Last updated on August 21, 2026
Today’s car is a 1929 Ford Roadster owned by Jerry Mull. Finished in Cherry Red with a red and black Naugahyde interior, this traditional highboy is powered by a 1963 Chevrolet 283 cubic inch V8 equipped with Power Pack heads, an Offenhauser aluminum intake manifold, a Clay Smith camshaft, and three Rochester two-barrel carburetors. Power is sent through a two-speed GM Powerglide automatic transmission to a 1948 Ford rear end with a Halibrand quick-change differential. Stopping is handled by 1948 Ford drum brakes on all four corners. Up front, the suspension uses split wishbones, a reversed-eye transverse leaf spring, and chrome Gabriel shocks, while the rear uses a hidden four-link suspension designed by Robin “Banks” Guzman. Steering is handled by a 1967 Ford Mustang steering box.
Jerry’s Roadster follows the traditional highboy formula, combining an original steel 1929 Ford Model A Roadster body with a fully boxed and pinched 1932 Ford frame, without fenders or running boards. Up front is a filled and nosed 1932 Ford grille shell, along with King Bee headlights and a windshield chopped 2.5 inches. A custom-made removable aluminum hood and rear deck feature a total of 262 louvers, 148 on the hood and 114 on the deck. Completing the traditional hot rod appearance are 1939 Ford taillights, 15-inch Ford steel wheels up front and 16-inch Lincoln steel wheels in the rear, BFGoodrich Silvertown wide-whitewall tires, and 1948 Ford hubcaps.
Jerry’s Roadster also has a connection to hot rod movie history. It appeared in the 2010 independent film Deuce of Spadesas “Fresno’s Red Ford Roadster,” the Number 2 car in the film, driven by actor Frank O’Leary in his role as Toni “Fresno” Crosciato, rival to the film’s central character, Johnny Callaway. Jerry purchased the Roadster in 2009, after its hot rod scenes had been completed, and has owned it ever since.
Written and directed by Faith Granger, Deuce of Spades tells the story of a modern-day hot rodder who discovers a mysterious letter from the 1950s hidden in her 1932 Ford Roadster and sets out to uncover the car’s past. Set against the world of 1950s hot rodding, the film features the traditional hot rods and racing culture that defined the era.
Jerry refers to the Roadster as “Challenger,” and its history appears to go back well before its role in Deuce of Spades. As near as Jerry has been able to determine, the car was built for El Mirage dry-lake racing in the mid-1950s and continued into the 1970s. At one time it carried a small fuel tank just ahead of the 1932 Ford grille shell, and although that tank is long gone, its hand-operated fuel pump remains on the dashboard. Today, fuel is carried in a custom 17.25-gallon aluminum tank mounted in the trunk.
Ford introduced the Model A in late 1927 as the successor to the Model T, offering it in a wide variety of body styles. For 1929, the Model A was powered by a 201 cubic inch four-cylinder engine producing 40 horsepower, backed by a three-speed manual transmission and four-wheel mechanical brakes. With a top speed of approximately 65 mph, the Model A could reach 60 mph in roughly 30 seconds. The Roadster, designated body style 40-A, was one of Ford’s open models, and 191,529 were produced for 1929. Its original price was $435 F.O.B. Detroit.
Jerry’s connection to traditional hot rods goes back to the mid-1950s, when he and his cousin Johnny would sit in a rusty Model A Roadster body and pretend they were driving a hot rod. Growing up in Southern California car culture and reading Rod & Custom, Car Craft, Hop Up, and Hot Rod, Jerry dreamed of someday owning a real 1950s-era hot rod. Decades later, after spending two years working as a volunteer on Deuce of Spades, the opportunity to own “Fresno’s Red Roadster” gave him both the car he had dreamed about since he was 10 years old and what he calls his ultimate souvenir from the film.
From its traditional highboy styling and possible dry-lakes history to its role in Deuce of Spades, Jerry’s 1929 Ford Roadster has a story that spans generations of Southern California hot rod culture. For Jerry, though, perhaps the most important part of that story is much simpler: the 10-year-old boy who once sat in a rusty Model A Roadster dreaming of owning a real hot rod eventually got to live that dream. Whether headed to a car show, Cars & Coffee, or simply cruising down the coast, “Fresno’s Red Roadster” is still doing exactly what a traditional hot rod was built to do—be driven and enjoyed.
Thank you for riding along with me and for being part of the Frank’s Cars in the Hood community.
Frank
