THE T-n-a coupe

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I first spotted this little coupe at a car show called “The Grease Ball” in Baltimore, Maryland. As the day wore on, I must have come back to it a half-dozen times. Not because it’s a high dollar show car, but because it just had so many odd-ball pieces. Even though it looked like a work in progress, I just had to look closer and ask a few questions. The owner, Billy Neault, is an engineer in the US Navy, so the theme shouldn’t come as a surprise. The only time available for Billy to work on the car was during weekend leave, so “Liberty Call” is a perfect moniker for the coupe. Having been a Navy brat myself may explain why I identified with the Fly Navy tag on the front. The first thing I really had a hard time identifying on the coupe was the engine. It took me a while to figure it out, but it’s a 170ci Studebaker flat-six with all of the other drivetrain pieces coming from a 1951 Stude truck. Not the most common choice for a hot rod, but it was probably either cheap or free. The more I looked at the coupe, the more things I noticed, like the body construction. The lower half is 1927 Model T, with the upper half, including the roof and door tops, is 1930 Model A, and the roof section comes from a sedan. That’s the meaning of the T/A lettering, in case you didn’t catch it. Billy thinks the rear window is early Chevy, and knows that the dash and the firewall is 1931 Chevrolet.  The cowl vent is custom made. The roof insert is removable, as is the windshield visor.

Read the rest of this article in ISSUE 10: FAMOSO SPEED SHOP GASSER