Crime Ford Model T driver and alleged meth, coke user nicked for multiple offences - The driver of a 100-year-old hot rod is facing court in New South Wales over a litany of vehicle and drug-driving offences

Ford Model T driver and alleged meth, coke user nicked for multiple offences​

The driver of a 100-year-old hot rod is facing court in New South Wales over a litany of vehicle and drug-driving offences.

20 hours ago
CarExpert
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Here’s one you don’t see every day.

The driver of a 1923 Ford Model T hot rod was pulled over by Hills Highway Patrol officers after being caught allegedly “accelerating aggressively” in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill, according to The Hills Police Area Command’s Facebook page.

While no photos were shown of the hot rod, we suspect it looks quite a bit different from the stock ’23 Model T pictured below.

The 24-year-old driver of the modified classic was allegedly detected travelling at 83km/h in a 60km/h zone.



When he was pulled over, he allegedly returned a negative result from a roadside breath test, but on a roadside drug test he returned a positive result for cannabis and cocaine.

Police collected a secondary oral fluid sample, allegedly confirming the presence of cocaine and THC while also detecting methamphetamine.

The driver was issued a 24-hour prohibition notice and a defect notice for the vehicle.

Police claim the vehicle had “multiple faults including nonfunctional brake lights and indicators” and “had been modified beyond factory specifications and was deemed unroadworthy”.

The driver is now due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on August 14, 2025.

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Found this image on The Hills Police Area Command’s Facebook page.. Looks AI generated to me, but kinda cool nonetheless.

 

[BulkForceFive]

Police claim the vehicle had “multiple faults including nonfunctional brake lights and indicators” and “had been modified beyond factory specifications and was deemed unroadworthy”.

Any model T capable of 'accelerating aggressively' is definitely heavily modified.

 

[TowinKarz]

Any model T capable of 'accelerating aggressively' is definitely heavily modified.

Most likely a T-bucket - common mod for an old Model T chassis that was done by hot rodders in the 50's as the post WWII restart of the auto industry meant a lot of Model Ts people had hung on to were being ruthlessly scraped for new cars and a solid discarded chassis was easy to find and cheap to buy.

Survivors are common things for boomers to buy as nostalgia pieces.

At least in the States? Both Model T's and hot-rodded versions are legal to register and drive as long as they pass a bare bones safety check, which is why he got dinged for "multiple faults including nonfunctional brake lights and indicators "

You can also drive a T-bucket on public streets here, or any other modded vehicle, as long as those modifications don't violate the greater vehicles safety code, which is only applicable to year-of-manufacture of the vehicle. So a Model T, since it didn't come with seatbelts? Doesn't have to have them, but it DOES have to have headlights and a horn since it had those from the factory.

My state, at least, tries to meet you halfway. For an actual hot rod? They give out "street rod" license plates that require a one-time inspection by a certified mechanic to verify your contraption is competently put together and then you're good for life. On the flip side? You're capped at "reasonable personal" use - I.E. only use it once a week, less travel to and from car shows/events and no driving after dark or inclement weather (winter).

 

[Rekieta’s Broken Penis]

At least in the States? Both Model T's and hot-rodded versions are legal to register and drive as long as they pass a bare bones safety check, which is why he got dinged for "multiple faults including nonfunctional brake lights and indicators "

Aussie cops have a hard on for defecting modified vehicles

 

[TowinKarz]

Aussie cops have a hard on for defecting modified vehicles

Here in my State at least? Other way around.

As long as you've got a current safety inspection? You can't be dinged for "modded" vehicle, since the inspector's "OK" supercedes the cop. Unless it's a fresh defect, wherein the cop can tell you to fix it wtihin "X" days and mail them documented proof of the fix to avoid a ticket. If your inspection is expired? Or, it's obviously old damage you've been limping around with? Or something no sane inspector would've ever passed (like missing both mufflers)? Only then can they straight up write you up for defects.

Dad once had to call the cops on an inspection station who refused to pass his "modded" pickup over an issue that wasn't in the actual safety handbook. THe cops told him "pass him or you lose your license to inspect" .

 

[WebFelching]

In my personal experience the only Model T owners I have known were QUITE wacky characters. Something about the car I think draws them in.

 

[Rekieta’s Broken Penis]

In my personal experience the only Model T owners I have known were QUITE wacky characters. Something about the car I think draws them in.

It’s the car equivalent of a top hat

 

[IndigoDownSuperEgoUp]

Oh my fordship it’s orgy porgy. Can’t wait to see this as a feelie.

 

[Caesare]

Driving high but being discreet about it in your model-T hotrod.

 

[Punkin_Man]

Let men have hobbies for fuck sake.

 

[TowinKarz]

Driving high but being discreet about it in your model-T hotroad.

It's like robbing a bank in a chicken suit, who'd suspect you?

 

[Pee Cola]

Let men have hobbies for fuck sake.

The meth or the hod-rodding of Model Ts?

 

[eDove]

I'd find it bizarre if he weren't partaking in these activities.

 

[Jump]

You can also drive a T-bucket on public streets here, or any other modded vehicle, as long as those modifications don't violate the greater vehicles safety code, which is only applicable to year-of-manufacture of the vehicle. So a Model T, since it didn't come with seatbelts? Doesn't have to have them, but it DOES have to have headlights and a horn since it had those from the factory.

My state, at least, tries to meet you halfway. For an actual hot rod? They give out "street rod" license plates that require a one-time inspection by a certified mechanic to verify your contraption is competently put together and then you're good for life. On the flip side? You're capped at "reasonable personal" use - I.E. only use it once a week, less travel to and from car shows/events and no driving after dark or inclement weather (winter).

Ya in the USA that rules are all over the map.
My state has no yearly safety inspections for any car. Only emissions. We don't have any restricted "hotrod" plates. You can get fancy classic car plates but they are basically just vanity plates and unrestricted like any other plate. So you could daily drive your T-bucket with a blower motor and side pipes every day to work even in a winter snow storm.

But T-bucket's are tricky car to get registered here because real model T's didn't have a vin tag on the body before 1926. It was just a SN stamped in to the ENGINE BLOCK. That makes registering even real, bone stock, model T's a grey area if they don't have the original block.

What most guys do here is register it as a Custom Made(*) car and get it inspected by a DMV inspector who will then issue you a totally new VIN tag that he rivets to the car. And the car would then be registered as "2025 Custom Made(*)".
The emissions is based on the engine YOM. So if you put a 2009 LSx motor in the car you then have to meet 2009 emissions. So smog pump, EVAP, cats, etc etc. Working OBD plug with no check engine light on. And then you have to get it tested every 2 years.
So realisticly you would want to "make" your T-bucket with a 1960s or older engine in it so you don't have to worry about any emmions systems and you would be exempt from testing.

*(there is a special name they call "Custom Made" cars ands trailers but I don't want to dox my state)

In my personal experience the only Model T owners I have known were QUITE wacky characters. Something about the car I think draws them in.

They where a pretty big fad around here in the early 00's, and then one year they all just kinda vanished. The guys who owned them where a very paticular type of boomer. Maybe they all just got to old to get in and out of the things, or make their legs bend the super uncomftable way they needed to work the pedals.

 

[WebFelching]

They where a pretty big fad around here in the early 00's, and then one year they all just kinda vanished. The guys who owned them where a very paticular type of boomer. Maybe they all just got to old to get in and out of the things, or make their legs bend the super uncomftable way they needed to work the pedals.

All of the guys I knew who owned them are now well dead of old age or headed there soon. Cool cars though

 

[TowinKarz]

So realisticly you would want to "make" your T-bucket with a 1960s or older engine in it so you don't have to worry about any emmions systems and you would be exempt from testing.

Most have your basic 60's Ford small block 351 for just that reason. Along with that fact that's historically accurate for a build in the first place.

Funny you mentioned the VIN problem - a lot of insurance companies used to have a problem with even 50's or 60's cars because their systems would reject your VIN as "too short" , unaware that they only did go to 6 digits back then, but you could usually get around it by just asking for a live person who'd force the computer to accept it when you explained yourself.

All of the guys I knew who owned them are now well dead of old age or headed there soon. Cool cars though

There are still a few die-hards, Regular Car Reviews has found a couple who picked up their family's passed-down example. The main "problems" with driving an actual Model-T is that they have some serious idiosyncrasies compared to the standardized "modern" vehicle. They drive more like a tractor or lawnmower in that the throttle isn't a foot pedal but a settable lever... and some of their internals like oil and water pumps in part rely on the bumps from the kind of rutted-out dirt road they were designed to work on to keep them running, they can ironically fail to work if the road is too smooth.
There's a reason the Model A Ford is far more common in the antique scene. It drives a lot more like what we'd call a normal "car".

The meth or the hod-rodding of Model Ts?

Por Que No Los Dos?

 

[Jump]

Funny you mentioned the VIN problem - a lot of insurance companies used to have a problem with even 50's or 60's cars because their systems would reject your VIN as "too short" , unaware that they only did go to 6 digits back then, but you could usually get around it by just asking for a live person who'd force the computer to accept it when you explained yourself.

Our DMV system would flag anything other then the nonstandard 17 digit vins. So anything older then 1981 would give Shaniqua the DMV lady problems when she was entering it in her computer.. so she would do dumb shit like pad it out with 0's or X's just to get past that screen. RM23N0A143123 would get titled at 000RM23N0A143123 or XXXRM23N0A143123 which would cause drama down the road. I know a few people this happened to including myself. Their final solution to the problem was to just stop issuing titles to anything older then 1981.

 

[Beautiful Border]

Survivors are common things for boomers to buy as nostalgia pieces.

What makes it unusual is what we know about the driver. A 24 year old having an interest in boomer hot rod culture is odd enough, the polysubstance drug abuse makes it stranger. I just don't imagine those traits going together. Seems like an interesting guy.

Found this image on The Hills Police Area Command’s Facebook page.. Looks AI generated to me, but kinda cool nonetheless.

You're seriously not sure if that picture's AI?

 

[Mr. Confederate Man]

In my personal experience the only Model T owners I have known were QUITE wacky characters. Something about the car I think draws them in.

The Model T Ford Club of America forum can be quite the entertainment at times. That said, from what I gather, most are old guys that picked them up cheap in the 50s and 60s like the guys in the 80s through the 2000s that picked up Beetles and Busses on the cheap.

That said, Model Ts are odd cars to drive. Fun though, but the only reason I have one is because it was laying decrepit in a shed on my family’s old farm and I decided it was cool and fixed it up

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

Hot rodders really annoy me. Mostly because they will destroy any car no matter how rare, leaving that many fewer genuine articles in their wake. And all of that to turn a classic into mess of suspension, roll cage and chrome that looks like every other hot rod.

The worst part of this article is here at the start:

The driver of a 100-year-old hot rod

A 100 year old car was destroyed to make the hot rod. The hot rod is not 100 years old.

My personal dislike of trashing antique cars aside, the police can fuck off with hassling drivers of these things. The hot rod for all its demerits is probably much safer than the pristine antique that lacks power steering, has a 90 degree corner on the solid metal dashboard and uses cable-operated drum brakes.