Had a request for pictures on a different thread so I thought maybe a little history might be more interesting. Previous to family ownership It had a little history as a drag racer. George Larue (sp?) was the owner at that time. Car was purchased by my brother in 1975 minus motor for $500. He rebuilt a 303 for it but was never happy with it. Somewhere around 80-81 my Dad took over. First thing we did was install a 67 425 and 400 turbo. Drove and occasionally raced for many years in that form. Sometime in the 90’s the lacquer metalflake paint started going to hell bigtime. Our low budget solution was to scuff the black area and shot it flat black. When that failed to improve it’s looks I did the flame job. In 2000 Dad needed to thin the herd some so back to my brother it went. My brother installed a FatMans sub, had a 455 built for it and rewired it with a Painless kit. In late 2005 he tore the car down to finally have the body repaired and painted properly. Unfortunately in May of 06 he died of a sudden heart attack just as the car was about finished at the body shop. Which brings us to now. I’m finally in the process (along with my sister in law) of getting this thing put back together. It’s been a bit of a adventure so far, a couple of times we’ve come close to ordering parts only to find them already purchased by my brother years ago. I know the current paint may not be exactly hamb friendly but we’re just trying to put it back together to match my brothers vision. First picture we’re reasonably sure is the wagon at Neita Raceway possibly in the 60’s. Second is the car not long after dad took over, that paint was on it when my brother bought it. Third Dad racing it, possibly 1986. Fourth the 425 Fifth the flat black and flame job. Sixth current paint job (those are just the body shop wheels) Seventh the wheels we will be using
that's the first 49 steel wagon I've seen. I did see a 49 woody at Columbus Goodguys a few years back. are you going to woodgrain the light colored areas? it looks like a really nice wagon. good luck with it.
Seems I remember this car at NEITA raceway, did it at one time have LaRue painted on the sides? my memory doesn't remember it as black, though i could be wrong, seems I remember a green or blue, and wasn't the light color, that looks like wood, kind of a yellow gold color with heavy metal flake?
I have no idea what it looked like at that time Fords-R-Us other than the one picture shown. I have found some evidence of green paint in it though. You are correct about the yellow area, when my brother bought it anyway. I've always assumed the black and yellow was at some point after it's racing career.
The Jalopy Journal
