Roger Brownlow's 1926 Ford

A photo showing what Roger started with in 1962. Photo courtesy of Roger Brownlow.

Roger's coupe in front of Joe Andersen's Custom Shop at 13805 S. Normandie Ave. in Gardena after Joe had painted it white. The photo was taken in January of 1967. Photo courtesy of Roger Brownlow.

Roger's coupe at an indoor car show after Joe Andersen had given it a flame paint job and logos on the doors. Photo courtesy of Roger Brownlow.

Photo courtesy of Roger Brownlow.

Photo courtesy of Roger Brownlow.

1001 Rod and Custom Ideas ran a story on Roger's coupe in 1967 or 1968. The text for the story was a letter his brother had sent to the publishers.

Another magazine story on Roger's coupe. It is here presented as Joe Andersen's car, and the story is filled with errors.

When Roger got his coupe back in 1969, Joe had given it a primer paint job. Roger never saw the flamed version of the coupe. Photo courtesy of Roger Brownlow.

Roger with the coupe the day he sold it in 1972 or 1973. Photo courtesy of Roger Brownlow.

1926 Ford Model T coupe owned by Roger Brownlow of Redondo Beach, California. The coupe was Roger's first hot rod, and he started to build it right out of high school in 1962. In 1965 Roger went in the Army, and he left the coupe with Joe Andersen of Joe Andersen's Custom Shop. Roger had a neighbor, Gordon Labelle, that owned a 1965 Buick Riviera that he believes Joe Andersen had painted. Gordon knew Joe at least, and as Roger wanted to see his coupe get finished and shown around So. Cal he left it with Joe with the agreement that he would paint it and show it until Roger returned from the Army. The coupe was black lacquer when Roger left it with Joe, and it featured a black Naugahyde pleating upholstery and black carpeting. Assisted by his brother John and several friends, Roger had spent four years and around $4,500 to build the car. The body, doors and deck lid were metal, while all fenders, splash pans and running boards were fiberglass. The frame was made of two-by-four inch box tube with one-eight inch wall thickness. The frame was engineered by Jon Painter and welded by Marsh Weldcraft of Hawthorne, California. Power came from a stock 283 cubic inch Chevrolet engine, The powerglide transmission and hydros were by D & F Competition of Inglewood. The headers were home-made and the carburetion was a Ford six-barrel. It ran on Chrysler vintage wire wheels with Mickey Thompson tires. When Roger came on leave the coupe had been painted white. Later on Joe gave the car a flame paint job with logos for his shop on the doors. He showed it at various indoor shows, without giving Roger much credit for the car. Roger didn't care too much as he was happy to see the car get shown. Joe had the car until sometime in 1969 when a friend of Roger became the custodian until Roger returned home later the same year. By then Joe had painted over the flames and given it a primer paint job. Roger never saw the car with flames. Roger believes Joe had it on the cover of Hot Boat Magazine, and that it was in popular Hot Rodding sometime in mid 1967. In 1967 or 1968 it was also in 1001 Rod and Custom Ideas. The story in 1001 Rod and Custom Ideas was published while Roger was in Vietnam, and it was his brother that wrote the publisher with info and photos of the car. The story was printed using his letter as text.

After returning from the Army, Roger went into college, and the coupe was put in storage. He sold it in 1972 or 1973. A couple of guys from Hawaii bought it and towed it from Redondo Beach to San Francisco so they could ship it by air to Honolulu. As hot rodding was at a real low point at the time, Roger sold the car for $1250. Later on, the car appeared in Street Rodder magaxine. It had then been sold to a guy named Joe Phillips.