Rancho Deluxe Roadster Brings Hot Rodding to Australia

We know that Americans are mad about their hot rods, whether we're talking about coupes, roadsters or pickups, but we should never underestimate an Australian’s love for all things V8. Bandit Films recently released a clip that shows one Aussie’s love for the cars that made dry lake racing famous.

Evoking one of the most culture-rich eras in Californian history, vehicle is based on the 1932 Ford Model. The hot rod was dubbed the Rancho Deluxe Roadster by its owner Ben Thomas. It features an “almost stock” flathead V8 and is oozing with classic coolness.

"The year is 1947, an ex-serviceman returns home to Southern California. His old '32 Ford Roadster is removed from the shed, and the guts of a wrecked '39 Mercury sedan are transplanted in, giving more power, braking and top speed, essential for the dry lakes racing career he will embark on. The car also serves as daily transport for him in the mild So Cal climate, the loud twin exhausts upsetting the locals still not used to the returned soldiers need for peacetime thrills,” Thomas says, explains the inspiration behind his creation.

Thomas parks the car at his shop, Rancho Deluxe, which is specialized in American cars from World War II and the sixties, mainly Ford.

“Rancho Deluxe is my full time business, building traditional hotrod classics and components, and assembling period correct cars. The Rancho Deluxe roadster is my expression of a true Hot-Rod, a time machine back to when innovation was hand built, and the true test of man and machine was flat out across the Lakes," the Australian hot rodder says.