Imagine having a love for World War II fighter planes and wanting to take that to the next level. Naturally, the next step would be to turn that love into something you can drive on the road, which is exactly what James Trudeau, from Punta Gorda, decided to do when he created a road-legal WWII fighter.
This has been a lengthy process that has taken Trudeau two years to see through to the end. The attention to detail is incredible, even down to the nose art that many aircraft in the war had to try to intimidate the enemy.
Trudeau has modelled the car on the Curtis P-40 Warhawk, one of the most recognizable American aircraft of the conflict. Nearly 14,000 were built in total, and it served not just with the United States Army Air Forces, but also with the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
Trudeau didn’t want it to just be a show pony, however. He wanted it to be something road legal, and it took two years for that dream to become a reality. Yet the results are spectacular and show that anything is possible in the automotive world.
How Trudeau Began His Quest To Build the Car
Trudeau’s love of aircraft started in 1986, after being injured as a cop and switching over to test-flying aircraft for his job. During his spare time, he was also working on cars, so the two passions easily combined for Trudeau. To create the car, he actually took parts from another aircraft, and then reshaped some of the sheet metal to get it to match the silhouette of the Curtis P-40.
“Construction took about two years. All the sheet metal is T-28, reformed to match the P-40’s silhouette,” Trudeau said, talking to Hagerty. “My canopy is a cut-down T-28 component, and the electrical panel also came from a T-28. Interestingly, my repurposed airspeed indicator provides an accurate mph reading,” he added.
Trudeau was able to repurpose the control lever for adjusting fuel mixture and propeller pitch from the T-28 to be used as his gear shifter. The cockpit has two tandem bucket seats, also from the T-28, while the parachutes now serve as cushions. Under the hood, though, it is a car powertrain, with a 454co V8 engine taken from a 1972 Chevrolet Suburban. Remarkably, this is a road-legal car, with the DMV inspector labelling it as a show car when they came to take a look at it. Trudeau ended up taking it to quite a few shows to show it off to the crowds.
Trudeau Ended up Selling the Car Off
Trudeau did really enjoy driving and owning the car. But then a man from Belgium made him an offer for the car that was 20 times more than he had invested in making it. More money can make our lives a lot easier, so he decided, reluctantly, it must be said, to sell the car on so he could work on the other cars he owned. One was a 2014 Fiat 500 repowered with a Mercury Marine four-cylinder engine, and the other was a 1955 Bonneville belly tanker.
Trudeau is also working on a 1939 Indy racer that once belonged to Barney Oldfield. It is always hard to let go of something you have put so much time and money into. People like Trudeau are often incredibly proud of their creations, and they almost become family members after so much time and effort. However, the money will allow Trudeau to work on his other cars more, and he can bank some of it as well.