History Bringing the Lee Titus Deuce Roadster Back to 1959

The crew at Roy Brizio Street Rods has embarked on the restoration of yet another historical Hot Rod ...

This time, they're bringing the "Lee Titus Deuce Roadster" back to its May 1959 HOT ROD Magazine cover car glory:

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Here's another circa 1959 photo of the "Lee Titus Deuce Roadster":

image from the Titus family archives​

As noted in the HRM article, Lee ran a speed shop:

image from the Titus family archives​

 

Here's some recent photos of the "Lee Titus Deuce Roadster" at Roy Brizio Street Rods:

images from the Roy Brizio Street Rods website ... and from the August 12th 2020 roybriziostreetrods Instagram feed​

 

Cool. Shame the injection is gone. Hopefully it's on the shelf waiting to be reunited.

 

Sure would like to see the spec sheet on that 351 cu. in. 283.

 

Thanks Todd! Here is another classic hot rod that wasn't on my radar.

 

Man, it’s almost a shame to take it back to the full fendered version, it looks great as a high boy with the patina.
Thanks for posting, looking forward to seeing the progress.


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Saw this on IG
Thanks for the update
If I ever get the $$ I'd have them do my car

 

any one know the history between then and now?

 

Glad to see Brizio's restoring Lee's roadster.----I remember when Lee came into the LAR club with #191 member card. It was root beer color at that time, we had some great cruises back then when no one was afraid to drive their roadsters!

 

Not to derail this thread about the "Lee Titus Deuce Roadster" ... but here's a few (circa 1958 / 1959) pics of the Lee's Speed Shop ~ (Hank) Bender & (Ron) Heir crank drive blown small block Chevy powered dragster:

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Lee Titus was friends with (cam-grinder and speed innovator) Chuck Potvin.

In the late '50s, most racers felt the GMC diesel blower could be used as a supercharger for a race engine ... but didn’t know exactly how to do it ... so Potvin reinvented the “Crank Drive”.

Potvin’s beautifully machined aluminum castings bolted to the front of the engine and the blower was gear driven off the crankshaft. Two aluminum tubes brought the air from the outlet side of the blower through a specially machined intake manifold on top of the engine. A specially designed fuel injection system by Stu Hilborn (Hilborn Fuel Injection Systems) provided the fuel delivery system and was usually used with this new set-up.

Here's the Lee's Speed Shop ~ Bender & Heir dragster's engine on the cover of the November 1958 issue of HRM:

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The car was fast, quick and won many races. It set both speed and ET records for Chevrolet-powered dragsters.

 

Yes ... Lee Titus became a Member of the in 1978 ... and a "Lifetime Member" in 2009.

Note that Lee's "Root Beer Deuce Roadster" was NOT the same car as his "circa 1959 Deuce Roadster."

Here's a couple of photos of his "Root Beer Deuce Roadster" at the 1st Annual NSRA Western Street Rod Nationals held in August of '78 at the Merced County Fairgrounds:

"MOTATE TO MERCED" images from the Titus family archives​

... and here's Lee & his "Root Beer Deuce Roadster" in the '80s or '90s:

image from the Titus family archives​

 

The faded red highboy looks cool, but the black full fendered '59 version gets my vote!

 

I remember this car well from 1959. Looking forward to hearing the back story on what happened to it and why it is in such poor condition.

 

Pat @pgan Ganahl chronicles "the history between then & now" in his excellent book, LOST HOT RODS II ... but in a nutshell:

• Lee Titus sold the car to a young couple in 1959 or 1960.

• Neal East purchased it from the couple in 1960 ... now with a stock 265ci SBC and driveline issues.

• Neal East fixed the mechanical issues, gave it a "gennie look", and drove it!

• In the summer of 1967, Andy @AndySS Southard Jr. called Neal with an offer he couldn't refuse ... a straight up trade of East's (weathered black lacquer) '32 Roadster for his (cinnamon red lacquer) '29 Roadster:

"The Trade" (photographer unknown)​

• In 1970, Southard had Dick Megugorac's shop turn the roadster into a "Magoo-style" traditional hiboy:

at Magoo's


model posing with Southard's Deuce Hiboy (image by @AndySS)


Andy posing with his Hiboy Roadster at the 11th Annual LA Roadster Exhibition (i.e., the '75 LARS)


Andy Southard Jr.'s Deuce Hiboy at the LODI '75 Mini-Nats (image from the @Tom Branch family archives)


Andy in his Hiboy Roadster (photographer unknown)


Andy shooting his Hiboy Roadster with bikini model (photographer unknown)​

• Circa 1976, Southard was going through a divorce and ended up selling the roadster to @lil' john Buttera.

• By 1985, the roadster had changed hands between several owners until @Deuce Bruce Meyer bought it from Jim Busby ... It was Bruce's very first “Hot Rod” ... and he, his teenage sons, & several of his friends (including @Chopperken Gross & Andy Cohen) drove it all over Southern California!

• In May of 1993, Meyer purchased Steve @TRJ Coonan's (Barry Lobeck-built) Deuce Hiboy from Bob Bauder ... so Bruce finally agreed to sell the red Deuce Hiboy to the aforementioned Cohen (who’s car collection just happened to include another Deuce Roadster ... with the fenders off of the Lee Titus “circa 1959 Deuce Roadster” ).

NOTE: Andy Cohen (of "Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories" and the "DeFrank & Cohen HEMI Cuda Super Stocker" fame) passed away in October of 2019 .

 

@DDDenny Here ya go, check out post #43. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-about-a-352-chevy.955620/

 

This Highlights a true segment of Hamb Era Hotrods that never left Period 1965 or earlier in styling in a time when so many did...very cool the thought...and it's going Kookie...

Thanks for your continued sharing of this @HEMI32

 

Great history one of Lee's '32 Roadsters.

 

Todd, thanks for the great run down of the Titus '32 history. In the early 50s Lee also ran a T at the dry lakes & Bonneville.

 

Jamie, (as usual) you are correct ...

Leroy ("Lee") R. Titus ran the #722 C / Modified Roadster at the "2nd Annual Bonneville National Speed Trials" held August 21-27, 1950:

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NOTE: The #722 C / Modified Roadster was originally built & run by Jim "Jazzy" Nelson ... the roadster was also owned by Chuck Quesnel and by Bob Kuykendall ... and is currently owned by Chuck Sarno (who restored it back to its "Jazzy Nelson" version).

 

It appears the "restoration" of the "Lee Titus Deuce Roadster" has begun at Roy Brizio Street Rods:

images from the December 18th 2020 roybriziostreetrods Instagram feed ... and from the Roy Brizio Street Rods website​

 

Great story & pix!

 

Thank you for starting this thread do you know of any other magazines his car was in or photos available

 

Jack - You're very welcome!

Considering Lee Titus sold the roadster shortly after it appeared in the May 1959 issue of HOT ROD, I'm guessing it didn't appear in any other magazines in its 1959 configuration.

That stated, I'll keep looking for circa 1958-1960 photos/videos of the car.

NOTE: I've already searched the Petersen Digital Archive in hopes of finding more of the photos Eric Rickman shot for the May '59 HRM article ... but so far … no joy

 

More progress at the Brizio shop ...

... Frame:

images from the January 30th Roy Brizio Street Rods Inc Facebook timeline ... and from the Roy Brizio Street Rods website​

... Body:

images from the January 30th Roy Brizio Street Rods Inc Facebook timeline ... and from the Roy Brizio Street Rods website​

 

@HEMI32 I have to go thru early Hop Up but I believe Lee ran this '32 on the lakes after he sold the T will see if I can find the article.

btw that body shot really shows what can lay beneath these old Hot Rods, wow!

 

WOW, It seems like just about everyone who owned or worked on the Deuce over the years, later became household names (legends) in hot rodding. Make it a pretty significant car in my book.

 

Thanks HEMI32, always fun to follow a restoration of a Hot Rod cover car. Bob

 

Car has some really great details

 

Hey, thanks for filling in the history of this gem of a car, fascinating to read. Must have been a difficult decision to fully restore or just go over the car to make it roadworthy/reliable.


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