In the heyday of hot rodding, hot rods were built usually with a singular purpose in mind; racing. These days, the hot rod hobby has become less about performance, and more about looks. Some might consider it a shame that hot rodding has gone “main stream” and that there are hundreds of shops out there that will build you the rod of your dreams for the right price. However, when somebody does build a hot rod designed for the track and not the garage these days, that vehicle instantly gains street cred and an extra “cool” factor.

OMGDrift caught up with a fellow named “Fish,” who has been racing a 1927 Ford Model T that him and his fellows built for around $500 for the 24 Hours of LeMons budget racing series.

Fish and his friends were fans of the LeMons racing series, which pits vehicles with a total cost of $500 (minus mandatory safety equipment) against each other. Fish had been racing a Volvo, but decided the only way to make his racer lighter was to build it from the ground up. A hot rod builder by trade, Fish took a bunch of parts that weren’t doing much, and fashioned them together into this one-of-a-kind vehicle. The engine and transmission are from a Mustang they already had in their possession, along with ’94 Mustang spindles and Cobra brakes, as well as a 5.0 Mustang rear-end.

This hot rod has almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution and goes like stink, but it’s the little details that make it memorable. The temperature gauge is a thermometer on top of the radiator, there’s a bottle opener near the steering wheel, and “Model T GT” written across the radiator. Plus, watching a cobbled-together hot rod race and drift like a pro is all kinds of awesome. There’s a ton more information and awesome pictures so make sure you check out OMGDrift for more on this amazing machine.