Sam Giberson's 1934 Ford

Sam Giberson of Kansas City, Kansas, poses with his handmade custom roadster in a 1948 feature from The Kansas City Star. Built over the course of a year using parts from five different cars, a truck, and a speedboat, the sleek and compact roadster cost just $2,600 to build. Image from The Kansas City Star, December 5, 1948.

1934 Ford owned and built by Sam Giberson of Kansas City, Kansas. Gilberson's Roadster was a striking custom-built car completed in 1948. Assembled in his home garage using parts from five different automobiles, a truck, and even a speedboat, the roadster was an ambitious one-man project that cost just $2,600 to build. The end result was a sleek, low-slung vehicle that turned heads wherever it was parked and reflected the growing spirit of postwar hot rodding and customization in America.

A pilot for Mid-Continent Airlines, Giberson had previously lived in California, where he was exposed to the emerging world of hot rods. Inspired by what he had seen on the West Coast, he began sketching out his own “dream car” after relocating to Kansas City. With a vision in mind, he launched into the process of gathering parts from junkyards and used-part dealers. Finding that used car parts were nearly as scarce as new ones in the postwar years, Giberson often had to substitute pieces along the way. Despite the challenges, the completed roadster bore a strong resemblance to his original concept.

The foundation for the car was a 1934 Ford V8 panel truck. Giberson kept the frame, rear end, and transmission, discarding the rest. The body came from a 1934 Ford roadster, which he shortened by fifteen inches and lowered five inches to achieve a more compact and aggressive stance. The rear fenders were sourced from a 1936 Ford coupe, while the front fenders came from a 1940 Studebaker. The grille was taken from a 1940 Nash, and the hood was adapted from a Buick Roadmaster. Adding an unusual nautical touch, the dashboard had originally belonged to a speedboat. The only brand-new component on the vehicle was its engine—a 1947 supercharged Mercury.

All of the parts were assembled in Giberson’s home garage. One of the most painstaking aspects of the build was the finishing work. To transform the weathered and mismatched parts into a polished showpiece, Giberson applied eighty-five coats of primer and lacquer using a spray gun. Each coat was allowed to dry before being sanded with fine sandpaper to produce a velvet-smooth finish.

Finished in a light canary yellow and upholstered in red, the roadster was fitted with wide whitewall tires that enhanced its elegant yet sporty look. Despite its compact size—standing only 4 feet 5 inches tall with a 99-inch wheelbase—the car had a strong presence. It consistently attracted attention and was often mistaken for a foreign-built automobile due to its unique styling and proportions.

Although Giberson had not raced the car as of late 1948, he expressed hopes of taking it to the dry lakes of California for a test run. Confident in the capabilities of the supercharged Mercury engine, he believed the car could reach speeds of at least 120 miles per hour.

This roadster marked Captain Sam Giberson’s first attempt at building a custom car, and it stood as a remarkable example of postwar creativity, mechanical ingenuity, and the do-it-yourself spirit that defined early hot rod culture.