Folks Of Interest RIP ... Ed "plywude" Lee

Edward L. Lee
December 16, 1939 - September 23, 2018
RIP @plywude
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• Ed was a close family friend since the early '70s.

• He built and owned dozens of Hot Rods in his lifetime.

• Ed was a charter member of the car club of the '70s ... became a member of the in the ‘80s ... and was also the "the President" of the .

• In 1972, he & Gary Meadors pitched the idea of holding a large "Pre-49 Street Rod" event in the town of Lodi, CA to the “powers that be" (e.g., the LODI Chamber of Commerce, Lions club, Rotary club, Kiwanis club, Police dept., etc.) ... and their efforts paid off ... because the 1st Annual West Coast Street Rod Mini Nats was held on June 29th thru July 2nd of 1973 at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds. From there, Ed went on to help run several NSRA and Goodguys events.

• After my dad passed away, my mother decided to sell one of my fathers's unfinished project cars ... Ed spent many nights & weekends making our Chopped '32 Tudor a "roller" ... I'm quite positive that all of his hard work (i.e., volunteer labor) helped my mother get top dollar for the car!

• I got Ed (aka @plywude) to join the H.A.M.B. in 2008 ... as a collector of Hot Rod art, his favorite part of the forum was the weekly “Friday Art Show" threads.

• Ed was the definition of a "Goodguy" ... he will be greatly missed

 

I had the chance to meet Ed several years ago at LA Roadsters Fathers Day. I had my '40 Merc for sale and we had a pleasant conversation. Seemed like a genuine nice guy. I know he had heart issues for years. RIP.

 

Here's Ed's 1951 Plymouth Savoy Woodie wagon ... also known as "PLYWUDE":

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During his time on the H.A.M.B., Ed also bought and finished a '36 Roadster:

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In recent years, Ed also owned a '51 Ford Convertible:

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... and a 1947 Chrysler Windsor Convertible:

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In the early '70s, Ed built and drove this (BBC-powered) "Digger" Turtledeck T:

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In 1972-1973, Ed built a 1933 Australian Phaeton "Resto-Rod" ...

... first in Blue with Black fenders & belt-line:

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... and then he repainted it Red with Black fenders & belt-line:

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In the late '70s, Ed built & drove this Orange (he called it "Poppy Red") chopped Deuce Tudor:

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In the late 80s, Ed bought a full-fendered '34 Roadster:

from page 83 of "Hot Rods & Customs of the 1970s" by Andy Southard Jr.​

... rebuilt it into a (non HAMB-friendly) '90s Street Rod '33/'34 Roadster:

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... and became a member of the

 

One of the events held a the '73 West Coast Mini Nats in Lodi was the "Women's Grand Prix" ... here Marilyn "Goodgal" Meadors directs blindfolded golf cart driver Ed Lee through the winding course (with a young Marty & Marc Meadors tagging along):

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In 1975, our car club (Nor Cal Early Iron) began building a Model T "Streetster" to raffle off for a charity (Guide Dogs for the Blind).

Ed was one of the primary guys that helped to build the car:

Left to Right: Ed @plywude Lee, Paul Tucker, & @Roger Garcia


click thumbnails to enlarge​

 

The innagural (& only) World of Outlaws Creeper Races event was held at the 1982 NSRA Western Street Rod Nationals in Merced, CA.

For this event, Ed was made an "Honorary Norwegian" ... and a part of the "Northern California Norwegian Creeper Racing Association" pit crew:

Left to Right: Bruce Olson, Ed @plywude Lee, Don Engebretson (creeper driver), Ron Engebretson, and Linda Engebretson (white shorts)
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In January of 1991 (during the GNRS), Ed was one of the Emcees for the HOT ROD HEROES ROAST of Dick "Magoo" Megugorac and Bill "The Eye" Burnham:

NOTE: That's Ed @plywude Lee sitting at the head table next to Magoo & Boyd​

 

Condolences to You @HEMI32 , the Lee Family and Friends on the passing of Ed. There is no question of his passion for Vintage Auto/Hotrod as you have shared with us some of that tonight...Rest in Peace Hamber Plywude.

Thank you @HEMI32 for this Tribute to Ed

Regards,
Stogy

 

Back in 2015, @gasmanm01 started the Ed Lee, aka plywude hamber, paying forward thread.

 

RIP to a good dude who helped added a lot to the hobby.

 

Thanks Hemi for sharing his craft and story!

 

My condolences to his family and friends. Thank you for sharing his hot rod life with us.

 

Sympathies for All of his Family and Friends. Judging by the pics he was a person of good taste and believed in having a good time. Farewell, Ed.

 

A tribute by John (@John D) Drummond of Goodguys:

Northern California Hot Rodder Ed Lee Has Passed Away
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I can't believe it, I've known Ed & Mary since the 70's, when we did the NSRA Western Nats, kinda lost track of them for a while but just lately have been back in contact via e-mail.
The red 32 sedan was an iconic car back then, and both Ed & Mary were great people.
Man, I'm gonna miss Ed and those e-mails.
This is so sad.

Mick

 

Thanks for all of Ed’s history, Another great one has left us.
Condolences to Family & Friends,
RIP Ed.

 

Man, I am sorry for your loss, and your tribute in words and photos is very cool.

 

Rest in Peace.

Condolences to family and friends.

 

Thanks. Snowman

 

Thanks again for educating some of us Todd. Nice tribute. Condolences to his family & friends.

 

I had some great correspondence with Ed regarding the history of his blue Aussie bodied phaeton (tourer),,looks like he really enjoyed his hotrodding life ,,

 

May he rest in peace, prayers out to his family and friends.

 

Ed's obit in the “Manteca Bulletin”:

Edward L. Lee
December 16, 1939 - September 23, 2018


Born in Alabama on December 16, 1939, Edward L. Lee, entered into rest on September 23, 2018 in Manteca, CA at the age of 78 years old.

Mr. Lee is survived by his family, beloved wife of 62 years, Mary Lee; children, Greg Lee (Brenda), Ava M. Lee Paterson (Daniel), and daughter-in-law Jean Lee; grandchildren, Casey Lee (Dana), Trisha Renke (Chris) and Justin Lee (Mary), and four great- grandchildren, Joshua, Western, Nova and Randi.

Previously of Fremont, Edward was a resident of Manteca for over 10 years.

He proudly served his country through the United States Navy and made his career in commercial sales. While in sales, Edward worked for various companies beginning with the family business Aluminite Manufacturing Company and finally retiring after 50 years in the industry with Superior Windows.

Edward was a car enthusiast, building many hot rods and attending countless car shows. He was a member of various car clubs including Bay Area Roadsters, Nuts & Bolts, Nor-Cal Early Iron and Good Guys Association.

He volunteered his time with the American Legion – Manteca, where he enjoyed taking part in Toys for Tots and took great pride in being a part of Flags Over Manteca. Edward enjoyed hanging out with his bulldogs and was known by family and friends as a superb cook. Edward will be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor and for his love he displayed for his wife, children and grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 5, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. held at P.L. Fry & Son Chapel, 290 N. Union Rd., Manteca, CA.

The Lee family encourages friends to display their hot rods in the parking lot at Edward’s memorial.

An online guest book is available for condolences to the family at www.plfryandson.com

In lieu of flowers donations can be sent to Toys for Tots, American Legion, 220 W. Yosemite Ave., Manteca, CA 95336
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