The concept of a house on a car is almost as old as the car itself. The oldest-known “house car” is a 1914 Model T caravan commissioned by a British family; its chassis was lengthened and its body was built by Dunton & Sons of Reading, Berkshire, England. The Model A was also the recipient of many a makeover into living quarters. Today’s offering is a much-modernized version of a Model A house car, fabricated in 2023 by Ford fan and hot-rod maestro Howdy Ledbetter from the ground up with a beefy Dodge engine, air bags for leveling, Alpine tunes – even a backup camera. This house car also features hot-rod quality paint, original Model A material for the top and visor, and a posh interior – all it’s missing is you!
The engine is a Dodge 360 cu. in. V8 mated to a 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission. A big aluminum radiator and a transmission cooler keep things at the right temperature. Flowmaster made the muffler, and the brakes are disc fronts/drum rears backed up by a GM Hydro-Boost unit. The custom drop-axle chassis has been Z-notched in the rear; a Panhard rod, heavy-duty leaf springs, and air shocks ease the ride. The rig has a 4000 lb trailer hitch so you can haul a tow vehicle as well.
Ledbetter began his career as an upholstery guy, so the interior is outstanding. The plush driver’s seat is adjustable six ways while the steering wheel is tilt/tele from a Corvette. Equus gauges let you know what’s going on under the hood, but the original Model A gauge cluster is still present. A Hurricane unit handles the air conditioning/heating/defrost duties. The living quarters currently consist of bench seating around a table – a kind of dinette on steroids – there’s no kitchen, bed, or bath. The entire body is insulated with aluminum panels sandwiching styrofoam in the rear, and Dynamat and jute padding up front.
The new owner can retrieve this custom rig from Linden, California, and indulge in a summer vacation on the way home – if all goes well on the money side of the equation. The Model A house car is listed here on eBay in a reserve auction bid to $15,100. Given that the seller likely paid ten times that only a year ago in construction costs, I’ll bet it will take time to find a new owner. How much do you think the seller will take to move this rig along?
This is an incredible build, no comments indicates not a lot of interest here. I’m a bit disappointed at the lack of inside comforts, quite frankly, I’d expect the Hollywood Hilton. 489 viewers,,,so there’s interest. What I simply can’t fathom, is how someone can take a $100,000 loss, I mean, it’s not like they made that up in use. Ah California,,
How can someone take a $100,000 loss? I’m reminded of a line from, believe it or not, “WKRP in Cincinnati,” when the old lady who owned the station said, “It’s not the plus and minus, it’s the plus and plus, if the minuses are played correctly.” For the high-rollers, a loss isn’t always a loss.
I loved that programme, also Night Court. Don’t see much of any of the actors these days, even re runs are scarce here apart from the usual, terrible British lavatorial “comedies.”.
Most of the original actors from Night Court have passed away.
My only question is why? This looks like something the Munsters would drive and not in a cool way.
Fantastic build, but so many compromises. Kingpin front axle, 15″ wheels, unusable mirrors, incomplete interior. The high bid will not be pretty.
’49 Mercury hub caps up front and no toilet. Don’t want to take up a long party in this one. Beautiful workmanship. Built for fun.
With no bed, bathroom, or kitchen, it’s not a house car. It’s just a bus with a table.
It has a trailer hitch for hauling all that ‘other stuff’ along.
I wanted to like this so bad and that fellow obviously has a ton of skills but dang, it just feels like a jumble of parts to me. Hope I’m wrong but I suspect someone is going to take a big loss to move this on.
I will pass and leave this stuff up to the good folks of Winnebago…does that company even exist any longer?
Anyway, you guys get my point. I’d feel safer wheeling down the interstate at 70 behind the wheel of Cousin Eddie’s ride!
WOW!. Just when you think you have seen it all. Howdy Letbetter is a well known California car builder. I am thinking he built it but it is not his? It seems it is built as a party bus, without a bathroom or bedrooms, this seems like a mistake to me. I don’t have any idea what it cost to build, but my guess would be it won’t sell anywhere near that number. It has a very specific and limited amount of use. Maybe a company could use it for advertising and PR?
I’m thinking built for a movie that didn’t happen. Surely if built for motorhomes use it would contain all the household equipment. Adding all that stuff now could get very expensive unless one bought an old motorhome to supply water tanks and pumps shower, bedroom, stove, refrigerator, microwave, TV,s and a backup cameras etc. There’s still a long way to go with this one. Better have deep pockets.
God Bless America
Maybe, but not likely. I’ve found, if Hollywood intends to use a vehicle in a production, all the stops are pulled out, and this truck would have a swimming pool, even if the movie never was published.
I guess H.L. went for the minimalist look for the inside. Expected the wow factor and got WTF.
LOVIN IT all it needs is 20gallon tank of water, FAR more than we had in Luaus, Cambodia and Nam.! And it has that old guy look. NO 360 jeep engine though how about a big block chevy.
The interior has all the charm of a prison bus.
No Sale at $20,099.00, didn’t meet reserve. No surprise there.