Words: Tommy Parry

How many classic, lakebed beasts oozing Americana use a Bavarian V8 to burble? Quite a few, but in this case, the mixture is intoxicating. Devoid of any real creature comforts, this car lacks any pretension or opulence, and is merely a basic, thrilling, and very dangerous machine for the purpose of having fun with a sense of style and lightheartedness. As a classic Ford fan, it’s hard to understand the urge to put something non-American under the hood of a classic Model A, but ingenuity should be embraced, even the more sacrilegious forms of it.

Ditching the classic, 3.3-liter, inline-four was Mike Burroughs’ first move in building this crazy concoction. In its place now sits a snarling 4.0-liter M60 from a 1995 BMW 740i mated to a 6-speed Getrag transmission. The V8 produces 282 horsepower and 295 lb/ft of torque, so the little flatlands brawler has more than enough poke to get going in a hurry. That amount of power in a 1,500-pound truck fitted with skinny ties ought to make for a harrowing experience. With a custom fuse box insulated by a waterproof housing, the exposed motor can withstand a brush with the elements without fizzing out.

Putting that power to the ground is a Ford 8″ rear from a ’66 Mustang, with internals and 3.55 gearset from a Yukon. A custom driveshaft, flanked by U-joints, occupies the midsection of the underbody. Little slack in the setup combined with little overall weight and a healthy amount of churn from the V8 make for a responsive, tire-spinning machine. 

The suspension designs of thirties trucks are far from sophisticated. Matt, a BMW fanatic – hence the engine choice – had no concept of how these antiquated leaf springs worked in reality, and after a little R&D, came to realize the complexity of the situation. To take a vintage truck like this and make it sit just two inches off the road was a monumental challenge – one that would necessitate a serious overhaul of everything suspension-related. Off to the metal supply facility.

After fabbing a basic suspension skeleton, the car was propped up for a good mock-up. To properly predict the right sag and ride height with all the components installed, it took Mike a good 8 months to both fabricate the framework complete all the requisite estimation. Adding a ramshackle wooden roof and hucking on bits of the bodywork, the car was far from complete, but began to look the part. A few weeks of bleary, red-eyed nights and days resulted in a menacing rod that looked the part and ran smoothly.

Part of that aesthetic came from a mixture of farm truck and hot rod styling cues. The skin of the car is comprised of sheet metal wearing a heavy patina, as well as a cab dragged several inches back towards the rear wheels to suggest a shorter wheelbase and more performance. The distinguishing feature, however, is not the skinny rear tires nor the raised bed, but the BMW V8 standing proudly out of the hood.

In one stylistic middle finger to the purists who find the combination blasphemous, the big, hunking V8 represents Mike’s intent to mix old-world Ford with his other passion, BMWs. The exposed valve covers give the impression that the car is far more than a modest restoration, and draw the eye away from the weathered body panels and their patina towards the odd, glimmering, desirable, and very modern accent piece, like a polished safe in the middle of a burned-out building.

What the extruding motor suggests are modern, robust innards that belie the aged state of the exterior. All the footwork, including the brakes, spindles, rear coilovers, springs, and rear 4-link, are all brand new and glossy black, though nobody will get a chance to observe them. The underpinnings are not only sturdy, they represent the immense amount of effort and planning that went into a car that looks so intentionally neglected from the outside – though in actuality, that look is the main interest here.

With an emphasis on style, the front axle was carefully left behind the front bumper, which in a truck this low is no easy feat. In addition to making the radiator, steering system, and Ackerman angle work in the proper form, it forced the cabin to be shortened. This further increases the challenge of driving this truck, which is capable of spinning the tires at seventy miles an hour. With virtually no headroom, a driving position that would require the help of a chiropractor, and a limited field of vision, the interior of this rod is not plush. It must be very special for anyone to want to drive it at length.

Then again, it would have to be. As this project was built, essentially, from the ground up, it’s a creation of a man who had little knowledge of hot rods prior to building, but managed to surmount the obstacles. An attention to detail, a willingness to experiment, and an obsessive dedication all come through in a car which might raise eyebrows and infuriate the purists, but is undoubtedly a hodgepodge of the right parts with a double-dose of style.