1926 Ford T roadster - Sweet T

Except for a few years working for Ma Bell in California, Larry Brown has spent his life in Silverton, Oregon-a very picturesque western town that still looks much as it did when Larry was a kid. Surrounded by farm country, Larry, and his brother Norm, could find early tin all around them. In 1957, he bought a T roadster pickup body from Norm with the intention of building a Kookie Car like Normie Poo Grabowski's. He paid $5 for a butchered '32 Ford frame, then collected a '37 Ford tube axle and a '40 Ford front and rear suspension. Norm got him a '32 commercial radiator shell and a '39 gearbox with a Columbia two-speed differential. The frame was narrowed, holes filled, front horns cleaned up, and then the work stopped. Side-tracked for a few years by marriage, kids, and a '34 Ford coupe, the parts pile lay dormant in Norm's barn.

Twenty years can really fly by, and in 1985, the urge to get the old roadster together started again. A trip to the nearby El Mirage Dry Lake really got the fires burning, and the idea of a T-bucket went out the door, replaced by the thoughts of a real roadster. Many trips to the Pomona Swap Meet, and help from Norm, turned up a turtle deck and a rebuilt 3/4 race '48 Ford Flathead. Each summer, Larry would run back up to Norm's in Silverton and work on the roadster. Meantime, Norm had been doing his awesome welding on the frame, and fabricating parts. The first time the engine fired was in 1989, with dual pots, a whacked windshield, and black-on-black wheels and tires. Norm was getting so good at fabricating and welding that he opened his own shop called Rods-N-Relics. Painted right in the driveway, the roadster was in a constant state of change, as some things didn't quite look as expected, or just plain didn't work. That is the way it is with street rods; they are all one-off cars and it takes time to get all the odd parts in concert. When you finally get close, the rewards are many. With Larry, it was many changes of wheels and tires, and then new upholstery and triple carbs, which can be a real test of one's patience.

Since 1990, Larry has really hit the road. While living in California, he went to Muroc I and II, Father's Day in Los Angeles twice, and Tom's Fun Run. After moving back to Oregon in 1997, he drove with a bunch of us to Americruise in Snowmass, Colorado, two Canada trips, and in 2005 to Bonneville Speed Week. The real story is that all these years, and all those miles, the car has never had a top. What do you think of that?

Larry Brown is a true hot rodder in every sense of the word. He built his own car, with the expert help of his brother Norm, has driven it everywhere, and is still planning more seat time. To top it all off, he loves every minute of it. Passion is not something everyone has, but there sure is a lot of it in Silverton, Oregon.