Here’s the latest in our Lost Hot Rods series: a group of five noteworthy Model A Ford roadsters from the golden age of rodding. These cars never found fame, as far as we know, but they look like winners to us. Have a look. 

As we’ve noted before here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, not all the great hot rods from the glory days of the sport found fame in the rodding magazines. Many have remained anonymous to this day, like the five awesome but apparently forgotten cars featured here. As always, if you can provide any information about a car, a photo, or its photographer, please let us know.

For this installment of the Lost Hot Rods series, we’ve focused on the ubiquitous Model A Ford roadster. The ’32 roadster may have been more desirable, and a few other body styles as well, but the Model A was far more available—an everyman’s hot rod, if you will. Ford Motor Company produced more than 450,000 Model A roadsters between 1928 and 1931, and this generous supply provided the base material for some very fine hot rods, as these cars show. Gallery follows.

This ’28-’29 highboy roadster on a ’32 frame is period perfect for circa 1950, but advanced for its time, too. Check out the filled rear quarter panels, split front wishbone, custom convertible top, and three-piece custom hood with tool-box latches and punched louvers. This was a top-shelf rod in its day, no doubt about it.

This fenderless A roadster sports the once-popular stinkbug look with its nose-down, tail-up stance. Twin exhaust pipes are visible underneath, indicating that the original Model A four-banger has been swapped for a Ford flathead V8. This commonplace, straightforward conversion was known as an A-V8. Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels are mounted up at all four corners, with General dirt-track style rubber at the rear.

We have no idea what finally became of this Model A dirt track roadster, but we can tell you a little about it. The Mickey Mouse no. 11 was built and campaigned by Charles Black, a pioneer African-American racer from the Dayton, Ohio area. With driver Hank Naylor, Black ran the old Mutual Racing Association roadster circuit in the late ’40s. Note the DeSoto bumper section serving as a nerf bar.

This 1931 Ford roadster boasts its original Dearborn hood and fenders, while the running boards have been ditched to expose the stock Model A frame. The hood signage reads Mr. Flathead, a clue to the motivation underneath, while the paint and upholstery quality are a cut above the usual rods of the time. The scene is one of the countless airfields across the country that were converted to weekend drag strip use in the ’50s.

For the mid-to-late ’60s when this photo was taken, this ’30-’31 highboy roadster is very traditional in style, incorporating a ’32 Ford chassis, front suspension, and grille shell, a modified flathead V8, and full Moon-type wheel covers. (The Bucket-T roadster parked behind it might be more in tune with the fads of the times.) Note the chrome accessory fenders on the A roadster, suggesting the car came from a state with mandatory fender laws.

To be continued. . .