We were at the HotRod Trucks Show this past July and saw a Lamborghini Ice '29 Ford Model A roadster pickup gleaming under fluorescence. Our shutter finger boogied in anticipation of photographing it for Custom Classic Trucks. To our delight and dismay, we learned the A had premiered at the 2005 Detroit Autorama and earned Best in Class. The delicious part-the A competed and won at arguably the most prestigious street rod show in the world. The distressing part-the Autorama was several months ago. Surely another magazine had already featured the pickup? No, good Karma and fortune shined upon CCT that day; we'd be the first!
The A's current caretaker, Gary Brigham of Kennesaw, Georgia, is no stranger to moving fast in various modes of transport. He's a pilot and salesman by profession, owned his first hot rod in 1958, and started drag racing the same year. Freshly finished, he and wife Janis purchased the Model A ragtop truck 11 years ago. Attending shows and cruises, the Brighams had logged over 28,000 miles on the odometer for the pickup's first reincarnation.
Initially, Gary selected T&T Customs in Canton, Georgia, for a freshening of the Ford in a few key areas. The truck showed poor paint and bodywork, and the original frame was a bit twisted. When work began on the Brigham's pickup, part of T&T's crew was building a Ridler contender at the same time. The notion came to Gary that premiering his pickup at Cobo Hall's Ridler competition would be pretty cool. After much discussion with his wife and some brainstorming about how they'd like the A to turn out, the Brighams gave T&T the green light to craft a Ridler contender.
Since the original frame looked more like a pretzel, T&T fabricated a custom undercarriage from welded 2x3-inch boxed tubing. A polished aluminum and chrome IFS from Kugel Komponents, complete with polished coilover shocks, made for a solid-state front suspension. Comprised of Wilwood calipers and customized, titanium rotors, T&T created a race-proven front and rear disc-brake system. They also fabricated a polished stainless steel Ford 9-inch, located with a triangulated four-bar suspension system and polished coilovers. Instead of employing a '29's dual saddle tanks, T&T fabricated an 18-gallon stainless steel fuel tank, which they hid between the rear framerails. After forming the stainless steel brake and fuel lines, T&T deconstructed the chassis and painted the frame Lamborghini Ice to match the eventual exterior hue, and rebuilt the sassy chassis for fitment of the drivetrain.
Looking at the A's many original factory items, like the Ford Blue Oval and the radiator filler and temp gauge, one can readily see the appeal of building a restomod. | 
M&M Interiors utilized Mercedes Rust German canvas to cover the one-off top bows. The windshield stanchions and top have a 2-inch chop. |
Crikey! Those are faux crocodile inserts that M&M Interiors added to the custom-built and trimmed German leather seat. The same "skin" provides a boot for the Lokar floor shifter. For safety, at the base of the seat is a remote kill switch, among other interior controls. | |