History Mystery roadster - Looking for history

Here are my pics. Sorry I dont have a better one of the storyboard.

 

I have that issue of Street Rod in my collection as well!!

 

Interesting. If I've read the text completely and correctly, (difficult to tell when presented in a montage) that article contradicts Al Drake:

Portland Pictorial: The 1950s, p.12

 

This car or one just like it , a 27 T on 32 frame with fenders was owned by a neighbor of mine in Sunland Ca. around 1957 Specer Baughman was his name

 

Whoa! No kidding? I am all ears. Do you know if Mr Baughman is still alive? Are you in touch with him? This could be very interesting, as you are the first person to ever say ( other than Richard Loe of Pasadena ) that they remember seeing this car or one just like it. Thanks for this comment. I look forward to hearing back from you.

 

Spencer Elmer Baughman on Facebook is him.

 

Wow. Can't thank you enough. I'll reach out to him. Thanks again!

 

This is getting exciting

 

Well, John, I cannot thank you enough for jumping in with this incredibly valuable suggestion. I tracked down Mr Baughman and had a great time talking with his wife, Sharon. Unfortunately, the roadster in question is not the car that he owned during the 1950s ( he verified that by looking over the photos I sent him of the car ) and he knew that, immediately. That said, what might seem like a dead end turned into a really fascinating exchange with he and his wife. Sharon Baughman's father was an LAPD officer by the name of Charles Shaw. Mr Shaw was a hot rodder himself and owned a hopped up Model A during the early and mid 1950s. Incredibly, he was not the lone hot rodder on the force at that time. In fact, there were enough hot rodders in his division ( Foothill and, later, Highland Park ) that they formed a car club in the mid 1950s called "The Optimists." According to Mrs Baughman, her father and his fellow cc members set out to reach troubled and orphaned teens in their area through hot rodding and try and get them going in a good direction. Her husband, Spencer Baughman, was one of these kids. Before Spencer was of driving age, officer Shaw had him come to some Optimists cc meetings and begun to learn how to work on cars through helping to maintain the hot rods that were in the club. The young Spencer took to this in a very natural way and would eventually purchase officer Shaw's roadster when he got his DL. This is the roadster that you referred to in your initial comment. Spencer Baughman graduated from Verdugo Hills HS in 1960 and sold the roadster just before he graduated. He would continue on as a car guy and is still one today, with he and his wife enjoying a pair of customized SSRs that they take to cruise ins and events in their area in Arizona. Charles Shaw got deeper and deeper into hot rodding and racing as the years went by, as he campaigned several different coupes and early dragsters at Saugus and San Fernando drag strips during the '50s and '60s. He would even own and campaign a circle track car at Ascot in the '60s and '70s, using Rick Mears as one of his drivers! Mr Shaw would do everything from boat racing to building and racing sand rails as the '70s went into the '80s before his retirement from the LAPD. Once retired, Charles Shaw took a full time position at Deist Industries ( Jim Deist was a lifelong friend ) and would work for that firm for several years before passing on. It is unfortunate that we didn't make a connection for this roadster but the fruits that came from reaching Mr and Mrs Baughman were more than I could have hoped for. I had never heard of the Optimists cc and am blown away that a program like the one they had initiated, existed during the 1950s. It is far and away the most extreme bridge I've learned of between law enforcement and hot rodders. So, now I am determined to learn more about them, who their members were and how long the club lasted. Thanks so much for your tip on Spencer Baughman and for opening up this rabbit hole that I'm about to go down! I'll keep you up to date with what I find. Thanks again!

 

That’s amazing!