History Mystery roadster - Looking for history

Definitely a very nice looking car. @Stogy I'm surprised you haven't paged me. It does look somewhat familiar.

 

That's for sure. We're lucky that we have his books. He really did some great work for all of us.

 

....maybe there is a newspaper stuffed behind upholstery...

 

I wish! They looked for that when the car was first discovered.

 

It's a time capsule gem! Great lines and stance.
Really wishing Don Montgomery was still with us. He was an early Pasadena guy that had a vast knowledge and photo library of the early cars.
Same lament goes for Pat Ganahl. A walking encyclopedia and zillions of photos.

Check the background of early dry lakes coverage, Pasadena Roadster Club reliability runs, car shows, etc., though it seems he may have been a casual/lone wolf rodder, and may have not taken the car out much.

Maybe the stepdad had a hand in the build. Any background on his role in the military? Was he a wrench or body & paint guy?

 

Great looking car! Saw it in the GNRS photos and hoped there would be more info on it. Quality build, nice subtitle features, the windshield frame is taller than stock and works well with the chopped posts. Many Duesenbergs were bodied by Murphy in Pasadena, wonder if this car was built by someone that worked there?
Bob

 

I should have sent a txt first saying I was ringing but not big on texting, all good.

My thinking is it is local to the Pasadena region and was a driver. Photos I've seen of when found was the car had a stock flathead, ran single carb, stock heads. My biggest reason for thinking Pasadena is the car is giving me Roy Desbrow vibes, Hood & sides louver pattern, front frame cover, Pontiac tail lights, Interior has similarities. Roy worked at Mitchel Muffler so would be interesting to see the exhaust system. Tom Noel did the customising on Roy's truck, could he have built a roadster with similar features(?). Tom was in the Army so could be why it wasn't often seen or remembered by local rodders. Most of this I've written is speculation regarding Desbrow/Mitchel angle but something to consider and look into. Car most definitely screams Pre-'55 build.

 

@oliver westlund GNRS video of story board....if someone can sharpen it up.

 

Info on the Desbrow pickup:
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-happened-to-the-roy-desbrow-32.1303317/

There is some similarity.

 

Don't know any history. But here's a couple of pictures I took at the roadster show.

 

Interesting the outside of the T body lines up with the '32 chassis, has the chassis been narrowed or body widened? Thanks for the pics @40ragtopdown

 

i'm going to throw this concept out. bought from someone who was traveling through or shipping out in the service who sold it to him.

don't get excited over the lack of capital letters and maybe a misspelled word or two. i had rotator cuff surgery this morning and dont have the use of my right hand back yet.

 

I might not have paged you but I know you follow the Homogenized Thread, you're a wealth of knowledge, I always appreciate your input and yeah I think I shared it there some time ago...it is a beauty...cheers Joe...

 

I keep getting a 1953 vibe from it

 

Neat!..seems to be well thought out with exception of the high mounted headlights & not certain if it should be changed altering its survivor history.

 

You rarely see full fenders on the 27 roadster/32 chassis combo. I really like the stance. Thanks for showing us this bit of history!
The panel between the front frame rails has kind of a pre-war MG vibe. A lot of Brit sports cars of that era had that feature, some of them covering an engine driven blower some just louvered. I like that as well.

 

Man oh man, I sure wish Montgomery and Ganahl were still around. If either of them had ever seen the car they wouldn't have forgotten it. As for the stepdad, I believe he left the picture before young Cliff would have been driving. Parents divorced and the stepdad went back to Texas.

 

This is really great stuff, Jimmy. You could very well be onto something with the Mitchel Muffler crew. Your point about the stock flathead is an interesting one, too. I hadn't really thought about that much and that makes me think of someone going for more of a sporty-car kinda thing ( which, the car definitely has a hint of ) or possibly an older enthusiast who wanted a "proper" roadster that was a little more formal.

 

Jimmy, the body has been widened and stretched to meet the edges of the '32 frame. They really did a nice job, too. The body is nearly dead-on along the leading top edge of the frame on both sides.

 

Great looking roadster. Like the proportions a lot.

 

I couldn't agree more. That, too me, is the bullseye year that this build screams out.

 

I’m guessing that the roadster was not “seen” driving around Pasadena because it didn’t. After reading everything it on was used in 1958 and not much. We have no idea how it was moved house to house but I’m guessing he charged the battery and drove it on the back street because he didn’t license it.

 

Wish Pete Eastwood was still on the HAMB, being a Pasadena native he may have some info.

Bob

 

Thanks, and welcome to the HAMB.
thats a very detailed response.
Can’t help thinking that you may have known him better than most.
Thanks again for posting.

 

this is one of those times - (perhaps even the first time), that you won’t be the only one to say that………….

 

Car is dang near perfect

builder had an excellent eye

 

I didn't know Cliff. I just enjoy researching people!

 

Are you thinking of the very similar Portland-based roadster that Tom Story built and later sold to 'Blackie' Blackburn (who built the engine for Story)? I couldn't find a good pic, here's what I have:


Apparently taken when Story owned it.

 

That would be the Don Bracy roadster from the Pacific Northwest.

 

I'm curious why you call it the Don Bracy roadster. Was it built for him?