Don Orosco's Pebble Beach Winner

ya really really nice car.

 

Man how cool would it be if that car could talk and we could ask question.

 

It was at Goodguys Pleasanton last weekend,
as were many other historic rods and customs,
with a sign that told the story.

 

Well I am new to the hamb but want to thank Tim aka houseofhotrods for his comments. I am 31 years old and grew up around Doug Lauzon,Jim Donovan and the Lloyd Bakan 32 coupe. The car was found by John Potter of Vancouver,Wa. in the late 70s or early 80s up in northern washington. It then was bought by a member of the road agents (cant remember name) Then Jim Donovan bought it and had it for years. He and doug would drag race it as tim said. Jim passed away and Doug was his best friend so jims wife sold doug the car for a very good price this was in about 1995. Doug built a 300 plus cubic inch flathead for it and drove it around. Doug got cancer and pulled the motor out and was building a hemi to put in the car. The car for years had multiple flatheads with a toploader 4 speed. My dad wanted to buy the car but Doug was a good friend and dad would never ask him if he would sell the car because that car meant the world to doug. I will never forget me and my dad just got a 40 coupe done and went on a test drive and came home to find Doug and his wife in the driveway with the 32 coupe. Wish I took a picture. Harms way posted some pictures and the first picture of the car without the motor is the day it was sold buy Doug. Doug told me that Don Orosco didnt buy the car from Doug there was a middle man ( I believe Tim Cubna?) Doug sold the car for $45,000 and Don bought it for $75,000 The car was in unbelievable shape and still had all the neat parts including the tan leather interior but the headliner was removed. I wish it was still being enjoyed here in the NW but it is nice to see it restored. I think Jim and Doug are looking down telling stories now.

 

The black and white pic looks like Strocks driveway. That picture must have been made around 1959 because in this picture it has the lincoln motor but Richard has not changed the wheels to chrome reversed yet.Notice the Lincoln motor had MarkII valve covers with the fins running across rather than the length of the head. I was told (I was the 14 year old neighborhood kid) that the motor was built for a boat by a guy named Andy Lapicollo. They were going to put a Chrysler in but it would take lots of cutting. Richard had bought the car less engine for I think for $1800.

 

x2, Cannot for the life of me understand why they were left off the resto...The headers on that car give me wood, some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

 

To me this is one of the best `32 3W`s of all time , in any of its styles.

 

Ryan, that's the emergency brake cable, you see. (p.90,TRJ#41)

 

Mr Orosco is aware of the HAMB and has lurked.

 

This is a shot taken at the drags at SIR in 1988, it is in the background behind our T/F car. It was running an injected alcohol flathead at that time, I hooked Jim Donovan and Doug Lauzon up with Gene Adams, who squared the fuel system away. I have a movie of it, taken at Woodburn Dragstrip in 1986 running with a Blown Flathead, the camera man did a full walk around, inside and out, while it was in the pits. Doug Lauzon drove it out to my shop, wanting me to replicate the rear bumper, I ordered a special die to bend the 7/8 tube. It took a several weeks to get the die, during that time Doug's health, took a bad turn and we never got the bumper built. Doug was a "hell of a Flathead engine builder", he machined a couple of them for my Track Roadsters. If I knew how to put the movie in U-Tube I would.

 

I was attending Portland State in 1967 as close as I can remember. The car was stored in a single car garage with double swinging doors across from the Cheerful Tortoise tavern on a street between S.W. 6th and Broadway. I was a counselor @ the Viking Residence Hall (dormitory for P.S.U.) in room facing the Tortoise. I was 6 stories up with windows closed and could hear the owner would start it up. It was very loud. I believe that very small baffles in ends of headers. The guy would polish on the car and start it up and put it back in the garage. Once in while he would drive it around the block and then back in the garage. Unfortunately I never got the guys name and didn't have clue to the history of the car at the time. It was blue at that time. John Potter must have been the next owner and maybe he would remember who he purchased it from.

 

It had the Lincoln engine in it at that time, I guess we better get a hold of Potter and fill in some blanks.

 

Its ironic that I was around SIR frequently at that time, heard stories about the car, but just never seemed to be there at the right time. Never actually saw it in person.

 

The thing that I don't remember is the headers. I could have sworn that the headers were chrome individual pipes with baffles or drilled soft plugs in each pipe. Funny how you remember things from 45 years ago. Now I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday.

 

I just located a stash of pictures of my adventure with this car, and with Doug and have stories about what took place. I plan on posting. It will help straighten out this story.........