Features: The Fireball T

Feature Story

THE FIREBALL T

When one has their head down the rabbit hole of early hot rodding, one can’t avoid the grass roots of the whole thing, gow jobs. The name “gow job” has a lot of different potential origns; some talk about saying “go” with an accent, and some make references to drugs, but what really matters is what these cars were: Stripped down, hopped up, bare bones cars made to go fast, and nothing else.

The Fireball T and I have a tiny bit of history. This car is admittedly a big part of the origin story of this Hard Luck Garage brand, but lets talk about the car first!

Greg Stokes of Auckland, New Zeeland was bound to be a hot rodder from a young age. His interests in early hot rodding and land speed racing are a direct result of spending a lot of time around his dad building cars as he grew up. At some point Greg discovered these early “gow jobs,” and we end up right here.

The path that Greg took was a little bit of a left turn from the sort of cars he builds in his shop, GMS Hot Rods. He wanted to stick to the blueprint; build a car that was like it would have been in the ‘30s: stripped down, hopped up, nothing unnecessary.

The car we’re all staring at here really hit the nail on the head. It’s the essence of car, with a period feel. All early parts and techniques, no heavy fabrication.

The body is an original ‘22 T roadster body, and the windshield is chopped and raked back for a profile that evokes speed even when the car is static.

Holding the body off the ground is a Model T frame with a 5” kick up in the rear of the frame, and a Pete Eastwood front spring mount to push the front end up and out in front of the radiator give it the low-slung stance that really sends the overall look home. The front wishbone is split, and a lowered leaf spring was used to get the front even closer to the road. The rear has the stock T spring mounted in front of the axle.

Whether ripping around a dirt oval or down a two-lane backroad, The T doesn’t lack for power. A Model A 4-banger engine and transmission were fitted in between the T rails. It’s a gow job, so of course its hopped up! A Lion Speed high compression head, dual 97’s on an Equaliser intake, and a Jim Brierly Cam give this thing the extra push down the road, and Greg says it’s quick too! Spent gasses exhaust through a dual Y exhaust manifolds and converge into a 3” straight pipe that sings a song you could listen to for hours.

Greg wanted to build a car that was simple, that he could have fun with, and, really, build an old car that wasn’t a total rattle trap. It sure looks like he came up strong in all categories.

How does this car fit into my story? I was browsing YouTube one day, and came across the video done on this car by Hot Rod Revue, as I was showing my Wife my vision for my dirt cheap jalopy project, and I fell in love with this car. I’ve watched that video many times now, and as my Jalopy starts to shape up, I have to point back to this car as one of my initial sources of inspiration. Thanks for keeping the spirit of early hot rodding alive, Greg!

Photos were provided to me by the man himself, Greg Stokes

You can watch the original video done by Hot Rod Revue right here:

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Until next time,

Jon