To call this hot rod a 1923 Ford Touring is akin to referring to the original Batmobile as a Lincoln Futura: sure, that’s what it was, but it’s hardly an accurate portrayal of what it has evolved to become. This heavily modified Touring body is a hot rod in the most classical sense, sporting a massive engine relative to the size of the body, with huge rear tires and what amounts to motorcycle wheels upfront. There’s no doubt it’s a T-bucket in every sense of the word, but we’re going to have to fill in the blanks everywhere else given the listing here on craigslist says very little. The listed price is $19,995 and it’s located near Mobile, Alabama.
I don’t claim to be a hot rod expert, so I’m sure some of you can pick apart every last detail on this custom creation and form an educated opinion about the scale of investment made. The engine? Well, it looks like it’s brawny enough to rip your legs off, especially with those massive side-exit exhaust pipes. The flame job is pretty typical, but again, it looks well done. This Ford follows the standard recipe of sticking the radiator way out in front, jamming a massive engine in between it and the firewall, and then putting the driver and passenger mere inches away from the powerhouse that likely doesn’t need much encouragement to break free from its mounts.
Again, from this vantage point, it’s hard to say just how high-end the work is, but the details seem to suggest this hot rod wasn’t built in a day. The top may not be brand new at this point, but you have to love the custom design (is that intended to act as a rear window? I suppose so). At each corner, the original builder seems to have favored a brushed gold finish for pieces like the taillights, headlights, and radiator, which pairs nicely with the maroon paint job. The rear fenders have some interesting details, as they go out and then tuck in under the body, perhaps offering small shelf for stepping into the backseat – but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The coolest feature to me is the fact that this Ford isn’t like all the other hot rods out there that have room for barely two passengers. With two proper benches, you can easily bring some friends or the kiddos along for a ride they’re not soon to forget. As the demographics around car collecting change, I do wonder what the market will look like for cars like these in a few years. Will there still be an audience that finds them desirable, even if they didn’t grow up building them? Or will the T-bucket become an outdated piece of Americana, only fit for museums? I hope it’s the former because custom rods like these deserve to live forever.
“Attention Herman Munster, your car is ready”
This reminds me of a time when I knew somebody that had 23 T bucket or blower350 motor. It was automatic seating for two only. The gas tank was oversize beer keg behind the seats… It was very fast. The real fun was… It had just rear brakes. And the front tires were the spoke type skinny. For an emergency he had a boat anchor with a long rope never tried it. It was crazy driving on route 87 in New York at highway speeds and beyond. Somethings you don’t forget. This ride Ford touring looks like a lot of fun. But sitting in the back that high up with no seatbelts I don’t know. It looks like this was built late ’70s early ’80s. Good luck to the next person have fun. 🐻🇺🇸
You guys took that thing out cruising on the Northway?
Didn’t get pulled over?
No.. Downstate in Westchester.. 🐻🇺🇸
Upstate? We need a big red line between Upstate and Downstate.
Yonkers area in Westchester county NY ..😊
One thing to consider is the longer wheel base is going to be a lot more friendly than your tipical one seat hot rod. Looks like a lot of fun to me.
This is not a bucket, it’s a tub. The builder didn’t go for brushed gold hardware on the corners, it’s just an old build that’s been run hard and put away wet. Someone needs to spend a weekend with a bag of rags and some polish and bring it all back. You can tell whoever owned this previously drove it a lot.
1970 called and they want their car back, so they can hide it away and it will never be seen again.
We can only hope!
Hey hey we’re the monkeys well at least that’s what this one reminds me of
My first thoughts too , early Monkeemobile , even similar color
You guys need to pull up a pic of the Monkeemobile lol.
The rear tires are way to small…. Looks like a kit car.
Yes needs a good cleaning, posted 22 days ago.
Yeah, the 70’s definitely want their car back. 20k for a builder? Not even on a really good day is it with that much . If you cut the wings off it and painted it black or dark blue it might not be so bad, but still not 20k.
The blown small block is cool, but you can keep the rest of it…
No thanks. But I’d like to know more about the white Charger in the background.