Art & Inspiration Bill Burnham's roadster

What ever happened to Bill's hiboy roadster, I know he drove that car ever where and drove it hard.

 

Very cool looking roadster.

 

Last time I checked it was in the care of his son and grandson.

 

For those that don't know the name he was a writer for Goodguys magazine. HRP

 

Harry Daviess.
He married Bills daughter Stacey. Their Son, Bills grandson is now the caretaker of the car.
I believe the grandson directly inherited the car but was younger and Harry was the custodian until the son was old enough to drive it.

Great people, great family. I was with Bill, earlier in the night he left us. We were drinking in the host hotel bar at Pleasanton the weekend of the show. It was a heavy and sad Sunday morning.

 

the car is at the August Pleasanton Goodguys show every year, just saw it last weekend

 

...and a technical editor for Street Rodder Magazine.

 

Wow…the HAMB never ceases to amaze me when it comes to how quickly questions can be answered with lots of info. And, cool roadster.

 

His columns were (at least to me) a "must" read. I too wondered what had happened to his car.

 

It was featured along with @pgan’s shoebox in TRJ magazine a few years back. I still have the issue.

 

Speaking of Bill, did you know he had a column in the Australian Street Rodding magazine?
I wouldn't have known, but an Aussie friend pointed out a pic of the Coupe in a "Bill's Bull" column by none other than our Billy, featuring the latest U.S. trends. (Two pages, no less).That being the not-so-polished rods like mine. May 1988.

 

Did he do a "ghost" column in Rodder's Digest or HRMx?

Thanks for posting, I was thinking of him and his columns just the other day, and also, how he p***ed at a rod event weekend.

 

I remember Bill Burnham's columns in Street Rodder Magazine well. His light blue Roadster is one of the best. He was opinionated. In a good way. A big proponent of traditional type hot rods. I remember when there was just a hint in the air that traditional hot rods were gaining interest. He predicted that it would get big. He was right.

 

For a while I owned Bill Burnham's ****erscotch yellow 29 roadster.
One time I took it to P-town for the nationals. I met Mr. Daviess and I drove around the fairgrounds with him as a p***enger. He smiled and waved to all of the guys he knew, shouting out that this was Bill B's roadster before old blue. After parking he asked if the car was for sale. I replied I don't know, what do you think it is worth? He replied "I'll give you $12,000, that's all its worth. I kept the car.

 

And don't forget, a Proud member of the " Donut Derelicts"!

 

It’s the Danville Dukes car club.

I’m a member too
The only club where every member is President, theres no dues and only two rules.
Rule 1. There ain’t no rules
Rule 2. See rule number 1

 

These shots are from the Rod Action Yearbook 1975. Bill had it down pat and then came the Blue one!

 

Musta been a big job to surp*** this one.

 

here it is in 2010 at Goodguys P-Town before I knew how to take pictures without my shadow in them.

 

Danny -

@Jim Bouchard already answered your initial question . . . Bill's youngest daughter Stacey Daviess, her husband Harry Daviess, & (Billy's only grandson) Daniel Daviess are indeed the current caretakers of the Ol' Blue '29 Hiboy Roadster.

Last weekend at the Goodguy's West Coast Nats in Pleasanton, Bill's Ol' Blue Hiboy was picked for the 2026 Rich "Pure Hell" Guasco Memorial Award ... by Rich's daughter Jill:

Harry ~ Jill ~ Stacey
​

NOTE: Billy & Rich were good friends since the '60s.

On a side note, Harry & Stacey picked Larry Westervelt's Deuce Hiboy (originally built by the late Rick @193257 Bales) for the 2026 Bill "Billy B" Memorial Award:

Larry Jr. ~ Stacey​

NOTE: Billy & Larry were good friends since the '70s.

 

My family & the Burnham family have been friends since the '70s . . . and since my father was a professional photographer by trade, I have dozens of photos of Billy's roadsters in my archives.

Here's a few:

Billy's '23 T Touring






Billy's ****erscotch Yellow Pontiac-powered '29 Hiboy






Billy's Ol' Blue FE-powered '29 Hiboy ​

 

If there's anything else you'd like to know about Billy's '29 Hiboy roadsters . . . just ask . . . I've spent many hours as a p***enger in both of them . . . and have logged hundreds of miles behind the wheel of Ol' Blue.

Also . . . way before I even knew Billy, he built & drove this Deuce Tudor:

​

 

Thanks for that @HEMI32 as when this thread started I was planning on asking what engine was in the yellow roadster. I really like the fact that Bill used engines which were "not the normal" in the hot rod world instead of the common SBC. Do you know what transmissions were in each car?

 

I read and enjoyed his writing for years. I recall being very sad when I heard he had p***ed. May Bill's memory be eternal.

 

He also had a long running column in Street Rodder Magazine.
I loved his column and his insights I looked forward to them every month.

 

Thank you my friend, you have added so much to the conversation. HRP

 

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that Billy's ****erscotch Yellow '29 Hiboy had a Pontiac "Roto-Hydramatic" 3-speed Auto behind the 326ci Pontiac V8 . . . All I do remember is that when we staged that "1950s Drag Race" photo (with our HEMI32 Coupe), we had to put gravel under Billy's rear tires just to get them to "break loose"

As for Billy's Ol' Blue '29 Hiboy, I'm positive that it had a Ford C6 3-speed Auto behind its 406ci Ford FE V8 . . . and that it had no issue spinning the rears!

 

Still has the Pontiac, do not know what the trans. was, it seemed kinda clunky. Car was not really fast.