This is the most recent picture I found . It is now black with red scallops and has gone through many changes, but still has the fake rumble seat and seems to always have a sign out front that mentions it’s unique history (something like “no, it’s not a Ford!) and I think the owner still shows it.

I am searching for the roadster my dad built in 1973. He sold it in the late 80’s and he died in 1994. It was built from a pile of 1923 Studebaker parts and had a Chevy 283 engine with dual carbs. It had a split windshield, a cooler under the passenger seat, gas tank fill behind the fold down seat back and a fake rumble seat. The license plate used to read “The Un T”. I have a picture of it from several years ago that I found, but have not been able to find the owner yet. Any help would be appreciated.

More about the roadster. We lived in Redding, Ca when my dad, Murray Wilson traded a wooden cigar box for a pile of 1923 Studebaker parts in 1972. He built the roadster from the frame up. At the same time his friend, Paul Miller, built something similar. 

The roadster had a 283 engine and dual carbs. When finished it looked like the attached pictures. Brown metal flake paint, split windshield, cooler under the passenger seat pad, gas filler neck behind the fold-down seat back, exposed exhaust pipes, wooden door knobs for the fake doors and toggle switches for controls (oh, and a fine 8 track player!!!). It had mottled brown quilted vinyl inside, a small wood plate on each side in front of the back tires and a fake rumble seat on the rear deck. It had wide Mickey Thompson’s on the back and an Isky cam…he knew both Mickey and Ed.

He finished it in 1974. He called it “The Un T” and had that put on the license plates. It was the first car I learned how to drive, when I was 8 years old. It was one of the highlights of my life. I spent untold hours helping my dad work on the cars we owned, but I most especially loved helping with the roadster.

He kept it until ~1989 when his health began to decline. He sold it to a gentleman that made lots of changes and showed it locally for years (he lived in Trinity County). I believe that man sold it approximately 7 years ago to another hotrodder who is rumored to live somewhere near the Bay area in Ca. The most recent pic I found was the one I sent earlier, it is now black with red scallops and has gone through many changes, but still has the fake rumble seat and seems to always have a sign out front that mentions it’s unique history (something like “no, it’s not a Ford!) and I think the owner still shows it.

Found, Thank you!!!

Angela Wilson