Sam Miller, of Cold Spring, New York, wrote to let us know about his brother-in-law, Roy Miner:
“Roy was from Garrison, New York, on the Hudson, and was an avid hot rodder in the ’40s and ’50s. This was his ’32 roadster in 1949—notice the dual carb setup and chopped bumper with those low lights. He was known locally as ‘Hot Rod Roy’. Check out that laid-back windshield and chopped ragtop too!
“Roy worked for a local Ford dealership after graduating in 1949, and in the early ’50s drove a hopped-up ’47 Mercury two-door sedan when he was courting my sister. Unfortunately, Roy is no longer with us, but I thought this would be a great tribute to him and his family. In the ’60s and ’70s, Roy was a speedboat racer in California and Florida, and later built race motors for his grandson’s kart in the ’80s and ’90s.”
1927 Model T Roadster Pickup
This ’27 roadster pickup was Bill Fortunes’ first attempt at building a car in 1959, and was the source of a lot of learning and pride for him. He bought the body and modified Model A frame for $15, the remains of what had been a Flathead-powered drag car.
Working in a dirt floor garage with very limited facilities, Bill rebuilt a ’50 Olds 303ci Rocket engine using ’54 heads and a four-barrel intake, as well as an Isky 3/4 race cam and lifters purchased from Honest Charley’s. He’d bought the motor from a salvage yard near his house and disassembled it in the yard in order to get it home. Lacking a driver’s license and not having access to a pickup truck in the family, he took it home in a wheelbarrow!
The same yard yielded a stick shift transmission from a ’48 Cadillac ambulance, which Bill mated to his engine using a ’50 Olds bellhousing. The steering box and rearend came from an early Ford pickup, while ’39 Ford suspension and brakes where mounted on a suicide perch at the front, and the wishbone split.
Bill says that as his first attempt, it didn’t turn out as satisfactorily as he’d have liked, and being a teenager without a job and a burning desire for the freedom of driving, the thought of something more practical soon took over. The T was parted out for just about a break-even amount the same year he built it.
He’s still involved with cars today, now holding a seat on the board of directors of the Pontiac-Oakland Club International, and driving a ’65 GTO. As he says, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a rodder or restorer, the love of old cars ties us together as friends, and that is the only thing that matters. Friends are forever, the cars come and go through the years.”
In the Desert Somewhere ...
When you hear the words “chopped, channeled, and sectioned”, you usually think of a Merc, Shoebox Ford, or early ’50s Chevy, not a Plymouth wagon. But that’s exactly what Jim Radnich has done with this one! In fact, with the exception of the Currie-narrowed 9-inch rearend, Jim tackled everything on the wagon, including fabricating the tilt front end, raked nose and windshield, and the full chassis and rollcage. He also leaded all the body mods, performed all the bodywork, and fabricated his own headers.
Dubbed “Knot Rod”, Jim used bamboo for the wood framing, which extends onto the tailgate. That’s a 460ci Ford big-block under the tilt front, making this one fun ride. According to Jim’s daughter, Micah, who sent these pics, he loves driving it!
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