If you’ve been around classic cars for any length of time, you are undoubtedly familiar with Hot Rod. What began as a print magazine in 1948, it is now the oldest magazine dedicated to hot rodding and has spawned numerous spin-off magazines and even television shows covering all things automotive. The build of this 1929 Ford Model A was covered by their website HotRod.com and was purpose-built for racing at T.R.O.G. It is now for sale and can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $13,350. The ad lists several links to the build articles from the Hot Rod website and even a link to a video of the car racing! It is currently located in Matawan, New Jersey, and was mainly built by the folks at Throttle Jockey Originals, located in Bohemia, New York. If you’ve ever wanted to own a documented magazine car, this might be the one! Have a look.
While it’s a little hard to tell from this photo, the engine is a four-cylinder. Yes, you are seeing eight spark plugs and wires. The Mallory distributor was modified to fire two plugs at once to maximize the fuel burn. The aluminum head is from Lion Speed and is rated at 6.5:1 compression. The intake is from WAC topped with a Stromberg 97 carburetor which increases the air/fuel volume four or five times over stock!
The interior is stripped-down and purpose-built for racing. There are a couple of racing upgrades including a fuel pump on/off switch as well as a resettable circuit breaker attached to the bottom of the dash. There is a dual-gauge setup mounted under the factory gauge cluster which will keep it in view but out of the way of the gear shift.
Here you can see the car racing on the beach at T.R.O.G. in Wildwood, New Jersey. If you aren’t familiar with The Race of Gentlemen, it is a period-correct racing organization. From their website: “Car bodies must be 1934 or older, American made only with American made 4 cylinder and V8 flatheads up to 1953 and run on 97 octane or less gasoline. Running gear must be 1953 and older. No modern transmissions, disc brakes, alternators, etc. Wheels and tires are 16, 17 & 18-inch wheels only. No widening of wheels, stock only. No slicks over 7 inches wide. Period paint that emulates the early days of racing. No late model graphics, No vinyl stickers or emblems, etc. Cars can be shiny, primered or have old paint.”
If you want to particpate in T.R.O.G. this is the car to do it with, and probably cheaper easyer and faster than building a new car for the event. You may loose some bragging rights, but thats OK, you will have allot of fun, For Sure!
The TROG looks for fresh meat every year. People want to see something “new”.
This would be a great car to appear at the Newport Hill Climb in Indiana.
Buying a car that has already run TROG is far from a guarantee for entry, in fact, it may hurt — especially if the car is not somehow “unusual.” While this car is the kind of build I really like, it is not particularly “special” – rather it follows a strong and enviable formula, but a basic formula nevertheless. I find it interesting that the formula developed because these were the cheapest cars and parts rodders could find and modify. Nowadays, a TROG build is a fairly costly exercise.
Screw those guys, drive it on your own streets. You can scare the women and be adored by children.
Flat heads only, or are you allowed to run OHV or Miller/Gemsa heads?
You can use period OHV valve heads – several are reproduced, but best to check the website and the organizers.
While this engine has dual spark plugs, and I’m assuming that with the modified distributor, that the spark was distributed to two spark plugs at the same time. Actually, only one plug would fire, because the spark would occur at the plug with the least resistance, ie, the plug that had the narrowest gap. To make two plugs fire simultaneous, would require a special ignition coil, and a different configuration on the distributor. This is an example of a dual spark plug ignition system: http://www.autocomponenti.com/performance_parts/ignition_wiring.htm
Really cool build if it’s street legal I would drive it to work!!