I gotta wild hair up my ass this morning and decided to collect every known historical photograph of the Dick Flint roadster. Give or take a photo or two, I just might have found 'em all. And in doing so, I was actually sort of amazed at how seldom ... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
I love this car!! I've had the June '53 HOP-UP for years and always detested the looks of the wire-wheel hubcaps on it though.
The car was never actually driven with those. They were put on the car just to add "pop" to the magazine cover.
Few are as recognizable at the DF roadster. Such a cool car and another fine example of of Valley Custom's great design and craftsmanship. Really I'm a sucker for any car with the Ascot type rear tires. Love those things. Side note, the engine bay is about as crammed full of stuff as it can possibly be. Reminds me of Thunderbirdesq's new "t" roadster as seen at Race of Gents last weekend. 10 pounds of shit....
Makes me think of the story about Dick and Dean brainstorming the shape of the nose on the driveway with chalk and welding rod...those were the days !
These are awesome photos. We are offering the famous DF Roadster next month at our exclusive Art Of the Automobile sale in NY! Check it out here http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1063777 I'm stoked because this may be record setting when its comes to traditional hot rod value.
I've always been amazed that it never won the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. Was it REALLY that bad under the skin? Or did Flint just never enter it?
I can't even imagine... Are they saying what they think it might bring? From what I've read, you couldn't see any of it due to the belly pan... and I've read articles about the restoration process that say Valley Custom's work was really well done - which is typical of their stuff from the period. I have crawled all over the restored car. If it was hacked up at one time, you certainly can't tell now. The detail work of what you can see is absolutely amazing. People say this car is a great example of how we over restore historical cars now. And I don't know if they mean it this way or not - but I totally agree. This is one car that was deserving of being over restored.
There was a story a while back in Street Rodder about the restoration. The original frame was scrapped as it was too weak and cut up to keep. A new A frame was then refitted to the car, but some of the original running gear also was kept for the restored version. I dimly remember the car with an SBC after Flint sold it, pictured at an LA Roadster Club run, 60s maybe? Anyone else??
I hope to put up a couple more once I find them. Here's an ad that Kofoed ran to sell it in the early 60s, mentions the Chev engine:
Okay, found my other file. A couple proof sheets that include some of the pics Ryan put up, but some others probably from the same photo session. And then a set of shots during the restoration showing the new frame.
A beautiful roadster indeed and one of my all time favorites. Ryan I hope you do a little followup story after it sells to let us know who bought it and for how much.
A most outstanding example of a fertile and creative mind(s). This car is outasite even today! Now jump in the wayback machine and imagine what people thought of it when it was done up to show standards. Great post and thanks, Carp
Yep!,---Duane Kofoed owned it for many years, & wouldn't part with it. As many know, Duane did finally let it go to (?).---I think it was 30 yrs. ago----Don
Here's a couple old pics i've "borrowed" off the internet somewhere. Some early photos of Dick in the roadster. Mick
link to the restoration Dick Flint Roadster There is a shot in an early Hot Rod issue without the grille in the track nose. This pic below is from Hot Rods trend book 102.
Along that line, Flint's house on Woodlake backed up to the same alley as Dick Megugorac's, less than two blocks apart. Not sure that's particularly meaningful to this thread, but some coincidence.
It was great seeing it in person at the Roadster Show a couple years ago- it's been one of my favorite roadsters since I was a kid. It was a beautiful restoration for an outstanding car that really deserved to be at that high caliber level. It's cool that it has the legacy that it doesn't matter who owns it- whether it be Orosco or the new owner, it will always remain the Dick Flint roadster. Hopefully the future buyer takes it out to be seen at shows like Orosco did and not mothballed away in a closed door private collection to never to be seen again...
Here's an image you may not have previously seen. A 35mm slide from the 1952 Los Angeles Motorama ...