GENERATION NEXT – MASON CAHILL 1923 FORD T-BUCKET
Darren admits that just like he, Mason was born into a world of old cars, gasoline cologne and late nights in the shed. His earliest memories of hot rod influences are flash backs from attending the 1973 ASRF Nationals as a toddler, but it was his first completed hot rod that paved his future with old cars.
“I started building my first car when I was 19,” he fondly recalls, “it was a ’23 track T roadster with a V6 Chevy, track nose with a handmade grill, bright yellow with flames, and red steelies. I finished it two weeks before Valla Rod Run in 1992 after an 11 month build.”
Darren is also the first to declare that all of his three children are free to chase their own dreams, but hot rodding is valued family affair.
When Mason was just 16, he was tinkering with a HR Holden ute, and dad was enjoying his sixth home built hot rod whilst experimenting with elapsed time on the dragstrip with good mates Deano Webb and Graeme Moore. The trio had joined forces to conquer the quarter mile without mortgaging their houses, and still have fun. Racing under the banner of BAMF (Bad Ass M… F…) Racing, they enjoyed grass roots success with a cranky little ’58 Ford Prefect panelvan dubbed ‘The Violator’, a loose tribute to a similar car they’d spotted in an early Australian rodding magazine. It’s this association that landed the T roadster body in the Cahill garage.
“I was toying with the idea of building an altered for the track. Legend racer Jeff Amos had a couple of bodies moulded off his original drag car ‘The Judge’, to recreate his old T altered, complete with a fuel injected Holden grey six. This was one of those bodies,” Darren explains. “It was not intended for the street and was encased over the cockpit with provision for driver only, had no floor and was essentially a floppy body.”
Darren goes on to divulge that five years after acquiring the shell, he still never got around to starting the altered project. Then one day the aforementioned trio needed a carburettor for the Violator. Mason saw an opportunity and offered a straight swap for the old body if he coughed up the cash for the carby. With the deal done, he embarked on an 18 month trajectory to transform the T altered into a street legal hot rod, hitting his mark just in time for the Valla run.
“I wanted my first hot rod as young as I could,” he justifies, and at age just 18 we expect he’s the envy of many.
With a head full of ideas and two generations of experience and knowledge in his back pocket, Mason’s only debilitation was the lack of Johnny Cash. Employment as an apprentice mechanic certainly doesn’t leave much in the coffers for recreation, let alone automotive toys, but what he lacked in coin he sure made up for in ability. Having a pretty well stocked parts inventory courtesy of the old man certainly helped immensely, but he was also expected to pay his way and pull his weight.
From the outset, the turtle deck T was going to sport a military theme, and even before he signed up for duty he had purchased a set of wheels that raised his flagpole.
“When I sold my HR, I went and bought a set of Salt Flat Specials from American Racing, because that’s what I wanted for my hot rod,” he explains, grinning. “I even had them before the body!”
The first step forward was to build a chassis for the replica Ford, which they fabricated from RHS to the width of the body, leaving enough front rail overhang for multiple engine options, including a Chevy six and even a V6 was considered. After reading about the performance of a Hemi six, Mason hunted for a suitable mill, turning up three potential prizes for little financial outlay. Outfitted with triple Webers and homemade headers, it’s a visual and audible triumph.
“I always wanted triple Webers on the HR, so when I decided to build the hot rod it was going to get them. They look so good and it sounds amazing!”
Out of the six rods that Darren has built over the years, four of them have sported owner constructed underpinnings, so this was well within their capabilities. Loosely based on the dimensional length of a Model A chassis, the inline six was positioned allowing room for the water pump, pulleys and fan before the front cross member was tacked into place. Homemade suicide front end retains the spring over the axle which is located with split original Ford wishbones, while out back a Jag rear end made perfect sense for the lightweight rod. It was even in stock! With disc binders on all corners and the unboxed Salt Flats wrapped in rubber, the rolling frame was all but complete and ready for body mock-up.
As stated earlier, the tiny T shell was fit for a Flintstone with no floor, and once the boys opened the sealed cockpit like a can of soup, the floppy body boasted the rigidity of a cardboard box with both ends open! Positioned over the frame, a full fiberglass floor and tunnel was constructed with a slight wedge channel running front to rear, achieving a slight body rake. Further strength is achieved with a complete steel-out of the shell, incorporating anchor points for a full integral roll cage just in case he feels the need for nostalgia track time in the future.
Once satisfied with the body placement and immensely improved robustness, the roadster shell was prepped for a concealing coat of Protec Camouflage Green enamel, owner applied of course. Not turned on by the original ’23 radiator cover, Mason liberated an unused ’28 grill shell from his dad’s stash that was colour coded with the military hue and adds to the Model T’s uniqueness.
Inside the racy cockpit, imagination and talent collide presenting an interior that is functional, practical, eye appealing, individual, humorous and best of all, cost effective. Boasting a host of homemade ingenuity alongside carefully selected aftermarket components, it’s a clever twist on a timeless classic. Standout feature is the Cahill-crafted wind deflector that consumed almost three weeks of labour and patience from both parties to complete. Admired from any angle, it’s now become the T’s signature piece.
“Travelling to Narrandera and the Hawkesbury Nationals in dad’s Chevy tourer are my favourite early memories of rodding,” reflects Mason. “I remember what dad said about halfway through the build; “If you don’t do anything, I’ll sell it! That really gave me a kick in the pants as I was desperate to get it done. It’s built now and I will definitely build another one.”
“I had to keep remembering he is a teenage kid that has a life outside the shed and I had to wait for when he was ready and could afford it. As for me, I have no life outside the shed,” Darren laughs. “His Grandad would drive four and a half hours down from Biggenden every couple of weeks and stay for a few days to help with the project. Dad is a man of few words but was very proud of what we all achieved.”
“It was just awesome to receive a Valla Top Ten after thinking we wouldn’t finish in time, and then a Lucky 7 award just two weeks later at GarterBelts & Gasoline was unbelievable!” Mason concludes.
I found it amusing that when Mason showed up for the Valla roadster corral, he was scorned at by fellow roadster owners and even asked to leave! It would seem that some have forgotten that there is such a thing as a T roadster, and Ed Iskenderian would agree. Receiving a Top Ten pick of the run sure made his week and I am confident a lifelong torchbearer of our hobby for a future generation.
