An elderly friend of mine, Doug Potter, who I first saw at the local drag races in 1972, had this 32 Ford roadster in the fifties and early sixties. Doug's father, Clifford Roy Potter, was envolved in midget racing in the forties. I don't know the details, but he later became envolved with the Bill Vukovich Indy car team when they were in California, preparing for races. Although the Potters lived in Tennessee, Doug and his father made the trip to California in the Spring of '53, 54' and 55. (Doug and his father were at Indy when Vukovich was killed.) This roadster was bought for Doug one of those years and was partialy built in one of the same shops that the Vukovich car was in. Doug says that the steering wheel on the roadster in this photo came from that shop. Doug's father, Clifford, was a master metal shaper and was also very interested in stream lining of automobiles. Mr. Potter is in very poor health and his memory comes and goes so I try to get all the details I can when I can. He sold this car to someone in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the mid sixties and now he is trying to locate it and hopefully buy it back. However, it's been so long, the only lead he got was a dead end. These photos were taken at "Paradise Drag Strip", Calhoun, Georgia in the early sixties. Doug is on the far left and his brother, Jerry, who drove the car is in the middle. When the car was first built it had an Offy in it with Hilborn injection, instaled by Stuart Hilborn himself. (Doug said they called him "Stud".) Later they ran a Hemi in it and still later the blown small block Chevy shown in this photo. Doug says he acually drove this car from Tennesse to California and back with the Offy in it. Wayne.
your right! didn't even notice the reveal on the wheel well. I chaulked up the dash rail to a swap.....doh!
This is the second roadster that Doug Potter owned. He had this built by Logghe in 1971. Then he bought a pro stock Hemi from Billy Stepp and put in the car. It ran A/Street Roadster cl*** in NHRA modified. Hearing about this car from a friend was what got me out to our local drag strip for the first time in 1972. Wayne.
Here's another pic of the Hemi roadster taken at Milan Michagin in 1974. Doug and his brother Jerry had gone to Chicago to get another engine from Billy Stepp, and while up North, they went to Milan to watch a match race between Bob Glidden and Don Carlton. Wayne.
I can imagine getting some staining in your shorts driving that Hemi powered roadster. There are some memories tied up in those two cars. Is the Hemi roadster still around? Frank
Yes, Al Mahoney in Chattanooga, Tennessee bought the Hemi street roadster from the Potter Bros. in the late seventies and he still owns it. Wayne.
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