1927 Ford Model T Roadster

This incredible ’27 Ford T roadster was built by the Chavez family.

Many families have someone who keeps track of the family tree, following the history back as many generations as possible. Albert Chavez keeps track of the family cars — a ’27 Model T roadster to be specific. Albert, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, remembered his Grandfather had a’27 Ford. When he and his brother Nick grew curious about its whereabouts, they went to their father Sonny for information. That sparked a connection, and after some interfamily investigative work, they located the roadster inside a barn on their cousin’s farm.
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When the Chavez men arrived in nearby Las Vegas, New Mexico, toward the end of the 1990s, they found the Model T to be in pretty decent shape considering it had not seen the light of day since the ’70s. Still, the car needed plenty of attention and was somewhat of a time capsule revealing the styling trends of an earlier decade.

As found, the roadster was wearing full fenders, along with a weathered red paint job. A small-block Ford OHV V-8 was nestled into the stock Model T frame rails, but had long ago given up the fight. The discovery of the all-steel flyer kicked off an 18-year odyssey to resurrect the car.
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The project has a strong emotional connection for the Chavez family. Albert and Nick made a point of noting how their father had always been there for them, so they wanted to go all out to make this car special for him.

The first order of business was constructing a new frame for that vintage Model T tin, along with a small-block Chevy. However, after the new frame and motor met the road, the car seemed to “drive itself” and proved to be a handful in traffic. Considerable time was spent working on the chassis, but the brothers finally decided the family hot rod deserved better.

They turned to Blackboard Hot Rods for a custom-built frame using ’32 Ford rails as the foundation for their in-progress Model T. The brothers rebuilt the same 327c.i. Chevy engine that was pulled from Sonny’s old pickup, along with a 350-TH trans. With a proper frame now holding everything together, the car began to take the shape the brothers envisioned.

As the project progressed, the Chavezes recruited Angelo Vigil at Outlaw Kustoms in their hometown of Albuquerque to complete the build. A drilled and dropped front I-beam axle, along with a pair of split wishbones, provides a traditional front suspension, while a Ford 9-inch rear end was narrowed to proportionally fit the rear of the ’27 T body shell.




It’s hard to beat a black paint job for a fundamentally pure hot rod. The Chavez’s original steel Model T body, as well as the newly crafted deuce frame and suspension, was treated to several glass-smooth coats of PPG Triple Black by Sean Sena at Sea-Nic 66 Auto Body. The piece de resistance of this roadster’s exterior has to be the creative use of the Past Tech repro Duvall windshield frame.

The roadster’s tidy interior is the work of Gil Vigil of Interior Motives Upholstery. The pleated dark red vinyl interior harkens to the simplicity of the era and the homemade shifter, using a motorcycle footpeg is a nice touch, including its custom surround.

It took nearly two decades, but the Chavez family saved a piece of their family’s history in the form of a classic hot rod that generations will get to enjoy in the future. They’ve had the little rod at a number of shows in the southwest and have racked up an impressive number of awards, but what’s better is the bonding effect of strong family ties. It took considerable perseverance, but in the end, it turned into a solid win for the home team.
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