|
Speedster |
| In
the fall of 1997, Chuck Boblasky decided to build a car to compete in the
History Channel Great Race. He purchased a 1929 Model A Tudor to overhaul.
After being inspired by what he read in the Secrets Of Speed Society magazines,
Chuck decided to have a speedster built on the Tudor's chassis. The result
of seven and a half months of intense effort yielded one of the finest
speedsters I've ever seen. The craftsmanship is first class.
In the picture below, Chuck is telling Steve Breiting, Keith Clark and Mike Gunderson about his car. Keith was so inspired by Chuck's car that he is building a speedster based on the same lines. The car arrived in Tacoma, Washington with less that one hundred miles on it for the start of the 1998 History Channel Great Race. |
| Chuck's car features a suicide front suspension. This provides a longer wheel base and lowers the chassis ride height. Early Ford V-8 hydraulic brakes provide the stopping power. |
| A quick release mechanism allows the steering wheel to be removed. The large guage is the highly accurate analog speedometer that is allowed in Great Race competition. |
| There is a door in the left rear of the body to allow access to a storage area. I'm sure there were some spare parts tucked away in there for the cross country trip. They were not needed, however, as Chuck's speedster made the trip to Havermill, Massachusets without a single mechanical problem. |
| The view from the right rear of the car shows the large single exhaust pipe that is typical of Ford Model A and T speedsters. A Model A horn is mounted on the frame rail just below the cowl. |
| Chuck ran the car in the 1999 History Channel Great Race and then sold the car. I'm sure the new owners are enjoying this fine speedster. |
| If you are interested in learning more about speedsters and other Model A and T Ford speed and sport information, I would encourage subscribing to Secrets Of Speed Magazine. Click here to go to the web site of the Secrets Of Speed Society. |
Web
page and photographs by Jeff Richardson
Page
created on 6/7/02