From Hand Built Cars, built by OL’ School Garage, Queensland, Australia…
Being immersed in the classic car game, every now and then we get the opportunity to purchase some really, really cool cars. This 1928 Model A Roadster is a perfect example of one of those situations.
We only ended up with it because it was traded in on one of our own custom Chevrolet patina pickups. It was originally built by a well-known Melbourne shop some time ago, so we thought it was time for a makeover.
Our plans for the roadster were modest given that this was already a very cool car and in good mechanical condition. The original matte black paint was stripped back to bare metal. A rust promoter was applied and the resulting rust was rubbed into the pitted metal to give it that aged antique look. It was then sealed with a matte clear.
The firewall was smoothed and painted a contrasting cream color to match the rims in order to draw people’s attention to the beautifully presented Mercury V8 flathead. To top off the paint job, subtle pin-striping can be found on the boot, grill, cowl panel, and guards.
The engine features an Offenhauser intake manifold top with a pair of Stromberg 97 carburetors. The original agricultural exhaust is long gone, replaced with custom headers and a dual exhaust built in-house. The exhaust system is HPC coated and sounds great.
The artwork and creativity extend to the interior. Originally Mexican blankets covered a bench seat and the floor was made from a sheet of plywood. We decided on an industrial-inspired interior, installing custom-made aluminum bomber seats, door cards, dash, and floor. Although this was a time-consuming job, the result was well worth it.
This roadster sounds amazing, goes hard, and turns heads wherever it goes. And we always get a laugh when we take this car to hot rod shows. People tend to be drawn to it like a magnet, walking past gleaming hot rods that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build without even noticing them.
