Voiture Ford Model T Roadster The Grasshopper Recreation 1915 a vendre

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To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The Boeckmann Collection event, 28 January 2027.
Offered Without Reserve | $75,000 - $125,000 USD

An exacting recreation of the original Grasshopper by John Geraghty and John Crawford, a 1959 Hot Rod cover car and basis of a popular scale model kit
Exhaustively researched and built by Dave Shuten and Galpin Auto Sports
Chromed and fully built 461 cid supercharged Oldsmobile motor by Ross Racing
Correct vintage components used throughout
Debuted at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show and exhibited at Detroit Autorama and the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

It may come as a surprise to modern enthusiasts, but many of the finest machines from hot rodding’s golden era—even those featured on magazine covers and turned into popular scale models—did not survive to the present day. Trends moved fast, and builders were always looking ahead to the next project; cars were frequently modified beyond recognition or parted out and lost.

This was the fate of the Grasshopper T, a storied hot rod created by John Geraghty and John Crawford in the late 1950s. A 1915 Ford Model T was the theoretical starting point, but little remained of the car when they were finished: A radical build through and through, it had a supercharged Oldsmobile V-8 up front. A heavily modified Model T body, finished in a rich metallic green with Von Dutch pinstriping, was designed to be easily removable to better showcase the gleaming hardware underneath. Preprared for the show circuit (and with a dummy engine made up specifically for use on the show stand), The Grasshopper was a real performer as well—its race-prepped motor was good for over 800 horsepower, and the car ran in the low-9 seconds at the Irwindale drag strip.

Though it appeared on the cover of Hot Rod magazine in October 1959 and served as the basis of a 1:25 scale Monogram model (a faithful reproduction except for the name, which was changed to “Green Hornet”), The Grasshopper soon vanished. The engine is said to have been sold to a racer in Oklahoma for $10,000, and other major components, including the chassis, simply disappeared over time.

In the mid-2010s, master builder Dave Shuten and Galpin Auto Sports sought to forensically recreate this legendary hot rod, obsessively studying photographs and researching the components used on the original Grasshopper. An unfinished Grasshopper tribute car was acquired as the starting point, but Shuten replaced so much of the existing project as to have effectively begun again from scratch. A 303-cubic-inch Oldsmobile V-8 was once again at the build’s heart; Ross Racing Engines of Ohio punched it out to create a supercharged 461-cubic-inch monster. This is mated to a LaSalle transmission with a Halibrand quick-change rear end. Shuten sourced rare parts—including a Tom Beatty intake—from across the country and exactingly fabricated what could not be bought. Just as with the original, everything that could be chromed, was chromed, and the stunning deep green paintwork was replicated by Vintage Color Studios of Concord, California.

Touchingly, the build was completed just in time to show it to John Geraghty, who died in May 2015. It was then exhibited at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show, Detroit Autorama, and even the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, a testament to the car’s broad appeal and exquisite craftsmanship.

Offered now for the first time from The Boeckmann Collection, here is an opportunity to acquire an exacting tribute to a hot rod legend that—thanks to the dedication of Galpin Auto Sports and the skill of Dave Shuten—can now stun showgoers once more. To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/ba27/.