On a rainy day in the winter of 1956, 16-year-old Jim Jordan rode his bicycle to the local dump-a ride that had been a ritual ever since Jim learned that anything in the dump could be had for a dime. The weekly treasure hunt had yielded many useable parts, some of which ended up on his T roadster project. On this particular day, a '32 Ford grille shell came home with Jim, strapped across the handlebars. By the time he arrived home, he'd decided not to use it on the T, but to stash it away for a future project. He could not have known it at the time, but Jim had just made a pivotal decision: He was now officially a collector. In the decades ahead, an impressive collection of vintage tin would flow through his hands like rusty water. And every piece of it would get put to good use.
The hot rod hook was set deep in Jim Jordan (JJ to his friends). Over the years, many rods were built, driven, and sold to finance consequent projects, mostly traditional early Fords, all of which were homebuilt and low-buck. He spent more than 30 years doing vintage body restoration to support his family and his habit, then went to work selling parts for Bob Drake Reproductions, right in his hometown of Grants Pass, Oregon. After 16 years at the parts counter, he finally retired and is just now getting reacquainted with the barn full of parts behind his house.
Some say his latest project may just be a backlash to all those years of working in the aftermarket, but Jim sees it differently. "I looked at all of these parts, many of which I've had since childhood, and thought back to when I first got them," he says. "Some were traded for; the rest were either free, or bought for next to nothing-just how a young person would've acquired parts for a project back in, say, 1948 or so. Once that concept got in my head, I couldn't shake it and, well, here's the result."
The result of Jim's work is this traditional '29 roadster on Deuce 'rails. It has an honesty about it that can't be denied. It feels as friendly as an old hound dog and is just as loyal. Not only is it very comfortable to drive (and ride in), but it always starts right up, and every component performs on command without drama. And, best of all, there's not a part on this car newer than 1948 except for the oil and gasoline.
The newest piece on the A-V8 is the engine, a '48 Ford 59AB that Jim bought in 1965 for $20. That was a lot of money for a Flathead at that time, but get this: It was being sold by a guy who was closing down his one-man sawmill in Grants Pass that had used the trusty AB motor to power his car since the motor was new. The mill owner had been very strict about keeping to a tight maintenance schedule on the engine and guaranteed Jim it was good. Jim took it home and tore it down, and sure enough, it was perfect, with all specs checking out to stock or better.
This is the third car Jim has used the engine in, and believe us, he's not afraid to drive his cars! Mostly stock internally, the engine does sport an Offenhauser 2x2 intake (which Jim got for free) fitted with twin Holley 94s. Exhaust is expelled by an ancient pair of no-name headers (free, of course), with the remainder of the exhaust system gas welded out of scraps from several old Fords in Jim's collection. The roadster even uses the six-volt, positive-ground electrical system, strung together with wiring from an old Jaguar for a taste of sports car exotica (at least it sure would've seemed exotic in 1948 America). Even the plugs and points are pre-'48-a combination of N.O.S. parts and used components that get alternated to help make the supply last longer. The remainder of the drivetrain is just more tradition: a '39 Ford trans and a '40 Ford rearend with a shortened torque tube (Jim has 10 bucks invested here).
Tradition continues throughout the chassis. The '32 frame (yeah, that's right, free again) is stock, except for the Model A front crossmember and the bobbed rear framehorns. Suspension is stock '32 Ford in front, and stock Model A in back (more freebies). Shocks all around are early Ford Houdaille friction jobs, while the steering is all '40 Ford. Wheels and tires up front are the old standby Kelsey Hayes bent spokes on 5.00x16 Firestones (believe it or not, even the tires were free!), while 7.50x16 Firestones cling to Kelsey Hayes adjustable wires out back, all stopped by the venerable '40 Ford juice brake conversion.
The '29 roadster body (uh huh, it was given to him, but it took a ton of work. In fact, no two body panels are from the same car) is stock except for the chopped windshield (chopped in the center of the uprights, by the way, instead of the modern style of making shorter miters), and the floor was trimmed for clearance at the rear kickups. The fuel tank is the stock Model A unit, mounted in the cowl. The stock seat was recovered in old leather from the same Jaguar that donated the wiring and fitted to the A-bone seat by Gregs Upholstery in Grants Pass. Steering wheel and column are '40 Ford and the gauges are stock-fuel level and amp meter.
All of these components have become the traditional standard for good reason: They were cheap, since they were built by the thousands, and they work perfectly together, both mechanically and visually. As the supply has dried up over the years, the aftermarket has stepped in to fill the void with quality reproductions, and thank goodness for that. But to experience a car like JJ's roadster, using original parts from the spark plugs to the exhaust, is a real eye opener in this day and age. It looks, sounds, smells, and feels like the real thing because, well, it is-no matter what year it was assembled.
Riding in it is a great reminder of just how well the traditional combo works if all components are in good working order. And, like all of Jim's hot rods, this one gets driven often and hard. No matter the weather, the trusty roadster was Jim's commuter during his last year at Bob Drake's and adorned the employee parking lot every day. The little A-bomb is also spotted daily at the grocery store, post office, etc.
OK, in hindsight, Jim Jordan was wise to accept the obsolete parts that others abandoned in their quest to "upgrade" their rods. And you could say there's a certain amount of luck involved in being in the right place at the right time to procure those parts too. Jim wasn't conscious of wisdom or luck at the time; he just preferred the original parts-always has. Now, here's the bottom line: When Jim added up the amount spent on parts he needed to complete this car, the total came to just barely more than $300. That was for N.O.S. spark plugs, radiator hoses, brake hoses, and the like. When he built this hot rod as it might have been done in 1948 by a low-income, entry-level rodder fresh home from the war, JJ showed us all that it can still be done today, more than 50 years later. Jim also mentioned that this car certainly would never have been featured in a magazine back then and would have remained purely "underground." Probably so. So, to JJ and his amazing way-back machine, and all of the people who built similar hot rods that were driven in obscurity, we say: It's about time.