Rod & Custom Feature Car
Owner contact info: dropaxle@yahoo.com
Jordan Graham
Solvang, California
1928 Ford Roadster
Chassis
An original '32 frame, or rather now just the boxed 'rails, sits under that roadster body, employing a Model A front crossmember with 2 inches removed from its height, and a 4-inch swept kick-up in the rear where you'll find a Model A rear crossmember. A '40 Ford X-member and pedal make up the center of the chassis, all work handled by Jordan, who also dropped the '32 "heavy" axle used up front by 2 inches. Original '40 spindles and brakes and a stock Model A spring complete the frontend, with shocks still to come! A heated and 2-inch dropped Model A rear spring supports a '41 Mercury rearend; both front and rear springs were wrapped in army electrical tape, a trick suggested by the late Yankie Breck.
Drivetrain
Working forward from that Merc rearend, Jordan shortened an original '32 torque tube while his dad Bill rebuilt a '32 transmission and coupled it with a '36 shifter. This connects through a stock flywheel to a '49 Mercury Flathead V-8 that came into Jordan's possession as an old hopped-up motor of unknown origin. He reports the compression is "crappy," though it contains an Isky cam and uses Offenhauser heads and intake. The twin carbs are Barry Grant Demon 98s, while the only other concession to modernity is the Mallory ignition. 1936 driveshafts cut in half form the basis of the headers, with no mufflers.
Wheels & Tires
Some 16x4-inch '40 Ford steelies support each corner of the roadster, a rubber rake provided by choosing 7.50-16 Silvertowns in the rear and 6.00-16 BFGoodrich hoops up front, bias-plies all around naturally, and with wide whitewalls. Coupled with the black painted wheels, the color scheme blends with the rest of the car.
Body & Paint
The body was truly trashed when it was given to Jordan, requiring patch panels all the way round. The subrails were gone and the rust extended 6 inches up the body throughout. After tackling the repairs, he welded in a '31 Chevy coupe dash. The Deuce grille was chopped 3 inches to fit the profile of the body, before Duplicolor pearl white was sprayed on most of the body and frame, the remainder being finished in black. Melvin Harris then added the Popeye graphics to the cowl, the Steve Sellers-supplied Hallock windshield went on, and a '28 Chevy gas tank went into the trunk. Jordan is currently working on an aluminum hood.
Interior
A more eclectic bunch of components you'd be hard-pressed to find, but they work in this roadster. Mismatched metal mail truck seats supply creature comforts (really?!) with a '38 Ford steering wheel topping the '32 column. Jordan wrote "mahogany and maple" in the carpet section of his tech sheet, and this also forms the firewall between the cockpit and the trunk, and certainly provides a different look than most roadsters. Those door panels that took his finger are still not fitted though.