David Swett Shares About His 1927 Dodge Lakes Modified Roadster
Powerless Over Cars & Monadnock Area Cars & Culture “Tell Us About Your Ride!”
David Swett of Keene, NH is here to share about his ride.
Meet His Ride
He was asked. What do you drive/ride? (Year/make/model — or whatever you call it when you talk to it)
He told us he has a 1927 Dodge Lakes Modified roadster that he bought in 2017.
When he was asked, why did you choose THIS specific ride? (Impulse purchase, dream car, midlife crisis, it was cheap, etc.)
He came back to us with this answer.
I first became aware of this car in the July 1996 issue of Hot Rod Mechanix. It was built by Mike Chiavetta and a number of people in the magazine business. It was scheduled to be a multi-part project, but the magazine appears to have folded before more articles appeared. In 2007, I found the article again. Curious about it, I reached out to Brian Breenan, then editor of Street Rodder magazine, who had authored the original article. He put me in touch with Mike. We emailed a few times and Mike sent some CAD drawings of the car. I had 3 t-shirts made from the drawing. I sent 2 to Mike and kept 1. Then we didn’t really keep in touch. Fast forward to the March 2017 issue of Hot Rod Deluxe Letters section, Mike offered to sell the car. I immediately reached out. Mike remembered me from the shirts, and we made a deal.
I have to say THIS IS COOL!
The Personality
He was next asked about his car’s personality. If your ride had a personality, what would it be? (Grumpy old man, golden retriever energy, feral raccoon…)
His response?
Show off. Likes to attract a crowd. 😊
We asked: Is it your best friend, worst enemy, or emotional support machine?
“A good friend” was his response. (Whew!!!)
Experiences
We asked Dave to tell us the funniest, wildest, or most chaotic moment you’ve had with it.
And his answer was, “I won a trophy for best rating rod at a show at Autex the first time I had it out.” (I was at that show with 5 grandkids under 10. No pics!)
He was asked What’s the most expensive“surprise” it’s hit you with?
(Bonus points if you cried.)
But…”Knock on wood, nothing yet.”
Dave was asked, Has it ever left you stranded? Where and how dramatic was it? Tell us the story.
He said, “I was coming back from a show in Henniker, I got caught in heavy rain, so I pulled under an overpass in Hillsboro. When it let up, I went to go and the throttle broke. After a bit, my brother-in-law stopped. We were unable to repair it, so we got his equipment trailer and brought it to Keene. While we were unloading, the rear radius rod came loose and fell on the trailer. It would not have been a good thing if it had come off on the road.”
The Good Stuff
What do you love most about your ride?
“That it’s a 1 of a kind ride.”
What’s the weirdest compliment or insult someone has given about it?
“An award for best engineered at a Monadnock Ford show given by a sponsor driving a 4WD, diesel, Lincoln.” (I was at that show as well, filming video.)
You & Your Ride
What does your ride say about you as a person?
“That I like out of the ordinary things.”
When asked, if your ride could talk, what do you think it would say about YOU?
And to that question, there was no answer. 😛
Future Plans
If money were no object, what would you upgrade or fix first?
Dave’s answer was “Swap out the Chevy small block for a banger or flathead.”
And finally, would you ever sell it? Why or why not? (If yes: What’s the price?
If no: Who gets it in your will?)
Dave said, “Never say never. For the right offer, I’d sell. $20k would do.”
Anything else the world should know about your machine? Anything else the internet should know about this amazing heap of metal?
It’s a blast to drive. It’s like a big go cart!
Dave-thanks for sharing your ride with us. I/we look forward to seeing you at the show in May.
And if you would like to share your ride, reach out to me.
Dave-thanks for sharing your ride with us. I/we look forward to seeing you at the show in May.
And if you would like to share your ride, reach out to me.
