Louis Banto and Jack Perre's 1927 Ford

Lou and Jack's roadster as it appeared when it was featured in Hot Rod Magazine June 1952. Photo by Felix Zelenka.

Lou and jack posing in the roadster. Photo by Felix Zelenka.

Photo by Felix Zelenka.

Photo by Felix Zelenka.

Photo by Felix Zelenka.

Photo by Felix Zelenka.

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Photo by Felix Zelenka.

Photo by Felix Zelenka.

A cutaway drawing of the car by Rex Burnett from Hot Rod Magazine June 1952.

The roadster as it sat when John Howard of San Diego, California bought it around 1959/1960. Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Howard.

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1927 Ford Model T roadster owned and built by Louis Banto and Jack Perre of Los Angeles, California. Louis and Jack ran a Los Angeles Mobile Service Station together, and their roadster was featured as "Hot Rod of the Month" in Hot Rod Magazine June 1952. Two years prior to this, Louis built a similar roadster with his current business partner Sal Macchia. That roadster was also based on a 1927 Ford body, but instead of a track nose, that car featured a 1932 Ford grille shell. Du to this, these two cars are often mixed together.

Jack and Louis' roadster was wrongfully listed as a 1926 Ford in the featured story in Hot Rod Magazine June 1952, and Louis' name was wrongfully written as Lou Banta. The roadster was built on a narrowed 1932 Ford frame. The frame was narrowed 3 inches, the frame horn were cut off, and the body was channeled 3 1/2 inches over the frame. A full belly pan had been fabriacted and installed, and It featured a track nose by Louis Salzgeber, and a grille by Art Ingles. Chromed steel tubing nerf bars protected the front and back of the body. The little roadster was powered by a fully balanced 1942 Mercury engine. The engine was fit with a 1949 Mercury crankshaft, Offenhauser heads and an Edelbrock 3-carb manifold. Fuel was fed through three Stromberg 97's. A Kong ignition, dual Ford coils and a Weber F4 camshaft had also been installed. A 1951 Ford rear end with 3.78 to 1 gears had been installed in the rear along with an Auburn clutch and a 26-tooth Zephyr transmission. Brakes and spindles were late model Ford. The fully chromed front end featured a dropped and filled axle, a Bell Auto steering arm on spindle, a shortened 1932 Ford steering shaft, tubular shocks and tubular adjustable radius rods. The exhaust, featuring dual steel packed mufflers, was routed trough the rear bellypan. Rear radius rods were now mounted to frame. Ray Sholtz, was listed as the upholsterer, providing an ivory and red Cohyde leatherette interior for the car. The seats featured sponge rubber on 8 inch springs. The roadster rolled on 7.00 x 16 inch wide whitewall tires in the rear, and 6.00 x 16 inch up front. Total build time was listed as one year, and as Louis' previous roadster, this one was also painted bright red. November 10 - 16, 1952 the roadster was shown at the 3rd annual Motorama.

It is not known what happened to the car after it was featured in Hot Rod Magazine June 1952, but it eventually ended up in the hands of John Howard of San Diego, California around 1959 or 1960. John, who was called Jack, lived in the Golden Hills neighborhood, and he went to high school with Dave Schneider. Jack hung out at Paul Schiefer's shop with the rest of the hoodlums. Jack's brother Frank Howard was a mechanic for Dutch Hurd's quarter midget, and he used to race at Balboa Stadium in the early days. Frank was known as one of the best mechanics around, and he had a Diesel Machine Shop on Market street with his father. Jack's son, Glenn Howard remembers driving around with his dad in the Model T around 1960, it was still painted red by then. Glenn is not sure who Jack bought the roadster from, but he think he bought it from a close neighborhood friend by the name of Jim "The Greek" Thedorelos. Jack sold the roadster around 1961, after owning it for about three years, and Glenn is not sure where it went.

Magazine Features

Hot Rod Magazine June 1952
Rod & Custom July 1995