1926 Ford Model T Frontenac Roadster

1926 Ford Model T Frontenac Roadster Description

1926 Ford Model T Frontenac Roadster

What you see on this page is a rare instance of 1920s cooperation, Chevrolet helping Ford. MotoeXotica Classic Cars is particularly proud to offer this 1926 Ford Model T Frontenac Racer. This comes from a period of time when many performance-oriented aftermarket suppliers were making a name with overhead valve conversions that would add another 50% to the power range. Frontenac Motor Corporation was a joint venture of automobile racing brothers Louis, Gaston, and Arthur Chevrolet. It was founded in 1914 in Indianapolis to build high-performance automobiles that, not coincidentally, would be used in the brothers' own pursuit of glory at the Indianapolis 500.

With its vintage speed equipment, sleek speedster bodywork and complete restoration, this "Fronty" Model T is an exceptional example of Detroit-built early American motorsports history.

The car represented here, we believe, is a re-creation of the "Fronty Racers" of the 1920s but has a genuine period correct Frontenac OHV. It has a Model T chassis, a period-correct 177 CID Model T inline four-cylinder motor and the infamous Frontenac R cylinder head that is known to boost 20HP to over 30HP from the standard T motor.

Its jet black exterior and trim are in very good order and was recently painted in 2014, as are the car's lights. As was the case with racing cars in the 1920s, this model has no glass panels; drivers wore headgear and goggles.

This Fronty-Ford rolls on Bedford whitewall tires, size 4.40-4.50-5.00-5.25-21 and each tire surrounds a red wire wheel. All five tires and wheels look very good.

The car's bodywork is straight and solid. Being a racing car, there's no roof, trunk or bumpers on this vehicle, however there is a full-size spare tire with its own wire wheel at the rear. The engine bay is tidy and the battery appears in good order.

Under the hood is a modified, period-correct Ford Model T engine of at least 177 CID with a Frontenac R cylinder head, three port design and an exhaust manifold set up to provide that Speedway Roar. The engine breathes via a side-exit exhaust and it sounds absolutely wicked! Backing that engine is the standard two-speed planetary transmission.

In the cockpit, the red seats are in excellent condition, the black carpeting is in very good order, as is the minimalist instrument panel with its stunning turned aluminum dash and brass timing and throttle levers. The four-spoke steering wheel with a thick wood rim looks great.

Louis Chevrolet, co-founder of the company that bears his name, was also a Swiss-American racing car driver.

His racing career continued as he drove for Buick and befriended William C. Durant, General Motors' founder. While Chevrolet had little formal education, he learned automotive design while working for Buick and he began designing his own engine for a new car in 1909. He built an overhead-valve six-cylinder engine in his machine shop on Grand River Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan.

By the mid-1910s, Chevrolet shifted (pun intended) into the racing car industry, joining forces with Howard E. Blood to create the Cornelian racing car, in which he placed 20th in the 1915 Indianapolis 500. In 1916, he started the Frontenac Motor Corporation with brothers Gaston and Arthur, where they manufactured racing car parts for the Ford Model T and Fronty-Ford racing cars.

Louis drove raced in the Indianapolis 500 four times, with a best finish of seventh in 1919 and he and his brothers drove in several other races.

This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 26,016 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

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VIN: 14697163

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