1928 Fred Steele's Ford Model A Tudor Sedan

Lent by Dan & Brian Lenox, Ayer, MA

When Fred Steele was just 14 years old, he decided that he needed something to cruise around his family’s farm in Boxborough, MA. A ’28 sedan was the vehicle of choice. He parked the sedan near the woods at the farm and started on a new ’32 roadster project. It was not long after the roadster was done, Fred was flipping through the pages of Hot Rod Magazine and came across Jack Chrisman’s chopped drag sedan. Fred was inspired, and quickly got to work on his old farm cruising sedan in the spring of 1958.

To begin, Fred chopped the car 6 inches. Then ventured to his local Ford dealer where he located 4 NOS fenders, a hood, grille shell, splash aprons, and commercial running boards. A nearly new ’57 Chevy motor was installed along with a ’46 Columbia 2-speed rear, and a ’39 Lincoln Zephyr transmission. Fred chromed the running boards and left the car in primer until the late fall of 1961. The sedans most notable appearance was at the 1960 Hartford Autorama still wearing grey primer.

In September of 1961, with a group that included Hugh Tucker and the late Tommy Dawes, Fred took the sedan west. They stopped at the 1st NHRA Nationals at Indy on the way out, and ended up in places like San Fran, Disneyland, and the Bonneville Salt Flats. But most importantly, Tijuana. After Fred was back home in MA, he decided it was time the sedan received a proper paint job. He painted the car the same purple as his famed ’32 roadster.

Around 1990 Fred gave the sedan new life and had her roadworthy and cruising once again. It was around this time Larry Hook added some traditionally styled pin striping, something Fred never got around to in the earlier years. Shortly after Fred passed in 2014, the sedan ended up in, of all places, California. After changing hands a couple times, Fred’s sedan is back in New England, and lives in the Lenox family’s garage just 7 miles from where it was originally built.