1929 Ford Model A Sedan Built by Wes Wicks

This car's hot rod life began in 1959 when Rhode Islander Wes Wicks saw a 1929 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan for sale, and knew he needed to own it. He spent time fixing it up in a small garage on his family farm, completely changing the look of the car by adding a different frame as well as straight axles along with a Buick Nailhead V8 paired with a 39’ Ford three-speed transmission. Wes had built this car for one purpose and one purpose only: pure speed and exhilaration.

Wes Wicks journey in building this car had to be put on pause when he was sent to West Germany from 1961-65 to defend against a war with Russia that would never come. After his tour ended in Germany, Wes picked up right where he left off and rolled his Model A out of storage. He seemed to come back at just the right time, as he was given the opportunity to purchase a 426 Max Wedge engine.

In the mid 70’s, Wicks needed extra cash for a house that he was building, so he decided to sell the Model A to a lifelong friend and fellow Newport Drifters member Ray Helger. Helger was not a racer and mainly used the car to pick up his son, Ray Jr., from school. This sparked Ray Jr’s passion for cars, but particularly, he fell in love with this unique Model A. 

Helger sold the car after a few years, and it changed hands numerous times before Ray Jr. spotted it at a local car show. Ray Jr. inquired if it was for sale and unfortunately it was not. Much later on, Ray’s phone rang, and the current owner said he was ready to sell the car. Ray Jr. dashed to pick the car up and began working on it to get it back to the condition that he remembers from his childhood. While Ray Jr. could not source all the original parts that were added onto the car by Wicks, he decided to give it his own spin, while doing his part to make the car much more powerful than it needed to be.

On loan from Ray Helger Jr., Helger Speed Shop, Little Compton, RI