1928 Ford Tudor Sedan - Playing Roulette To Win

Derrick Pesko, of Meriden, Connecticut, grew up flanked by classic hot rods since his dad always had something brewing in the garage; be it a chopped '50 Ford or an early coupe. When your 5th birthday gift was a go-kart, and you spent all your time with your head buried in little books and model kit boxes, it's easy to figure out where your path will lead.

Yearning for a small personal filler project to work on after hours, Derrick started looking for an uncompleted roller that would allow him to infuse plenty of his signature style, while not having to start from the ground up. Research led him to the Internet, which is a lot like playing roulette, depending on the honesty of the seller. He found a '28 Ford Tudor sedan in Louisiana that seemed to be a perfect candidate. The pictures looked good, so a deal was made and the car was delivered to his shop. What the seller had represented and what actually rolled out of the trailer left a lot to be desired. Derrick's heart sank when he saw the cobbled mass of mutilated steel that he paid good money for leaving him with only two options: to toss the project or do a full teardown and start fresh.

With most of the mechanical elements behind him, Derrick now focused on the pile of rubble that loosely resembled one of Henry's brighter moments. To first bring plenty of strength back to the body he repaired all of the rusted and deteriorated sheetmetal and followed by replacing all of the original wood with steel. He then recessed the firewall, added a custom-fabbed recessed gas filler, and new floors. Throughout the build, Derrick studied the car trying to decide whether the body would need a chop. A decision was made to zip 2 inches from the sedan's lid, giving the body the final bit of soul the car needed. Once all of the bodywork was dialed in, Derrick filled his spray gun with custom-blended DuPont Benny Blue, and laid down the mile-deep gloss.