The Simple Roadster

This Deuce has been a favorite of mine for close to a decade. I first laid eyes on the sanitary roadster in the early 2000s as it basked in the pages of Coco Shinomiya’s Hot Rods & Custom Cars. It wasn’t long before I extracted a few spreads from the book to glance at for constant inspiration.

Although the picture of it ripping across a parking lot with tires spinning and background blurred was undoubtedly more dynamic, the stationary “glamor�? shot is what drew me in.

With full fenders, full hood and whitewalls all around, the car is a beautiful example Henry’s Model B. The candy red paint and the white accents, especially the inner fenders, give the car a clean, early ‘60s persona.

I sometimes wondered what was beneath the hood, or why the door handles were shaved yet the cowl lights retained. But then I’d take a step back and look at the photo as a whole. Trace the line from the unfilled grille shell to the lip of the rear fender. Take in the contrast between the red paint and the soft blue sky.

The whole setup is simple — and in a way, calming.

While digging for something else, I discovered the roadster belonged to a man named Louis Wolff. A native of Lincoln Park, Michigan, Louis started with a butchered early hot rod featuring a welded door and a crudely channeled body. He originally rebuilt the car for the street, but the version you see here was geared towards the show circuit.

That didn’t mean that it didn’t pack the “go.�? Underneath the hood, Louis installed a 283 punched out to 301 ci and equipped with a GMC 4-71 and quartet of Strombergs. During his interview with Bob Hegge for Hot Rod in March 1964, Louis said he had “everything possible�? chromed underneath the car.

As a result of his efforts, Louis’ roadster won “Best Rod�? at the Detroit Autorama in 1963 was given a brand new, high-performance 427 Ford motor as a prize.

After taking top honors, the roadster was parked. According to Kustomrama, the car and hasn’t changed it since its victory at Cobo Hall. For a roadster with such grace, it doesn’t get any better than that.

-Joey Ukrop 

Color shots from Shinomiya’s Hot Rods & Custom Cars, B & W from Hot Rod, March 1964