When Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama roars into the Cobo Center on Feb. 26-28, Terry Dworin will be right there with his pristine hot rod.
The Oxford resident will be showing off his souped-up, satin black 1927 Ford Model T.
‘I’ve put a lot of work into it. I’m still working on it,? said Dworin during a Feb. 18 phone interview. ‘We’re getting down to the wire here. I’m building the grill for it now (out of a 1938 Case tractor grill).?
Dworin purchased the vintage vehicle last year from a guy in St. Joseph, Missouri.
‘The whole body is original Henry Ford steel,? he said.
Between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Motor Company manufactured more than 15 million Model Ts. Assembly-line production made it the first automobile that average Americans could afford. The price dropped dramatically from $850 in 1908 to less than $300 in 1925.
Dworin’s been busy working on the Model T inside and out with his granddaughter, Tatum Wright, a third-grader at Clear Lake Elementary School.
‘It looks great right now,? he said. ‘I hope (people) love it.?
Old Henry Ford would probably be quite surprised if he peeked under the hood of this bad boy.
The original Model T engine generated 20 horsepower and had a top speed of around 40 to 45 miles per hour.
Dworin’s Model T has a 355 Chevy engine with two carburetors, dual quads and zoomie headers. Somewhere Tim Allen just grunted.
‘It’s real loud,? he said.
When asked about its top speed, Dworin replied, ‘It’s pretty fast.?
‘I don’t know (how fast). I don’t want to find out,? he continued. ‘Those cars get real scary when you build them like that.?
This is about the fourth vehicle Dworin has brought to Autorama. He’s been buying, selling, building and fixing up vehicles for most of his life.
‘I’m a car guy all the way, through and through,? he said.
He’s worked in the auto collision repair game for approximately 42 years as a bump-and-paint man. ‘I do the whole car, start to finish,? Dworin said.
He got his first opportunity to practice those skills at age 16 when he took his dad’s 1967 Pontiac GTO out for a spin without permission.
Murphy’s Law caught up with him and he ended up smashing into a tree.
Being ‘a dumb kid,? Dworin attempted to hide the aftermath of his joyride by straightening some of the bent metal and putting the car cover back on.
His efforts were unsuccessful.
‘I had just got my first car, but I was back to riding the school bus after I did that,? Dworin said.
More information about Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama can be found by visiting www.autorama.com or calling (248) 373-1700.