Although Magoo was probably best known for his (traditionally styled) '29 Model A Hiboy Roadsters of the '70s, **** actually got his start as a Hot Rodder / Dry Lakes racer back in the '40s. @Brian Brennan penned a very nice tribute to **** on the HOT ROD Magazine website ... See Richard “Magoo” Megugorac Hot Rodding Pioneer P***es. For those that don't like to click on links, here's some vintage pics of the modified that Magoo purchased from Karl Orr: This roadster once belonged to dry lakes legend and speed shop owner Karl Orr. **** was proud of the Edelbrock “sling shot” intake topped with Stromberg 97 carbs. In his newly acquired roadster form Orr it was time to go to the dry lakes (note **** wearing goggles!) These were both the early days of ****’s rodding career and the formative ones. ****’s timing tag from July 17, 1948 from the SCTA at the El Mirage course shows a time in his roadster of 7.68 seconds at 117.18 mph in the ¼-mile in his roadster. ****’s then current girlfriend and soon to be wife, Lois in scarf, show that it’s cold in November on the dry lakes. That’s **** above the cut down windshield. He was 6'4"… a really cut down windshield! ****’s modified ran the always popular ’39 Ford taillight. Don’t look too closely at the license plate as it was off his dad’s pickup, he never did get the modified registered.
D'oh! ... I swear I did a search before posting ... but the HAMB is still running extremely slow today ... and neither my internal nor my external Google search revealed @Deuce Daddy Don's thread.
I first met the Megugorac's in the '70s ... Always loved listening to ****'s stories! ... My condolences to Lois, the Magoo family, and their close friends. Here's a few of the "tame" snapshots I took @ ****'s "Hot Rod Heroes Roast" in January of '91:
Magoo was an avid Control Line Model Airplane builder/flyer. Tommy Shall was a mutual friend, lined me up with Magoo to do some hot flying. Unfortunately, my busy shop and Magoo's Highboy lineups prevented the meeting, but when I finally got back to old former home town Canoga Park, I later heard he went flying with "Willie Black", (of the paint on the R&C Highboy for Bud Bryan. Willie: "This car should NEVER have been black." Everybody who ever saw the Highboy: "That thing's so black it looks like you could dive in!" Wish we could have flown my Gee Bee, Magoo. You would have loved its speed...
May he rest in peace. I really enjoyed reading about his exploits and how his shop turned out those roadsters when I was younger.
I worked for **** in Canoga Park for a short time in the early 70's. He was a great guy to work for and really enjoyed my time there...Rest in Peace... Magoos, worked there in the early 70's... by Nomadness posted Nov 5, 2012 at 4:44 PM
Great responses!-----I could relate many experiences concerning **** & Lois while they were still in the LAR club. Not enough space to print here tho'----Don
As I mentioned earlier ... Here's some examples ... ... his personal car (originally built in 1974):
... a '29 hiboy he built for Mickey Knight in 1975: ANDY'S 9th Annual Picnic - August 1975 right to left: Billy Burnham's ****erscotch Yellow '29, Mickey Knight's Magoo built '29 (with fresh Jack Hagemann unpainted aluminum hood), Tommy Walsh's Orange '29, & Rich "Pure Hell" Guasco's Purple '61 AMBR winning '29
He was a keeper of the flame. While others were running around buying up luggage racks and cowl lights for their resto-rod sedans, **** was building hot rods like this!
How about pics of the `87 GNRS Contender? Almost trad, but not quite. Wish I had the show sign with my name in the credits.......He gave me a chance, and I`ll always be grateful....
NOTE: There will be a "Celebration of Life" service held in the Phoenix area ... If you would like to attend, please contact Dean Livermore at Hot Rods by Dean: (602-358-5892) or email: dean@hotrodsbydean.com.
I read every line in the 70s of Rod Action an Street Rodder I always loved to see the cars he built we lost a great one His cars will live on and his example to this hobby
Just a bump of this 2+ year old thread . . . 'cuz I've been thinking about Magoo (& Lois) lately . . . and ran across this Ad for 1001 CUSTOM & ROD IDEAS magazine:
Our friends at the American Hot Rod Foundation recently posted this circa 1946 photo of Magoo at El Mirage: **** "Magoo" Megugorac's T roadster is seen with his p***enger Bob Wenz at El Mirage early in the morning on June 2nd, 1946 at the first S.C.T.A. meet of the year. They were there to spectate, not to run. ©AHRF/Robert Wenz Collection
Our friends at the American Hot Rod Foundation also posted this circa 1946 photo of Magoo's Roadster in Santa Monica: **** "Magoo" Megugorac's T roadster is spied in mid 1946 in the Santa Monica area of Los Angeles. This is the pre-cursor to the T-bucket fad that took off ten years later with the Norm Grabowski ride. ©AHRF/Robert Wenz Collection
The Jalopy Journal
