassis for the King T. The jig-welded frame comes with all bracketry welded in place and all holes drilled. The front suspension uses Total Performance's on-the-shelf T-bucket components, including dropped axle, spindles, four-leaf spring, friction shocks, tie rod, and radius rods, as well as the complete steering system with the column and steering wheel. The rear four-bar suspension includes coilovers, Panhard bar, and TP's 8-inch Ford rearend housing. The brake pedal, pad, dual master cylinder, and pushrod, plus a T-bucket fuel tank, are also part of the package.