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Yep, that is his real name. Born Cool and living it everyday,
Travis Cool is not only marching to the beat of his own drum,
he also built it. The truly amazing part is he did it in only
seven days on a budget.
"This was a show car back in the 1950's," Cool
explained about his 1922 Model T Ford. Legend has it the car
graced the pages of Hot Rod magazine back in the day.
It may have been a long way from the glossy pages of hotrod
history when Cool discovered the car in 2004, but it had two
very important things going for it: history and potential.
"I was doing some contract work near Warren for Manitoba
Hydro, drilling holes in poles to make sure they weren't rotten,"
Cool reported. "I saw this windshield peeking out from
under a tarp in a guy's back yard." When a quick inspection
revealed a chrome dropped front axel he realized he was dealing
with a bona fide vintage hotrod. After a solid week hounding
the owner to sell him the car, Cool found himself immersed
in a boyhood dream.
When he was just a kid, Cool decided the Model T was the
car for him. "I was a paperboy and a guy on my route
had a T-bucket," Cool recalled of his introduction to
the wonderful world of hot rodding. "He took me for a
ride and from that moment on I always wanted a Model T Ford."
The details of the car were initially a bit sketchy but after
the deal was sealed the owner lightened up and offered it
was actually built by his father in the late 1950s. It was
resurrected again in the '70s and spent the majority of its
life in Ontario. After being shipped off to Manitoba in the
early '80s, the engine was inexplicably and unceremoniously
removed. The car then sat outside heartless and motionless
for over 20 years.
Photographic evidence of the owner standing beside the car
in the '60s revealed that it was once a shiny red street rod
with a hopped-up engine and enough chrome parts to make a
jeweler jealous.
Cool is quick to mention that the custom-built chasis gave
him a considerable head start. A Saginaw four-speed manual
transmission remained from the car's glory days and a pile
of vintage speed parts like an Edelbrock intake manifold and
the nifty exhaust pipes were discovered in the car's button-tuft
black vinyl interior.
The industrious Cool wasted no time getting the car rolling
again, adding a Ford nine-inch rear end from and 1971 Mercury
Cougar and a small block Chevy 305 V8 engine. A new wiring
harness was also added, along with a variety of personal touches
that have resulted in one of Manitoba's most beloved cruisers.
Crowds routinely surround the car at Sunday night cruises
and everywhere Travis goes he is met with thumbs up and nods
of approval.
Travis painted the car himself, in his driveway nonetheless.
His buddy Kevin Wilson, a local airbrush artist added some
tattoos of the metal variety. "I've always been a huge
admirer of Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth," Cool remarked. That
fact is apparent. In addition to the obvious Big Daddy influences
on his car, Cool also has several tattoos on his body that
pay homage to the legendary artist.
Cool hangs with a close-knit group of cool cats who call
themselves El Diablo. This band of brothers is a talented
bunch who think nothing of spending an entire weekend in the
shop helping each other achieve their mechanical dreams.
"It took me one week to get the car on the road,"
Cool recalled. "I left the dents and dings alone; they
add character."
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