Remember all that talk about the Butterfly Effect some time ago? You know, the theory that claims the air displaced by a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane half a world over? Okay, so the example may sound far-fetched, but it's a great metaphor to describe how a seemingly fleeting incident can initiate a set of sequences that can change things-and lives-forever and in a big way.
Doug Grande may not know it, but he's part of a Butterfly Effect. He's a construction superintended and, for the most part, never played with cars other than the occational oil change and maintenance.
However, "I was visiting Bruce Donelan who was building a '28 A/V-8 roadster (Puyallup Top 10 2001 winner). He showed me a picture of the Frank Mack T. I fell in love; I thought it was the most beautiful car I'd ever seen. He suggested that I build one like it...it seemed like a good idea. I left that day with the picture and a couple catalogs," he said. And so commenced the sequence.
"Three months later a body and framerails became available and I jumped on them. My friend Larry Serrine (Puyallup Top 10 2000 recipient) was selling his stalled project T-a body and turtle deck (that Bruce found at the Portland swap for $25!), some Kelsey-Hayes wires, and mandrel-bent framerails.
"I had no experience with bodywork and I didn't know how to weld. I sold an old motorcycle for a MIG welder and I took off to every swap meet I could, all the while poring over books and catalogs. The plan was to build a lightweight, low-buck, traditional-looking track T in the Mack style but with more contemporary four-cylinder power.
"I found a '72 Pinto with a rebuilt engine and four-speed. I pulled the motor, trans, radiator, and pedals and had the rest hauled away. I started collecting speed equipment for the motor while I worked on the chassis.
"When I got the car mocked up I found that I didn't fit inside very well. I wanted to be comfortable and sit low. I ended up removing the stock toeboard supports and created a footwell that extended the firewall 3 inches forward. The rear body bulkhead was then moved back inside the tulip panel 6 inches and I dropped the seat pan between the framerails by 2 inches.
"I found the '50s Sprint Car cast-aluminum grille at the Albany, Oregon, swap meet. It really helped to define the car," Doug said. He really thrashed; within a record 17 months he took it from a parts pile to a roadworthy hot rod. Over the next half a dozen or so months he cleaned it up, plated some things, and otherwise gave the roadster a good shine.
We saw the car at the 2003 Goodguys Northwest Nationals in Puyallup, Washington. Over the weekend he let us crawl all around it, sit in it, and even let us take it for a spin around the block. The verdict: this is a car that drives as well as it looks. It handles well, sits well, and is, believe it or not, comfortable for a 6-foot bear of an automotive journalist due to the pushed-out firewall and rear panel.
But we can't describe it any better than the best way-the way Doug puts it: "All in all it turned out to be a great driver...and chicks dig it!"
Facts & FiguresDoug GrandeEdmonds, Washington1927 Ford roadster