A tidy tunnel in the rear...
A tidy tunnel in the rear panel that Brad fabricated to house the Rodsville quick-change rearend lets the little phaeton sit low. Vintique spoke-laced wheels lend to the phantom phaeton’s refined jalopy appearance, and the BFGoodrich radials let you know that this street rod was made for driving.
After Brad had settled on the powertrain that consisted of the Quad 4, T-5 transmission, and early Ford Rodsville quick-change rearend, he commenced to building his own frame the old-fashioned way. He laid down the dimensions on his shop floor, broke out the rectangular steel tubing, and started cutting and welding. There’s a slight kickup in the front, and the rear section was Z-cut to maintain the low stance. “I had a lot of help from Chris Mac at Max Innovations (Arvada) with the frame and its geometry, plus he performed some of the high-tech welding when I needed it,” Brad adds.
A 4-inch drop Super Bell I-beam axle mounts a pair of Vintique 15x6 spoke wheels and ’40 Ford juice brakes, and the rear axle rides on 15x7 Vintique spokers. This little phaeton is meant for driving, so BFGoodrich radials are found on all corners.
After Brad applied the paint to the finished body, Ron and Dan at Auto Weave stitched the upholstery. Next stop was Rick Losh Pinstriping for the cowl art.
“World War II nose art has always interested me,” Brad says, “so I wanted some on this car.” After months of searching for just the right piece of work, he settled on “Midnight Madness II” that had been painted on a P-61 Black Widow night bomber. Turns out that the original “Midnight Madness” P-61 crash-landed on Iwo Jima, and the crew dutifully named their second plane Midnight Madness II. By chance Brad had once built a Model A Tudor that he named Midnight Madness, so naturally he elected to name the roadster MMII. “The theme fits,” Brad adds, “because after building cars all day at my shop, I spent a lot of nights, often past midnight, working on my own car.” Like all street rod builders, though, there is a little method to Brad’s madness.