THE COUPSTER – BEN FORSTER FORD MODEL T HOT ROD

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Some hot rods are built to fit in. Others are built because the owner has a picture in their head and simply refuses to compromise until it becomes reality. Perth rodder Ben Forster falls firmly into the second category.

The tiny Model T roadster known as the Coupster started life as little more than a collection of rusty panels purchased from a local backyard around 2010. As fate would have it, the seller’s son eventually started working for Ben and revealed the car had originally belonged to him.

“The seller’s son has now started working for me and told me it was actually his car,” laughs Ben. “His dad sold it while he was away. He’s not getting it back now, that’s for sure!”

What followed was a five-year journey that blended traditional hot rodding, show rod influences and a healthy dose of ’60s custom culture. While many builders chase authenticity or convention, Ben was chasing something far more personal.

“I had it in my head that I wanted to build a ’60s-style show car,” he explains. “It had to have a dickie seat for the kids and a roadster is perfect for our Perth weather. I love Ed Roth’s creations and the bikes of the ’60s and ’70s with crazy flake and wild paint schemes. I didn’t want a nice hot rod. I wanted something unique.”

The body itself presented a challenge from the outset. The lower six inches were rusted away almost entirely, but Ben already owned another Model T coupe and used it as a reference to recreate the missing sections.

“Most people won’t get it, but I do and really, that’s all that counts,” he says.

The project took a significant step forward when Ben met talented painter and fabricator Stewart Parris through mutual friend Alan Smart. The pair instantly clicked after Stewart pinstriped and painted a fuel tank for one of Ben’s motorcycles during a Cranksters Winter Madness gathering.

“I don’t know what it was, but something just clicked between the two of us,” recalls Ben. “He understood what was in my head.”

Before tackling the Coupster itself, the pair experimented with colour combinations on Ben’s daughters’ mini rod, refining the concept with assistance from Owen Webb at House of Kolor. The exercise confirmed they were on the right track.

While Stewart would eventually become heavily involved in the bodywork and paint, the bulk of the construction was completed by Ben, assisted by his father Peter.

“I basically built the car myself with help from Dad to a rolling shell stage,” says Ben. “Once the lead wiping was done, though, I was pretty much banned from the prep and paint side of things. Us boilermakers are a bit too rough!”

The chassis was fabricated from 100 x 50 RHS and styled around traditional Model T dimensions, albeit with several custom touches inspired by early Ford race cars and show rods.

“I’d like to say the holes in the chassis are for performance,” Ben grins, “but I’d be bullshitting. I just liked the look of them.”

A Model A crossmember supports the front suspension while a So-Cal Speed Shop ladder-bar rear end and 1940-style spring package handle duties at the back. Not every fabrication idea survived first contact with reality.

“There was a bit of that throughout the build,” Ben admits. “Sometimes you haven’t done it properly unless you’ve done it twice.”

The build stretched across five years, partly because Ben has never been the type to focus on just one project at a time. During the Coupster’s construction he also completed a blown-flathead Model A gasser, a twin-turbo flathead dragster, a Shovelhead chopper and started work on an airbagged ’36 coupe.

“I managed to get sidetracked more than once,” he laughs.

Much of the work took place in his home shed with daughters Ella and Abby regularly lending a hand.

“The girls helped out plenty,” says Ben. “My wife, not so much. She just didn’t get the whole idea. She’s more of a plain shiny colour type and would much rather a shiny ’34.”