I got this '32 V8 Roadster from an old timer in Whittier Ca. Does anyone know anything about the former owner Lupe "Loop" Valenzuela? he used to have the Whittier Muffler Shop on Whittier Blvd. The guy who had it before him was Mike Lacey. Familiar anyone? Also, Any idea where these tailights came from?
[ QUOTE ] I got this '32 V8 Roadster from an old timer in Whittier Ca. Does anyone know anything about the former owner Lupe "Loop" Valenzuela? he used to have the Whittier Muffler Shop on Whittier Blvd. The guy who had it before him was Mike Lacey. Familiar anyone? Also, Any idea where these tailights came from? [/ QUOTE ] One of my friends here in Jonesboro, AR is Richard (****)Valenzuela, a rodder who grew up in Whittier in the late 50s. He may be related. I will try to contact him tomorrow and see if he knows anything about your roadster. **** has a 32 three window he has owned since he was 15. Or, about 51 years.
Thanks Bib! Looking forward to hear from you again. I see in the do***ents I have that Lupe was born in 1931.
I went by ****'s house this afternoon. The motor home is gone. I suspect they are on a trip back to California. Valenzuela is not a common name and **** has talked about older siblings. I'll keep checking and when I find out I will post a reply for you.
Finally, a post I can respond to. I knew Lupe and his son Troy as lakes and Bonneville racers from the late 70s. If I am correct they were the cl*** of the field in Street Roadster cl***es for an extended period of time. Keith Young and I took a couple of different cars from the Glendale area to Whittier(maybe 40 miles one way) for headers during that period. Keith's philosophy was to support lakes racers by using their services vrs. someone in the neighborhood. Dan PS: I'm an OLD ****. I need help with a cool screen name. DW
That's great information Dan! Thank You! I heard from someone who stopped by when I picked up the car that Lupe had a -29 Roadster named "Mindbender". He told me that Lupe did 160mph in the roadster at Bonneville. The 301 SBC from "Mindbender" is now in my -32 roadster. It's got a Racer-Brown cam system. The '32 was sitting in the back of the Whittier Muffler Shop. Did you see it when you where there?
I'm giving this a new try... I hope there's someone else here who knows someting about Lupe or Troy Valenzuela of whittier Ca. or this car. Thanks in advance...
I just talked to **** (Richard) Valenzuela on the phone. He is indeed the brother of Lupe Valenzuela and is very familiar with the car. This is what he told me. **** was aquatinted with Mike and Ron Lacey (brothers) and knew about the 32 ford roadster body they had in their back yard. He told Lupe about it and he bought it from them. It was just a body that had been channeled at some point. Lupe replaced the floor with one he found in Texas and began acquiring parts. A frame, fenders, etc. He had it at his muffler shop for about ten years, made a lot of progress, but never got it road ready. Eventually he lost interest and sold it (to you?). **** does not recall tail lights. But from the description I provided he thinks they may have been 39 or 40 Chevrolet. It is quite possible the car never had tail lights when Lupe owned it. He will ask Lupe the next time they talk. After 40 years in business Lupe sold the muffler shop, retired, and travels a lot. The engine with the Racer Brown valve train was used in a 29 Ford roadster named "Troy's Toy" that went 180 mph at Bonneville. Troy is Lupe's son. He also has another son named Curtis and both were involved in racing. When they opened up the engine after the 180 mph run they found two shop rags in the lifter valley (under the intake manifold). At that time it was running a Hiliborn injection system. **** admits he was responsible. They had pulled the injection system for servicing and put the rags in the valley to keep debris from entering the motor. **** simply forgot to take the rags out when he replaced the system. After that they called it the "Rag Motor". Now that is some hot rodding folk lore you can ***ociate with your car.
Reminds me of dirt racing in the 50's. One of our crew lost his pit p*** which was a ribbon pinned on to your coveralls with Pit P*** screened on it. Anyhow, we ran out of fuel in the trophy dash and tried everything to find the culprit. After all when we open the tank,"Model T roadster with a cowl tank", we had gas but none out of the bottom line. After a bit of "fishing" we found the lost pit p***. Mike..........and you don't have to look it up 'cause we did it for you right here at TUFF TIN When they opened up the engine after the 180 mph run they found two shop rags in the lifter valley (under the intake manifold). At that time it was running a Hiliborn injection system. **** admits he was responsible. They had pulled the injection system for servicing and put the rags in the valley to keep debris from entering the motor. **** simply forgot to take the rags out when he replaced the system. After that they called it the "Rag Motor". Now that is some hot rodding folk lore you can ***ociate with your car. [/ QUOTE ]
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