Restomod Ford Model T Packs Toyota Surprise Under the Hood, Makes Purists Seethe

That's the situation Toyota engineer Jim Leininger, and his custom 1926 Ford Model T find themselves in today. As the original hotrodder's dream machine, there's a short list of engines and drivetrains people have traditionally swapped into old Model Ts. Things like GM or Ford small-block V8s, for example.

You know, the usual muscle car riff-raff. Somehow, we don't think a 1.6 liter 2T-G inline-four cylinder engine out of a '70s Toyota Corolla was selected by the grand council of muscle car gatekeepers to be on that list. But don't think this engine was ripped out of an old jalopy and called a day.

There's a fair amount of fiddling and modification going on under this 94-year-old engine bay. It starts with a Solex 40 PHH side-draft carburetor, a modified 79 Corolla exhaust manifold, a 2000 Celica alternator, and a 1981 Corolla Water Pump. If that wasn't enough of a Frankensteins build for your taste, the muffler comes from a 2005 Scion xA.

We can only assume the more parts from random Toyota models one could shove into an old American chassis, the higher its power level. Although power figures like 124 hp and 113 lb-ft of torque don't inspire the spirit of speed, in a body this light, that's more than enough.

Speaking of the body, it isn't exactly OEM either. It's a heavily modified fiberglass unit from a little company called Poli-Form Fiberglass. The frame, on the other hand, is circa 1926. Though it too was reinforced courtesy of Weedetr Street Rods.

Because this build is now considerably more a Toyota product than one of Ford, the two-stage windscreen wiper motor comes from a 1972 Corolla, with the rear coming from a 2003 4Runner. There's even a side wiper motor borrowed from a 1992 Previa mid-engine minivan.

With seats out of a 2002 Camry, gauges from a 1974 Corolla, and heater core from a 1984 Toyota Pickup, we can see how hot rodding purists might drive themselves into an aneurism just looking at the spec sheet. Underneath the car, we find the suspension is also very well sorted.

With a Speedway six-inch drop I-beam front axle, a 4WD manual steering box, and rear disk brakes from a 1981 Toyota Hilux with Willwood discs in the front, there's every reason to suspect this car, at the very least, handles like a real hot rod always should. Crisply and precisely, but we don't think you'd want to take this thing on a journey of more than an hour at most with how low to the ground it is.

What might be even more remarkable than all the Toyota regalia stuffed into an old Ford chassis is the fact that unless you check under the hood or look very closely at the modifications inside and outside, it's almost impossible to tell just how much Japanese engineering is squeezed into this one restomod. Only after one opens the engine bay in this little Model T reveals the true nature of the beast is revealed.

Instead of eight cylinders and a massive carburetor plus air cleaner as we're so used to, we see the tell-tale valve covers and exposed spark plug wires indicative of old-school JDM magic. It just goes to show that when someone finally has the courage to skilfully put their own spin on a custom hot rod, the results are usually way, way above average.