Words & Photos: John Gunnell

Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
And it’s good enough for me.

Now, we all know that religion is a private thing, but I couldn’t help humming this little church ditty out loud when I saw the 1930 Ford roadster that Mike and Becky St. Martin, of Menomonee Falls, Wis., brought to O’Reilly Auto Parts 57th annual World of Wheels show. But instead of the real words, I was singing “It gives me that old school feelin’.” What a cool rendition of an early “hot roadster.”

Mike and Becky even stuck with a 201-cid inline, flathead Ford four-banger under the hood, although it was nattily dressed-up with lots of rare vintage race parts. Where do you even find an old McCulloch supercharger for that type of “mill?” Other out-of-the-past engine goodies on the Ford motor included ribbed aluminum side covers, a polished intake and highly-polished steel exhaust headers.

The finish on the car was patina paint from front to rear, with the paint almost totally rubbed off in some areas. And there were faded scallops on top of the Deuce radiator shell that must have been brushed on by caveman Ally Oop centuries ago. At least, they looked that ancient. Matching fade-away yellow stripes ran down the body moldings. The car was fender-less, the way hot rods usually were back in the day. After all, cars like this one were total “budget buggies” back then. Who could afford cycle fenders?

Instead of being a traditional “8 Ball Special,” this roadster is lettered up with a big “7B” in the ball painted on the rear quarter panel, which purposely has a hand-painted look, except for the reflective “engine-turned” metallic finish on the 7 (outlined in red). This type of finish is also used for the McCulloch name on the doors and cowl sides. The full message reads “McCulloch Equipped, Milwaukee, WI” with Equipped in white and the city and state in red.

Bright red finish is also used on the original style spoke wire wheels, which are accented by polished Ford “doggie dish” hub caps and bright wheel trim rings. “Gangster” whitewall tires are mounted to perfectly set off the car’s old school character. The wrapped “fire hose” exhaust pipes are another cool touch.

After seeing this Ford in the show, all I could think about its old-timey hot rod look was, “Mike and Becky—you nailed it.”