1928 Ford Model A Hiboy Roadster Hotrod
28 body on a 32 chassis – registered as a 32
 
Inspired by a copper and black themed Model A pickup in the USA, this Model A’s builder – Steve Smith – built this one of a kind Hiboy Roadster quite literally by hand.
 
Starting with a small assortment of 1928 panels collected from previous jobs – Steve, a fitter and turner / talented panel beater by trade, started building the Ford over a period of 8 years in between other clients builds. Steve was not a fan of off the shelf parts and dug handcrafted components backed by good engineering thus this Hotrod is infused with his craftmanship and vision.
 
A few standout pieces are the windshield surround hand beaten out of 3mm copper to resemble a Duke Hallock windshield, Louvered rear decklid with contrasting copper seam fillers & individually handmade rivets and the numerous copper highlights adorned around the car. The copper painted 15-inch Wheel Smith steelies wrapped in white walls joined by adapted Duce hub caps look the part.
The hand painted sign writing on both sides was added by the following owner rounding out the exterior look giving this highboy it’s 50’s charm.
 
Moving onto the interior - the genuine distressed leather brown seats and side panels contrast nicely from the outside looking in, paired with the upper copper door panels (again, hand formed) and various copper highlights adorning the cabin. Taking centre stage on the dash is a Vauxhall Velox speedo and to its lower right, an oil and fuel gauge on a custom copper bracket. Helping the driver keep in a (somewhat) straight line is a 1938 Chevrolet steering wheel wrapped in twine.
 
The 1928 body is married to a fabricated 1932 style chassis that’s stepped 2 inches in the rear, pinched at the nose and boxed while a complete compliment of 1934 suspension along with a steering rack from a Datsun 120Y and custom-made friction shocks keeps the Ford in check. Bringing things to a halt is a XB master cylinder bolted to a Gemini booster that activate 1940’s Ford Hydraulic drum brakes in all four corners.
 
At the heart of the Ford is a 239ci 8BA Ford flathead V8 that was fully rebuilt at the time of the build. Upgrades included 
Engine was bored out 40 thousands
Speedway pistons
Isky Max 1 Cam
Finned Edelbrock heads
Twin Stromberg 94 carbs
Pertronix Electronic ignition with cloth wrapped ignition wires keeping the vintage theme
Finned Edelbrock heads
Vintage brass Fire extinguisher for the radiator overflow
Power is sent through a 1939 Ford three speed to a 1935 Ford Banjo differential.
 
Keeping to its hot-rodding roots - Rag tyres, turn of the century suspension and 4.11 gears – although not that friendly to drive, the lack of street manners exclude character on ignition bringing you back to a simpler time.
 
Featured in the Cruizin Magazine a few years ago, one can see that some previous owners have enjoyed putting their mark on this stunning Hot Rod and so can you.
 
This 1928 Ford has been fully complied and registered in both Queensland and NSW as a 32 model for compliance reasons.
Sold as is without registration but includes RWC (if sold in QLD)
 
Walk Around Video (coming soon)