History I think I found Larry Neves #2 track roadster

I just found out that Joe Valdez the original owner of my T his wife’s maiden name was Pacheco. George Pacheco raced the number 2 car and George was also related to Larry Neves.

 

Oh Boy! If you have the number 2 car what a find. It has to rank as one of the prettiest track roadsters ever built. To bring it back to its racing form would be a challenge, but as so few racing roadsters have survived, and this one is so cool, it would be an endeavor worth pursuing.

 

I was looking at that Neves roadster at the same time you were. The evidence is really starting to look overwhelming! I think you might own one of the best looking track roadsters ever!

 

different body. But maybe the chassis is yours?

 

Sorry about picture rotation. Not sure how to fix.

 

Maybe the same car pre track nose. I wonder if this is the same car as #55. The grill guard caught my eye.

 

The 92 car sure looks like same car. Those are great racing shots. I’m going to start pulling the interior out of the roadster and see what I can find. I spoke with the painter again tonight. He says it makes total
Sense that the car was the wife’s relative as Joe built the car for her maybe to keep it in the family after track roadsters died out In the early 50’s. He had it painted her favorite color and put the heart in the top for his wife. He also said that Joe the owner of the roadster his garage was full of old racing stuff in the 70’s flatheads and speed equipment.

 

@pgan what are your thoughts????? Your into these old track roadsters....

 

In one of the captions of the number 2 roadster it says it’s equipped with a Cooks quickchange. After doing some research on the cooks/cyclone rear end I Learned about safety hubs. With the help of cyclone Kevin on here I know for sure that the hubs on the quickchange in the car are cooks safety hubs which were required for the 1948 season to stop sending wheels out into the grand stands. Maybe it was mentioned and the promoters wrote cooks quickchange. there is a lot of similarities also with the low quickchange and the cyclone maybe Lenny low put his name on it.

 

Right side up

 

Great Sunday morning reading over coffee! What a find. Keep up the great detective work.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

The T is against the back wall in my shop with another car beside it and a bunch of parts as I was not doing anything with it at the moment. Today I’m busy with the wife and kids for Mother’s Day hoping I can sneak out there tonight. If not tomorrow I’ll pull the car out and start removing the interior.

 

I looked thru March 1950 hot rod magazine article on the show hoping to catch a rear shot or different angle of the car no luck. Still looking for other show photos. The race photos of number 95 thanks to Pat I can start searching more on and see what I can find.

 

Fark!! Looks like you struck gold, if those things match up there is a very high probability this is the Larry Neves T. This is something I saved off the Revs archive a number of years ago and would explain why the '26-27 body was replaced

 

Even the earlier 27 version looks to be well finished with nice paint and chrome. I’m gonna keep searching!

 

Thanks for the photos pat and jimmy I’ve been searching thru old racing records trying to find Larry Neves listed as car owner and George Pacheco listed as driver. I have found a lot on George Pacheco his name comes up all over Bay Area tracks. A real winner but seems like he didn’t get much spot light under the larger names that he raced against so not much info on him other than his name listed and wins.

 

From what I've read, it seem like he chose not to go big time. Apparently he was content with the roadsters.

 

Yea that makes sense I only see his name associated with roadsters and he doesn’t transfer over to hard tops. When 1950 hit it seems like his racing days were over. I did read that he suffered a neck injury when he crashed

 

Here’s a great shot thanks to Rik Hoving for it.

 

This is a really cool thread and a really cool find. I'm very interested to see what happens which I hope is the car restored to it's racing glory, but the wife part of the story is cool too.

I got to the East Bay area (Concord) in '59. It was all hard tops but George Pacheco's name was still being kicked around. I remember it because the town of Pacheco between Concord and Martinez had a great dirt track and the name just stuck in my head. I knew several guys who hungout in my uncle's bar that raced hard tops, midgets and sprints and I remember one of the George Pacheco photos above hanging in someone's shop.

 

San Jose Speedway used to be a bicycle track in the '30s! Not sure when they began running roadsters, (early '40s?)
Unfortunately, I didn't get out there to see the track roadsters, in '54 there were hardtops. My first trip to the roundy-rounds was in '54.....
Merv Furtado was a top contender, had lots of flatheads under his belt, pictures of the track roadsters, and lots of 'parts'. A good friend, his son Rod Furtado became the San Jose flathead guru from '76 (thereabouts) until his death, in the '90s? Too young, anyway.

 

Rod was a great guy. I think he passed in ‘02. I think of him often. He had a little machine shop on Phelan ave. I had a small body shop a block down the street. He was the person I thought of when I saw this thread. Never shooed off a young guy like me always asking questions. I’m sure he would have pictures and information on this car. His home shop was cool also. Lathes all lined up and DeLong’s old cam grinder with all the masters!

 

Here’s two more George Pacheco wrecks I found. Seems like he either won or wrecked trying.

 

I’ve been swamped at work these past two days I’m off tomorrow and can finally get the shop cleared out around the car and get it out.

 

I hung out with some flat trackers and raced a little around there is the '60s. Tom Anderson had a BSA/Yamaha/ Maco shop in Concord.I was going to race a 250 out of there but just didn't have it. I don't remember Tom ever being further back than 3rd heading into the back straightaway. I also don't remember him finishing many races. I watched him break hid BSA Hornet in half at Oakdale. The original Murder Hornet!

 

There’s holes!!!! Stripping the paint down now to see if they match up with pictures.

 

Have a long way to go I believe the painter when he said 40 coats of lacquer the paint is very thick then lots of bondo. 1/4 inch thick is come places.