Eldon E. Schmidt's 1929 Ford

An early photo of the roadster showing it as it appeared when Eldon bought it in 1960. Later owner Terje Fjellhaug received these photos after tracing up Eldon. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

A photo of the roadster developed in January of 1963. Eldon went through three transmissions before he decided to install a 1958 Chevrolet 283 V-8 engine in the car in 1962. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

The roadster as it appeared after Eldon had fixed it up. This incarnation featured a dark green metallic paint job, and an original Model A grille-shell. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

In 1995 Pelle Pastell of Sweden bought the car at the Pomona Swap Meet. He shipped the car to Sweden, where he advertised it for sale in Wheels Magazine. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

A photo of the roadster taken after Ulf Haugen bought it. Ulf bought the roadster from Pelle Pastell in the Fall of 1995. Photo courtesy of Ulf Haugen.

Photo courtesy of Ulf Haugen.

A photo of the roadster from 1998, after Ulf had swapped the chassis. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

A photo of Ulf with the car. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Ulf sold the roadster to Lars Otto Olsen in 2002. Lars just owned it for a few weeks but managed to repaint the car in white primer before he sold it off again. One door was painted grey, and a painting of a Mexican guy was added to the deck-lid. The painting was supposedly inspired by Rudy Rodriguez famous 1935 Ford bobber truck. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

A photo of Terje with the roadster taken at the 2011 A-Bombers Old Style Weekend in Uddevalla, Sweden. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Ingvar Einebrandt painted the logo for Terje's company on the doors of the roadster. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

The deck lid on the roadster was pinstriped by Finish pinstriper Pekka Wizzzard Mannermaa. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Terje's roadster at the 2012 A-Bombers Old Style Weekend in Uddevalla, Sweden. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

Hoodless at the 2013 Coupe Devils Rod & Kustom Bonanza at Blaker, Norway. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Terje on his way up Devils Peak during the 2013 A-Bombers Old Style Weekend in Uddevalla, Sweden. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Terje's roadster as it appeared at the 2017 Coupe Devils Rod & Kustom Bonanza at Blaker, Norway. This iteration of the roadster had been hopped up with a 6-carb intake manifold. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

A photo of the Ford taken in Terje's garage. Photo courtesy of Terje Fjellhaug.

1929 Ford Model A roadster owned by Eldon E.Schmidt of Garden Grove, California. Eldon bought the car in 1960. It came with holes in the body after a rollbar and safety-belts, indicating that it had been raced on the dragstrip. Unfortunately, the race-engine had been replaced by a hopped up 1940 Ford Flathead engine when Eldon bought it. The rollbar had been mounted through the panel between the seat and the trunk. Other modifications included an Auburn dashboard, 1951 Buick taillights, a 1932 Ford grille, and 1940 Ford hydraulic brakes. The Auburn dash insert was gone when Eldon bought it, so he made a wooden dash for the car that he installed instead.

The Make Over

After going through three transmissions, Eldon decided to install a 1958 Chevrolet 283 V-8 engine in the car in 1962. The transmission and rear end from the Chevrolet were also installed before Elden gave the car a dark green Metallic paint job. This iteration of the car did also receive an original Model A grille shell and Fenton aluminum wheels with redline tires.

Sold to Sweden

After owning the car for 45 years, Eldon sold the car at the Pomona Swap Meet in 1995. The same year Pelle Pastell of Sweden bought the car at the Pomona Swap Meet, but we don't know for sure if he bought it from Eldon or a later owner. Pelle shipped the car to Sweden, where he advertised it for sale in Wheels Magazine.

Sold to Norway

Ulf Haugen of Tønsberg, Norway saw Pelle's ad in Wheels Magazine and decided to buy the old hot rod in August of 1995. At the time it looked exactly like it did back in the 1960s. Ulf tried to get Norwegian license-plates on the car in 1996, but he ran into problems at the DMV as the engine-number from the 283 engine had been used as chassis number on the car. He ended up buying a Norwegian frame with tudor sedan paperwork that he had Egil Wahlstrøm rebuild. All loose components from Eldon's roadster were moved over, including the 1940 Ford brakes. After the rebuild, the DMV suspected that Ulf just had swapped the paperwork on the car. Due to these suspicions, it would take some years before the car finally was approved by the DMV. In the meantime, Ulf ran around on the old license plates from the tudor. In 2002 Ulf sold the roadster to Lars Otto Olsen. Lars bought it late in July. He just owned it for a few weeks but managed to repaint the car in white primer before he sold it off again. One door was painted grey, and a painting of a Mexican guy was added to the deck-lid. The painting was supposedly inspired by Rudy Rodriguez famous 1935 Ford bobber truck.

Sold to Terje Fjellhaug

Terje Fjellhaug of Stathelle, Norway bought the car from Lars Otto in 2002, shortly after the A-Bombers Old Style Weekend show in Uddevalla, Sweden. "I first saw the car in the Winter of 1995- 1996, while Ulf owned it. At the time it was unchanged since the 1960, and the rear tires went way outside the rear fenders due to the wider 1958 Chevrolet rear end. I still have one of the original redline tires that sat on the car, " Terje told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2018. During the winter of 2002 - 2003 Terje gave the car a satin black paint job. In 2003 he finally got it through the DMV so it legally could run Norwegian license plates.

After the car had been approved by the DMV, Terje installed Radir Tri-Rib wheels on the car. He also had Ingvar Einebrandt paint the logos for his company, Muroc Speed Shop, on the doors. When Terje bought the car, it still had the 283 engine that Eldon had installed in 1960. "It was worn out, so I had to replace it in 2011," but Terje wants to rebuild that engine and install it in the car where it belongs in the future.

After owning the cars for some years, Terje discovered metal under the wooden dashboard. He measured the hole and had a feeling that it had to be the size of an Auburn insert. A friend had an Auburn insert in his collection, that Terje was able to make a template from. The template matched the hole in the dash, and to Terje's surprise, the entire dashboard in the car comes from an Auburn. After discovering the Auburn dashboard, Terje decided to rip the wooden dashboard out and install an Auburn insert back in.

Looking for Info

After buying the old Garden Grove hot rod, Terje traced Eldon and gave him a call. Eldon provided what he knew about the car, but he couldn't remember who he bought it from, or who he sold it to. Terje still owns the car, and he is currently trying to trace its history prior to 1960. What can help identify this car is the rollbar, the 1951 Buick taillights, the 1932 Ford grille shell, and the Auburn-dashboard. If this combination sounds familiar to you, please get in touch with Kustomrama at mail@kustomrama.com.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Amcar Oktober 1998