“I wanted something different. Something that stood out,” Mitch Narrison told me about his 1927 T-Bucket roadster. “I came across this and I couldn’t pass it up.”
So just eight days before Mitch and I talked at Caffeine and Octane, the roadster became his birthday present.
Mitch had been looking for a new hot rod for a long time. “I drove it,” he said, “and I knew I wasn’t going to find anything I liked more. It’s a lot of fun.”
This classic hot rod has a ‘27 Model T body sitting on a 1956 F-100 frame, with a Mustang 302 and 4-speed drivetrain.
The small block features a four barrel carb on an aluminum intake manifold. In keeping with the classic nature of the roadster, there’s a points and condenser ignition firing the mixture. There aren’t any mufflers in Mitch’s header/side pipes, and based on the really nice exhaust note it made when he cranked it up, I suspect the Ford has a pretty healthy cam inside.
The chassis and suspension features the classic T-Bucket configuration. Up front there’s a solid axle mounted on a transverse leaf spring, held in place by wishbone arms on both sides. The solid rear end is also located with wishbones, suspended on coilovers. There are drum brakes at all four wheels.
In a car as light as a T-Bucket, it’s not surprising to hear the drum brakes are manual. As is the steering. In fact, Mitch says, “it has no modern conveniences at all.” That means no A/C, and in Mitch’s case, no heater either. “It was a little chilly this morning,” he told me about his January drive to Atlanta.
The classic street rod look is maintained in the interior, which features a bench seat and custom gauges housed in an aluminum dashboard. With a barefoot gas pedal and a dice cubes on the shifter and hanging from the rear view mirror, you can’t get any more classic than that.
And the look is completed with the massive 31×18.00R15LT rear tires and skinny front tires. That combination, with the T’s light weight and high horsepower (he doesn’t know exactly how much, but Mitch says, “It’s enough”) makes it fun to drive, and has also earned Mitch’s respect.
“You’ve got to pay attention,” he told me. “It’s easy to oversteer. That’s the hardest thing to get used to. I’m still learning how to handle it.”
He may still be learning it, but Mitch is stoked about his birthday gift. “I like the way it’s built and I like the way it looks,” he said. “It’s got lots of power. It’s smooth. It’s quick.”
That’s one birthday present that may be hard to match next year.
Photos by GHR
Click here to see more photos of Mitch’s T-Bucket
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Grateful for shariing this