As some of you know, I lost my garage, 2 cars, all my tools, equipment, and parts in the Lake Fire wildfire in August. So, obviously, I've been dealing with that ever since. My plan for the two cars I lost were to have at least one of them on the road before the end of the year. Obviously, the fire changed that plan for me. So, for a while all thought and effort went into the cleanup effort. Once the majority of cleanup was done, some planning about rebuilding began, and insurance money came in, I started thinking about the status of the unstarted projects that survived. I came to the realization that, between rebuilding, re-equipping the garage, and getting started on a new project, I was going to be years away from having a driving car. For those of you who don't know, I am the lead fabricator/shop foreman at Hollywood Hot Rods. In the past I have taken forever on my own projects, and I had grown tired of being the shoemaker with no shoes, and was finally wanting to ramp up and get something on the road. As stated above, the fire decided my projects should not exist anymore. So, I decided that I would take some of the money out of the insurance money I got for my personal property, and I was going to buy a running car that I could enjoy while getting the garage back in order, and getting started on the other projects. The hunt begins. I had been looking for a couple months. I wasn't finding much that interested me, at least in my price range. Stuff that was in my price range had too many things that would cost too much to change to suit my style, so the price no longer made sense. I was starting to get slightly discouraged with the lack of cars. There was a Model A roadster I was interested in, but I hesitated. By the time I acted, a deal had been struck on the Model A. The hunt continued. I had been looking at Model T's and A's because that's what was in my budget. I expanded my search a little bit to see what I could find. I ended up calling the owner of this '32. He happened to be a very nice gentleman from Louisiana, who has been involved in cars for a long time. Mostly Shelby Mustangs. The first phone call, we spoke for about 45 minutes. At the end of the phone call, the planets aligned, and we struck a deal. However, once the deal was agreed upon, I could hear some hesitation in his voice. He wanted to keep the car for a few more weeks, but agreed to honor the deal even if someone else offed more. How could I say no? So, I agreed and we kept in touch and spoke on the phone a few more times in the next month. Then, the planets aligned again, and I got connected with a guy who was taking a car from Southern California to about an hour away from where the roadster was in Louisiana, and had an empty trailer coming back. I struck a deal with him to bring the roadster back, so we completed the transaction for the roadster. The roadster was picked up Saturday Feb. 27, and arrived in Southern California on Monday March 1. On that Monday March 1, a friend drove me down to San Clemente where the car was being trailered to. We picked up the car and se off on the 130 mile drive home. The car ran and drove beautifully. It cruises on the freeway at 70 mph at 2000 rpm's, and never got over 165 degrees. The only issue was a leak at the passenger side axle seal, which will be an easy fix. So, after getting the car home, I had to work all week, so I really didn't get any time with the car. I was able to get the car out today for my first drive for fun, and I had a blast! I can't wait to get some more miles under my belt in this car! I do have some plans for some changes, but nothing major. I'll start by showing some photos we took when we picked it up and brought it home, then I'll share some photos from today, and then some specs on the car, and future plans. So, here are the pickup photos
Now for some specs and plans. It is a Brookville body on ASC framerails. 1950 Merc flathead with a .125 overbore, Offy pistons, Potvin cam, Johnson lifters, Isky springs, Offy 3x2 intake, Edelbrock heads, Stromberg carbs. T-5 trans Halibrand quickchange. For plans, most of them are aesthetic. I want to change out some of the fuel line fittings, change headlights and conduit, change the front brakes, change some of the wiring and loom, change the distributor cap to black, change exhaust, some minor changes to interior, some changes to the dash, and column drop. I'd also like to add a hood. Other then that, drive the hell out of it!
What a great Roadster! You did really good. So terribly sorry about the fire and your subsequent losses. That's tough to come back from. Hope life is on the upswing for you now. Enjoy the hell out of that beautiful ride........Don.
A Spiritbooster...Breathtaking Scenery...Hotrod Heaven...congrats @cretin...hope things continue to bounce back...
My roadster is my most fun car I have, I think you. will be very happy with the car and it looks great.
They say good thing come to good people. You must be REALY good people! Great recovery!!! We're all happy for you.
Congratulations on you new ride. I bet it broke your heart to loose everything in the fire but people are resilient and you have started to over come the loss. Looks like the roadster is well built and has a lot of desirable pieces, it just needs your finishing touch. HRP
If your new ride doesn't say Hot Rod then nothing does. With each mile you put on it the painful memories of what you lost in the fire will ease a bit. Of course they will never go away completely but now you can focus on what's in the future, not the past.
God bless you on your road to recovering from your loss. That sweet roadster is a big step. How did you you find that at the right time?
Congrats, Nice little roadster .. mods to your liking.. out on the road for plenty of good times ahead
I know it will take a long time to recover from such a tragic loss... but that Deuce Roadster looks like one hell of a good start
Looks to me like you made the right decision. Knowing your timeline in the future and being honest with yourself will allow you to have a lot of fun while rebuilding your world.
The Jalopy Journal
