Miles Merkt's 1932 Ford

Miles and his buddy Jim Sessodi with the roadster-project in the fall of 1956. The body has been channeled of the frame at this stage. Photo courtesy of Bob Bleed from Rod & Custom Magazine.

The roadster at an indoor car show, after Bob Merkt Sr. had bought it, finished it, and put it on the street and in local car shows. This photo is taken at one of its first events, probably the World of Wheels in the winter of 1965. Photo courtesy of Bob Bleed from Rod & Custom Magazine.

1932 Ford Roadster originally owned and built by Miles Merkt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Miles wanted a hot rod like the ones he had seen in Hot Rod Magazine, Rod & Custom and the other magazines he read every month. Miles father Francis Merkt was not a fan of that, and would not hear about Miles' dreams. In 1956, while Francis was away on a deer hunting trip, Miles talked his mother into helping him buy a car that would become the roadster. What Miles bought was an original 1932 Ford frame, a Fordor cowl, and the back half of a 1929 Ford Model A coupe. They towed it home with a chain, and Miles' mother claimed she never got her $45 back.

Miles spent the next couple of years working on the car, with his father's help. Together they Z'd the frame and channeled the body over the frame. Miles sectioned and installed a 1949 Mercury dash, while Francis made all sorts of neat brackets, like adjustable headlights and nerf bars. By 1957 the roadster was driveable. It was a typical rough1950s hot rod, with a flathead and a toploader.There werent't that many hot rods in Milwaukee at the time, so the roadster gained a lot of attention. It led the parade to the grand opening of the Great Lakes Dragway and it even made it to TV with a doo-wop band singing in it.

Miles' brother, Bob Merkt Sr., was only 14 years old at the time, but he would steal the keys to the roadster and drive it up and down the driveway when nobody was home. Around 1959 or 1960, Bob found a 1950 Oldsmobile engine with six Stromberg 97's and a bunch of chrome. Miles bought it and started putting it in the roadster. At the same time, the rear pan was molded and made to resemble the Alexander Brothers built show rod called The 69'er.

After Miles joined the army, the roadster sat in his parents backyard for a couple of years. Meanwhile, Bob became old enough to drive, and he began customizing all sorts of cars on his own. Bob ended up buying the roadster, sold everything else, and spent the next few years turning it into a nice, finished hot rod.