Stephen Montoya
Much like a person who wears their emotions on their sleeve, North Texas native Jamie O’Pelt wears his team colors on his car.
But this isn’t just any car, it’s a kit car based off of the mold for a 1933 Ford Model 40 Hot Rod, Replica (a T-bucket as O’Pelt puts it). And since O’Pelt is a die-hard Dallas Cowboys super fan, this two-seat roadster boasts a two-tone paint job that would fit in on the sidelines or locker room at any Dallas Cowboys game. This silver and blue rolling homage to “Americas Team” displays a half star on either side of the car, that looks complete when parked on O’Pelt’s custom garage floor, that has a full star emblazoned in the center of it.
The car’s interior has faux pig skin accents on the door handles and back panel that look like they were torn off of a real football. Another theme this car has a plenty are football shaped clusters and lights. But what really sticks out, to Cowboys fans especially, are the series of signatures that adorn the car’s gauge panel and engine compartment.
In all, O’Pelt has collected signatures from 7 Hall of Famers, 47 former and current Dallas Cowboys, and 93 Pro Bowlers to boot, which is an accomplishment in its own right. However, outside of the lights and authenticity of this eccentrically decorated car is the story of how this roadster came to be in the first place. It wasn’t like O’Pelt, let alone anyone, could go to a dealership and ask for a custom Dallas Cowboys-themed hot rod.
So, in order to scratch this fandom itch of sorts, O’Pelt took matters into his own garage.
The way he tells it, his car, aptly named “Star Mobile One,” began in January of 2017.
“I always wanted to build a car, but I knew that if I was left to have to go out to a junkyard and figure out what was good and bad, I'd fail miserably,” he says. “That's the reason I started looking into kit cars and figuring out, okay, well I can start with a hundred percent good brand-new parts that I can modify as I want to.”
After doing his research, O’Pelt decided on Factory Five Racing, an American automobile company that designs and manufactures assembly kits, chassis, bodies, and related components for “replicars” and sports cars.
“They offer a three-day build school in Detroit that I actually attended before I even purchased the kit,” O’Pelt verifies. “They go through, and you build the car with 12 other guys, and they show you more about what not to do through the build, rather than what to do.”
After gaining his car-build confidence from participating in this workshop, O’Pelt says he was ready to take the leap on this project, which began about seven weeks after he ordered the kit. Much like a puzzle, O’Pelt single handedly opened 30 boxes of material that equaled nearly 3,500 pieces that needed to be assembled. The only things not included in the kit were the car’s engine, transmission, wheels, and tires. These big-ticket items were all up to O’Pelt to supply.
Stephen Montoya
Following the 750-page instruction manual that came with the kit, O’Pelt began piecing his dream car together over the next two years. He would eventually add a 302 V8 engine, staggered, 18”x 8” fronts and 20”x 10” rear low profile modern Cragar wheels, and a brand-new Ford AOD automatic, 4 speed transmission.
“I did everything with the exception of the paint and the interior,” he says while looking at the car with pride. “My full intention was that I was going to paint the car as well, but it actually started turning out so good, I didn't want to be the one to screw it up (laughs).”
O’Pelt would actually take “Star Mobile One” out for her first run in November of 2019, an occasion he chronicled with a video. When asked what it was like to actually drive this hot rod for the very first time he says, “it was surreal, scary, and exciting at the same time.”
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Since completing his car opus to the Dallas Cowboys, O’Pelt has been the center of attention almost everywhere he goes. This includes over 160 car shows, several charitable events, celebrity golf tournaments, player signings, and parades. O’Pelt’s ride has also appeared on several national media segments, three local media stories (including this one), and one TV commercial. “Star Mobile One” was also featured on the YouTube documentary series, “Driven.”
In 2020, O’Pelt was a nominee for the Ford Hall of Fans in Canton, Ohio, an honor that came with a bit of a surprise.
“They made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal,” O’Pelt says. “They said they we're shooting some other Cowboys fans here, and then sure enough, when they came out here all the stuff blew up. Randy White shows at my door. He is got his Hall of Fame jacket and his Hall of Fame ring on. I was like, ‘wow!’”
Stephen Montoya
And even thought O’Pelt didn’t make the final cut for this honor, he says he feels lucky to have some of the opportunities his car has afforded him.
“Even just going to gas up people come up with their kids and say, ‘hey, do you mind if we get pictures in front of it?” And I'm like, ‘yeah, take all the photos you want,” he says. This is, to O’Pelt, the ultimate reward for spending two years in his garage dreaming of what might be when the car is completed.
Annually, O’Pelt takes “Star Mobile One” to anywhere between 40 – 45 events a year, which predominantly consist of car shows. Back home in Haslet, O’Pelt’s car has spawned a different kind of fan in the form of his wife Jennifer who’s supported his dream to create this style of car from the get-go.
“She’s been absolutely on board for this 100% from the start,” he says. “She even helped me marry the transmission to the engine when I was building the car.” As for a potential sale price for his most prized creation, O’Pelt says he has two numbers in mind.
“If I had an Avid fan come to me and say, ‘I'm really interested in this vehicle,’ I have a number in mind. And then of course I have a Jerry Jones price, and that's three times more than what it's worth,” he says. “But for now, it’s not really for sale. I see people in Lexus’ and souped-up Hummers pass me all the time. What gives me a sense of pride is I have a one-of-a-kind custom car. There’s only one in the entire world.”
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Some of the Signatures on “Star Mobile One” include that of:
Randy White
Drew Pearson
Bob Lily (who actually rode in the car)
Michael Irvin
Tony Dorsett
Charles Haley
Demarcus Ware
Plus, many more
