Art & Inspiration The Roadster

Is't there a song that goes like this, SEE THE USA IN YOUR ROADSTER TODAY AMERICA IS ASKING YOU TO DRIVE?

 

From the time I saw the Tom McMullen 32 Roadster in Hot Rod magazine 1966, I knew I was going to have one. I finally got around to buying one in 2000, started building one in 95 and a good friend pointed out to me, at the rate the build is going, I'll be to old to enjoy it, so I went shopping, found a 29 on 32 rails, 355 ,SBC, TH400, 9" Ford rear, Beautiful Kool car IMO, NOT HAMB friendly paint, interior, wheels,etc, a Roadster that was the opposite of HAMB style. Funny part of story as the old hard core Hot Rodder did't like it, A LOT of women would be talking to me about how beautiful it was, would take pic's in it, on it and attracted a fat biker broad using it as a lawn chair (another story) Living in Wisconsin, the short season, cool nights, rain, not a comfy car, wore me out and traded it for a unfinished 32 3 window in 2007. IMO, a Roadster is the definition of HOT ROD, everyone should have one in their lifetime, much like motorcycles, rode 74-2010, if I have to explain it, you'll never understand. My Roadster Pic's are in my albums.
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Both of the above are best enjoyed with the top down. My model A was a coupe until I got hold of a sawsall.

 

I asked this lovely lady to take a ride just so I could see her naked feeling. No she did not go.

 

Google Tom McMullen and you will find the right guy.


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I can honestly say that driving a roadster you do hear,see,feel and smell everything your surroundings have to offer.

I have been sun burned, wind blown, sand blaster, drowned like a rat in a sudden thunder storm but I still had a huge grin on my face, I will say the only time I didn't really enjoy my roadster is when I got behind 2 semis hauling chickens on a two lane mountain road on their way to a processing plant, I followed them for about 15 miles and the smell was horrific, live chickens, dead chickens, feces, urine and feathers flying around like a snow storm.

I haven't had a roadster in about 10 years and I miss having one, they are not for everyone but I plan on having another one before I cash in my chips.

This is my old roadster, No top, no fenders, no wipers, totally impractical car but who cares?



The car was stupid fast. HRP

 

Pictures no worky!

 

I see them,I'll try to post them a different way. HRP

 

Did that work? HRP

 

Few years back I scored a 1930 Model A Roadster. Complete car needing hot rodding.
I sat in the drivers seat when I got home. Got out and made a phone call and sold it.
Didn't fit. Felt so cramped I didn't see how I would ever enjoy driving it.
Guess I didn't want it enough to get past that. I like looking at them.

 

Hopefully mine will be done mid-summer...
And my brothers T rpu



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As a "coupe guy", I "get it". Nothing is more fun than a roadster or tub....just never could afford one.

 

Yep! Beautiful car!

 

They are best when they have it all, no hood, no fenders and no top

that's what I had in mind with this project I let go a few years ago..
man, now I look at it again don't know what I was thinking when that one got away..

 

Advantage of a roadster vs a motorcycle is you don't have to put your foot down when you stop.

 

The Harley guys seem to love my little black '27 roadster. I always tell 'em, "It's just like riding a motorcycle, I just don't have to put the kickstand down when I park it."

 

Just love it, had it out for the past two days

 

Ah yes. In the '27 roadster, along the coast in L.A. it was the smell of the ocean.
Now, in the '28 Highboy in NorCal it's the smell of the dairy-air!
Runnin' down Hwy 46 towards Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield you get the smell of orange blossoms and sometimes fertilizer. It's like the smell of Nitro - you never forget it and it always conjures up wonderful memories. Although you can smell the smells in a coupe a roadster provides the complete experience.

 

I do miss my old #7 Track Roadster. For 8 years I enjoyed it, whether running at vintage dirt track events, or hitting the street. It always seemed to run it's best in the cool of the evening !

 

Nothing like a Roadster, unless you have a Five Window Coupe for when it rains.
Yes I am blessed.

 

I like that radiator shell. Have one hanging on the wall, with radiator that has the bowtie...

 

Never had a true roadster...... Just a "vert, and it was a love /hate deal........... Too hot/too cold. Wind/Sun..... Time to Man up, or get back on the porch and shut the F up.......
Option # 1 is the deal......

 

Hey T,
Open roadsters have a feeling that is like no other. We have been in plenty of coupes, sedans, sedan deliveries, woodies and such. They were all nice rides, but, like our old custom, Harley Sportster, when that wind blows by you as you are moving forward, there is nothing like it. There were no helmets, back then, so the experience was pure, in your face mode.

Jnaki
The roadster experience was pretty close as I experienced that similar feeling in Jack Stewart's red roadster when we were both "youngsters."

Jack Stewart 32 Roadster L.A. Roadsters

an excerpt from a thread almost a year ago...
Hello,
Jack Stewart’s 32 Ford Roadster was the first open roadster ride I ever had and what a ride that was. It was the coolest feeling to have that open air and wind blowing in our hair. The build speaks for itself, as it is one of the best 32’s around.

and another:
My first real ride in a famous, hot rod roadster was 15 years later in the late Jack Stewart’s 32 red roadster. That was a thrill in itself, let alone talking to him while going down the street. His roadster had been in many photo stories and we were just shooting the breeze. The ride was a little stiff, but smooth. Everything about sitting in the seats was intriguing.

The wind in our hair, the feeling of being in the open with the So Cal sun shining on us, all made the experience pretty fabulous. I know, many people have ridden in an open 32 roadster down the highway, but for me, it was my first “open air roadster” ride. That was something. Not a beater 32, but a pristine, well built, RED, 32 Ford roadster! I was riding around in one of the best built 32 roadsters in the USA. But the ride… a 42 year old memory that still feels like yesterday.

Jnaki

That ride in the Jack’s 32 roadster was something that I could not reproduce or want to try. It was the moment that capped it off for me in the roadster world. Adios and thanks, Jack...

 

Only problem with mine is that its a one seater....The wife is not pleased

 

Roadster drives on a summer evening or at night are the best. The different smells and pockets of humid air hit you unexpectedly and it’s quite an amazing experience. Nothing better you can experience on 4 wheels outside of a racetrack.

 

^^^^^^^^Aaron Grote would love it^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

^^^^^^^ that's thinking outside the box^^^^^^^^^

 

Some folks have roadster attitude, some don't. As a bonus I'm fortunate to have a bride who enjoys them too...…..put up with wind, rain, sun, the whole giddy-up...….including wearing a parka for a February get-together in Seattle.

Another thing that happens is the ease of having a brief conversation with admirers at a stop light. On one occasion, enroute to the SoCal open house in Vegas, some guy on a wing-ding-ding scooter pulled up along side the ol' '30 hiboy. Looked down at the flatty, which apparently he was unfamiliar with, and said, "hey man, that's a nice lookin' hemi!" Light changed and I made my left onto Desert Inn with a friendly wave and a smile.

 

............You can't be a weather cup cake if you drive a roadster.