History I think I found Larry Neves #2 track roadster

One year ago I purchased this 1921 Ford T roadster that was stashed away since the late 1970’s. I started researching the Old show car and digging up history on it. I found out that it was shown at the Oakland roadster show and many other Bay Area car shows thru the 60’s and 70’s. I received two old photos of the car from the house I purchased it at a couple months later one in the late 50’s as a bare chassis sporting a mid plate and center steering which confirmed it raced at one point in its life. Then I got a call that they found an old flathead that was said to be from the car in it’s early life a 37 Flathead with Eddie Meyer heads and intake radically bored ported relieved full race engine. I started going thru the brake system I pulled the rear wheels off and the whole axle, hub, and drum slid out. The only thing that holds the axles in is the lug nuts has magnesium full floating hubs. Had to be a competitive car at some point.

I then located an old Oakland Roadster Show program that listed the car in the entry section. That read formerly 1948 Roaring Roadster.

that confirmed it. I have been searching and reaching out to anyone I could to find old pictures or info to try and match up the car in old photos.

some of the details to make it stand out is the rear bumper has a V in the middle of it. It is a tube chassis with friction shocks on all 4 corners. Stock I beam front axle. It was and still is running a Lenny Low quick change which could be the only one other than his own sprint car to have that rear end. The cowl and firewall is shifted to the left to hide the pitman arm inside the cab. Hair pins on the front and split and bent out 36 rear bones.

I am searching for Bay Area photos of track roadsters sometime in the 40’s Oakland speedway and others that I could try and find my roadster.

I was told it could be Lenny lows personal track roadster but no idea. Any help is appreciated thank you

 

Bay Area Roadster racing association?

 

I’ve been looking at my books trying to find a picture. Lenny Low is mentioned winning a 25 lap feature race in front of a crowd of 5400 at San Jose speedway in July 1948. I wonder if that’s your roadster? Any detail shots of suspension like the chassis and wishbones or front hairpins might help me find a picture.

 

Found this photo of Lenny Low’s sprint car. Hisso powered then Offy power later. I read he owned a machine shop and York forklift dealer possibly in Hayward. Any idea who raced your roadster in the 40’s? Chrome plating must’ve made it a standout track roadster. It

 

I know In The early to mid 40’s Bayliss Levrett owned the 404 Hisso sprint and then crashed it at Oakland speedway. He had Lenny Low completely rebuild the car then he had Lenny race it for him. Bayliss ended up selling the Hisso to a body shop I think around 46-47. The shop still had Lenny race it for them. I have pictures of both before and after shots of the sprint. It has similar front hairpins that my roadster has. I know a guy who is friends with the owner of the restored 404 Hisso sprint car and they think that the quickchange in my car is out of the Hisso sprint car or shared parts with it as Lenny continued to race it until the late 40’s. I read that both Bayliss and Lenny raced roadsters and I know Bayliss sold everything he had in the late 40’s to move out of Oakland. Lenny also sold everything in the early 50’s to move to Nevada for his forklift business. Maybe one of them owned and raced my roadster I am not sure but I know Joe Valdez had the car in the mid 50’s.

 

Very cool.

 

I enjoyed seeing your roadster at the Sacramento Autorama and thought it was pretty neat the way it was at the show. I am curious as to what your plans are for the car. Back to track roadster days, stabilize as is, or ?

 

Thank you my friend really wanted me to take it to the show as a survivor found show car and show it with their old T bucket. I thought it worked out pretty cool.

when I first heard about the car it was my buddy sent me a picture of the quick change in it and said it was for sale. I went without seeing pictures of the car to buy what I was told was a junk old fiberglass bucket to get the rear end in it. When I showed up and started checking the whole car out I realized what it was an old real steel hot rod show car I couldn’t tear it apart. I’ve only cleaned it up to preserve what’s there since I bought it and it sits in the shop. I really don’t want to change it unless I find old pictures and race history on it to restore back to its racing days correctly.

 

What a cool project! There’s got to be racing era photos of it somewhere. I have both of the Don Radbruch roaring roadster books. Northern California roadster racing is covered extensively in both. I also have the book History of San Jose auto racing by Dennis Mattish. I’d try reaching out to Dennis. I don’t have his information but maybe try a search. I’m pretty sure he’s in San Jose. He was a track photographer for many years. That letter v on the pushbar had me thinking it might be a initial. I wonder if there’s a old number under the paint job.

 

Just removing the top and upper half of the windshield will drastically change the look of that car. Cool find.


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I was hoping for the number to be under the paint also but I talked to one of the original painters who painted the flames and blue flake job in 1975 and he took it down to bare metal. There’s 40 coats of lacquer paint on it now.

 

I’m pretty sure that the photo frame leaning against the tires in pictures of the roadster at the Oakland show shows the race history. One photo in the frame even looks like a head shot of a racer. If I could find Oakland roadster show photos from a different angle to see the photos would answer a lot of questions.

 

The frame and suspension setup of my roadster is very similar to the woody lee T and built in the same area during the same time period. I am wondering if Jack Hagemann had a hand in the chassis under my car also. The Tube frame same mounting style for friction shocks on all 4 corners angle channel used to mount parts to the frame etc.

 

Also similar to the Larry Neves roadster that I read was built by Jack Hagemann. Tube chassis friction shocks hair pin front the cowl looks to be shifted slightly to the driver side to have the pitman arm inside the cab and lots of chrome similar style to my roadster.

 

Coincidence! I was looking at the Larry Neves version also. The hairpins look like yours. On the Lee version their wider. Hagemann jr. used to live about 10 miles from me but has since moved out of the area. I’m gonna keep looking. This is a nice distraction with all that’s going on right now.

 

yea there’s a lot of similarities with the number 2 Larry Neves roadster. It has also been proven that the Neves roadster and the woody lee roadster are completely different cars. There both from the Oakland area as mine is also. Also says that the number 2 car was a competitive roadster in 47-48 raced by George Pacheco. I’ll see what else I could find on it.

 

On the flyer for the National roadster show in 50 shows the car in 2 different views and without the race number also has a tube rear bumper. One can hope.

 

The tie rod is also kicked back on mine to clear if the radiator was down between the frame rails like in the number 2 roadster pictures

 

I pulled the interior back in the roadster and there’s bondo filled holes on the side of the body where the number 2 roadster interior layed over. I noticed that my roadster the rear friction shock hole was different than the number 2 roadster I popped the trunk and there’s the hole filled from where it was. The number 2 roadster has the hair pin located right under the front of cowl there is an old body mount right above it on the my frame still. My roadster body was moved back rears ago I’m sure to except the newer drive train etc.