Hot Rod Hoarder Feature Video: A Rare ELECTRIC Supercharger Powers this 1950’s Hot Rod SURVIVOR
(Words and Video by Tommy Lee Byrd) This is the ULTIMATE SURVIVOR hot rod. The Hugger Orange paint was sprayed on this car in 1973, and many of its chassis and suspension components have been in place for nearly 70 years. This car was built in 1955 by a police officer in Indianapolis. It was later sold to Herb Losche, who then traded it to Mort Schrougham for a ’57 Ford convertible in 1962. The car originally had a Flathead V8 from a ’39 Ford, as well as a ’39 Ford three-speed transmission and rear end.
The body is channeled over the frame, and it has some hand made suspension components to bring the ride height down even further. It has a dropped I beam axle and home made radius rods up front. Out back is a Ford 9 inch rear end (installed in the ’60s), as well as split wish bones and coil springs. Mort’s history with the car involves drag racing in A/Street Roadster at Muncie Dragway in the early ’60s. The car had a Ford Y-block V8 and was updated to a Ford 406 and a four-speed later on. The car has had a few paint jobs, but the one it wears now took place when Mort transitioned the car from drag racing duty to a street rod in 1973. He painted the car and his wife Jean stitched the black interior. At this point, Mort installed a 400ci small block Chevy and TH350 automatic transmission.
Other details include a narrowed 1950 Ford dash, vintage Stewart Warner gauges, items that have been with this car for decades. The car was put in storage in 1982 and was brought back out in 2000. When John Cooper bought the car in 2013, he back-dated the car with some period correct speed parts. This includes a very rare Roto-Faze distributor. He also installed chromed rams horn manifolds to replace the old headers. Lastly and most importantly, he swapped out the intake and carbs for an extremely rare Oberhausen electric supercharger, a piece he had bought years prior. The supercharger is from the 1950’s and features three two-barrel carburetors, and it’s all spun by a starter motor from a ’57 Ford.
This car is full of vintage speed parts and great history, with some excellent pictures to back it up. Let’s take a look at this survivor hot rod roadster, and some of the details that make it so special.
