While Ford’s Model T is most famous today as bare-bones transportation for the masses, the design’s famous hardiness paid off in other pursuits as well. As early as 1909, a Model T proved its race worthiness by successfully competing in the legendary transcontinental race from New York City to Spokane, Washington. As many young clients began to recognize Ford’s surprising performance pedigree, a new market sprang up for used Model Ts.

Heavy wooden factory bodies were stripped away and left behind in farmyards, and they were replaced by lightweight racing bucket seats and oval tanks. Full-length windshields were replaced by circles of glass no larger than a lady’s hand mirror. Sleek vee’d brass radiator shells recalled the Mercedes machines that ran at Indianapolis. Taken down to its bare essentials, a Model T was more than just affordable transportation. It was genuinely quick and a real hoot in which to shoot up and down a dirt road.

The car was acquired for the Calumet Collection and represented as a 1920 model, though no number can be found on its engine or chassis – simply a brass plate reading “Samantha,” the name given it by prior owners Richard and Jean Hawkins of Atascadero, California. Its body is built in the usual speedster meme, with a pair of simple upholstered bucket seats facing a leather-wrapped steering wheel and Ford ammeter, an oval bolster-style gas tank, and a small trunk. It is equipped with a fixed hood with removable side panels for servicing, as well as the desirable touring features of a Ruckstell rear axle and larger “Rocky Mountain” brakes.

This is an exciting little Ford and would be a real treat for a new owner.