New school or old school, call it what you will; Jack Bowser's creation borrows from both. At first glance it's a clean, classy '34 roadster, but then you notice the five header pipes-on each side. What the . . . ?
Sitting in the 15-inch-stretched framerails is a mammoth V-16 engine from a '30s-era Marmon. With the help of racing legend Bob McKee and others, the aluminum engine was fitted with custom-fabricated electronic fuel injection and a Viper six-speed. The vintage mill makes 410 hp at 3,500 rpm, with a ridiculous 1,150 lb-ft at the rear wheels.
While the roadster is high tech in many respects, the inspiration is pure old school. Jack said the idea for his Marmon-powered roadster was inspired by brothers Hal and Bill Ulrich, who built a similar one-of-a-kind rod in the '40s: a '34 Ford stretched and shortened, front and back, to accommodate a straight-eight Duesenberg engine. Seven years ago when Jack saw that car up close-and was told it was not for sale-he decided to build his own version, which he describes as "a second generation" of the Ulrich car. With the help of an army of fabricators and customizers, including folks at McKee Engineering, Quarter Master, The Roadster Shop, Restorations Unlimited, and Fremont Auto Parts, the J.B. Formon Special was completed-that's "JB" for Jack Bowser, "For" for Ford, and "Mon" for Marmon.
The list of people who were involved in the project goes on for pages. But without each and every one of them, Jack says, "My dream would never have been possible." As a footnote, Jack's grandfather was instrumental in the '20s and '30s in designing the gasoline pump as we know it today. One of those classic Bowser pumps is on display in the Smithsonian Institution. -Larry Sanata