Our Modified T in May/June 2007 Issue of Street Thunder Magazine
THE CREWS BUCKET — Jim Crews’ Unintentional T
By Eric Anderson, Photos By Matt Sprouse
There is a phrase we hear on a regular basis; it goes something like this: “This is a project that was never really planned.” While that phrase seems more and more common every day, we are continually impressed with the results of these so-called accidental projects. We most recently heard NSMC Member Jim Crews of Oak Grove, MN, share the story regarding his unplanned, modified ’27 Ford Track T.
“About seven years ago I was working as a machinist, and one of my co-workers was talking about a car he dug out of a dump near 30 years previous. It was just a bare body. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he thought it was a Model T that was missing its top. The body had been sitting in his mother’s garage since he found it, and he had finally decided it was time to get rid of it.”
Jim wasn’t in the market for what was thought to be a Model T, but figured he would find a use for it at some point. Jim continued, “I figured if nothing else I could hang it up on a wall in my shop. A few days later it showed up on my doorstep.” Over the next seven years, what started out as part of a touring body (the back half was missing, but the front was intact including the doors and windshield) turned into what you see on these pages.
With a body to work with, Crews needed a frame before he could really get the project underway. Just by chance, one of Crews’ neighbors had a Model T chassis sitting on top of an old cube van in his back yard. Crews acquired the frame from his neighbor and began working.
As the owner of Tin Man Fabrication (www.tinmanfabrication.com), a frequent Street Thunder contributor, Jim, known by many simply as the “Tin Man,” put his metal working skills to use by boxing and z’ing the frame. In addition to strengthening the frame, Jim also fabricated the transverse leaf and hairpins for the rear suspension, while a Speedway Motors dropped axle with hairpins handles the suspension duties up front.
Wanting to keep the project traditional yet affordable, Crews chose to run a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine from a 1984 Ford Ranger, backed by a T5 manual transmission, featuring a Tim Man-fabbed shifter. Crews increased the displacement a few cubic inches with an overbore to the block and increased the compression a couple points by milling the stock cylinder head. Topping off the powerplant is a hammer-formed air cleaner assembly, which houses a K&N air filter. Crews joked about his engine choice, “My initial plan was to make it look like a traditional Model A engine, but I may have gotten carried away.”
Further inspection of the steel touring body revealed some 20-plus bullet holes in the worn carcass. After filling a majority of the holes, the Tin Man decided whatever remaining holes were left would stay as a reminder of its former patina. With the rear half of the body missing, Jim hand-formed the back of the car using the metal wall that once separated the front and rear seats of the touring body and also added a ’28-’29 Model A grille shell, which was shortened four inches and features a Tin Man-built custom insert. On either side of the modified grille are Deitz style headlights while ’37 Ford taillights have been incorporated in the rear.
After completing the bodywork (with some help from Slim Christianson) Jim chose a custom mixed combination of DuPont green and orange, which he sprayed himself after designing and laying out the scallops. Finally, Jim commissioned the expertise of Mike Hovland to perform the pinstriping on the frame rails, wheels, and around the scallops.
The open-air cockpit features more Tin Man tweaks, including custom-built seats, which wear Symphony Vintage English Toffee vinyl by Old Skool Kustoms of Monticello, MN, and bead-rolled aluminum door panels. A filled, original ’27 T dashboard houses a single AutoMeter Carbon Fiber series speedometer, which is visible just to the right of a Lime Works four-spoke steering wheel and column combination.
To finish the vintage look, Jim chose painted-to-match 18x4-inch ’32 Ford wheels up front with Coker Vintage Indian Motorcycle tires and Tin Man-widened 16x6-inch ’35 Ford wheels in the rear with Coker Firestone Dirt Track rubber.
What started as an off-and-on project made up of cheap or free parts that fell into Crews’ lap has turned into a vintage-styled street machine that easily plays the part of a high-dollar head turner. What Jim Crews has accomplished while building this Track T is a testament to not only his abilities as a fabricator and car builder, but also to his passion for the hot rodding hobby. If you happen to see this unplanned, yet well-done ’27 T in person, we recommend you check it out, and while you’re at it, introduce yourself to Jim; you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more personable enthusiast.
