1929 Ford Roadster XL27

1927 Ford Roadster XL27: Classic Hot Rod Designed for the New Millennium

With a Ridler award, Goodguys Trendsetter award, numerous high-profile accolades, and his own shop cranking out decades worth of cool cars, Nashville’s Jesse Greening, 40, is one of hot rodding’s brightest young stars. He’s proven more than capable of churning out early Ford and Chevy hot rods to second generation Camaros and everything in between. His latest – a sleek white 1927 Ford roadster he calls the XL27 is so different and unique, it aggressively pushes the boundary of how a new millennium hot rod should look. It’s truly “nostalgic”.

1927 Ford Roadster XL27

Starting with a Shadow Rods body and chassis, the low-slung white roadster allowed Greening and his team to run free on design and innovation. The front Ridetech coil overs were mounted sideways offering cantilever suspension. It stops with pro-touring brakes from Baer which are covered in carbon fiber backing plates with front-facing LED running lights! The wheels, mode in-house at Greening Auto Company, are timeless yet contemporary 5-spokes (16×3-inch front and 18×5-inch rears) finished in what Greening called “kind of a dirty motor oil color.”

1929 Ford Roadster XL27

A 5.3-liter GM LS motor, fed by Inglese 8-stack induction and backed by a Bowler T5 transmission provides ample, reliable power. Inside the cabin is truly a work of art. Custom machined instrument trim rings, carbon fiber-faced Classic Instruments gauges, a one-off G.A.C. steering wheel, and lush leather seats and wool carpets by M&M Interiors offer a classy, yet highly functional cabin.

Somewhere in the great beyond, the late John Buttera is surely nodding his approval of Jesse’s XL27.