La Cucuaracha

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1927 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup built and owned by Junichi Shimodaira of Paradise Road in Nagoya, Japan. The car is also known as the La Cucuracha. Junichi bought the car from a friend in 2005 after finishing the RODriguez. The car was imported from New Zealand, so it was a right hand driver.

Junichi started his project by making a new frame for the car. He wanted his roadster to sit as low as possible, so he made a huge kick-up in the rear. With the kick-up in place Junichi continued making motor mounts, a transmission member, body mounts, brackets for F&R radius rods, clutch and brake pedal unit and more. Junichi did not want to use after market kit parts, so most of the brackets were hand crafted out of steel. The front axle and radius rods comes from a 1939 Ford. The 16 inch wire wheels a from a 1935 Ford. In the rear Junichi fit the car with air bags and aftermarket radius rods.

The body is almost stock. Junichi channeled the body over the frame, and chopped the windshield frames. The headlights are from a 1930 Ford Model A and the brackets were hand made by Junichi. The taillights are from a 1951 Chevrolet. Junichi used the original gas tank, but he relocated it to the rear of the bed.

The car is powered by a 235 inline 6 engine from a 1959 Chevrolet station wagon. The engine features a very rare twin carburetor manifold of unknown make. The transmission is a 3 speed manual transmission out of the same car. The rear end came from a 1956 Chevrolet. The headers were hand made using chopper baffles.

The car was finished December 1st, 2005, one day before the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show. At the show the car debuted with the original red paint and with the chassis in bare metal. After the show Junichi sold the car to Daisuke Shibuya. Daisuke painted the chassis and body on the car. He also changed the headers on La Cucuaracha, and put some Gasser ET 15-4 wheels in front and ET 5 Spoke by Wheels Center Cp in the rear. October 2009 Daisuke sold the car.