This was the McMullen Roadster when it was still the Don Hudson Roadster,... before Tom set eyes on it..... Probably one of the top ten recognizable Hot Rods in the World.
When the Peterson bought Ermie's Orange Twist they were on a mission to have both it and the Golden Star. It has been reported that Messer said they would do whatever it took to get these two cars. The biggest significance being that Ermie won the AMBR three times with 2 different cars all in a span of 4 years. It will be interesting to see who bids on the McMullen car, if indeed the auction is for the orignal car, as that will determine the price more than anything else!
Not only all the garages!---But Tom was a little paranoid & in the house(mansion), he showed us a small bathroom, stepping into the tub, he pressed a certain tile & presto!----The wall slid sideways exposing an underground bunker!--Inside were 6 AR-15 rifles, lots of .223 ammo, gas masks, 6 full military back paks, etc. At the far corner there was a steel rung ladder that opened up at top inside a large round BBQ behind the house (mansion). Like I said-----Lots of stories!!!--------Don
Not to mention the "Swingers" parties,.... Now, Lets get back on the subject of the McMullen/Hudson Roadster.
Was it ever confirmed which McMullen car was supposedly being auctioned? I just checked the list for the California auction and there is no McMullen 32 listed. You'd think it would be prominent if it were going to be there???????
And yes, just like Tom causing a flurry even in death! I was amanaging editor for Tom in the early 90's AFTER working for Lynn and Ron Rosevear at the Auto Haus warehouse on Dale in Fullerton. BOY could I tell some stories about the house and parties there, good grief!
A good history of the car here, including "pre-McMullen Life of Riley" and post McMullen owners. http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/0404sr_mcmullen_roadster/index.html
I watched CSR restore the original car in the past and it was a decent car to begin with. When Brizio redid the car to its original (sort of) state it was made perfect. As to the question of would it be the highest priced Deuce in history I don't think so in today's economic climate. I would love to see it go to the Petersen Museum and remain there for generations to come. I first saw the car parked on a sidewalk out in front of a bar at Indy in the 60's. I was totally impressed with the car then and still am today.
Yes, it's still in El Paso, yes, it is the first roadster, yes, it is going to be sold by Mecum, yes, it will be in California, yes it will be in Dallas.
Nice guy, Jorge, met him last year at Rolling Bones taking delivery of his new 3-window. Coming back from a test run I noticed a wobble in The left front wheel,discovered new brake drum surfaces were not parallel,took it to my shop and trued it up, He sent Keith a diecast Mcmullen replica to give me! Why's he selling it?
I was at an LA Roadster get-together at Pismo Beach in the mid '60's. I live in San Luis so it was just a little ways away. Most of the cars back then all had great metal bodies, but the car left a lot to be desired, engineering wise. I was not impressed by the plates hanging off the side of the frame, holding front radius rods. Today's craftsmanship is far superior to anything they had back then. _____________________________________________ " Real Hot Rods don't have fenders "
McMullen circa 1962 marketed what was probably the first kit for wiring hotrods... It was pretty minimal, and instructions managed to be both generic and worthless...I bought one and installed it by the instruction sheet when I was 14 or so and didn't know any better, and the resulting ctastrophes eventually taught me how to wire...but is was still some sort of landmark.
Yep, McMullen ran a business called Automotive Electric (al??) Engineering that sold wiring kits. That business morphed into AEE Choppers which was a MAJOR distributor of chopper parts in the 60/70 era. He basically started Street Choppers Magazine to promote his parts and just kept on growing.
Blows me away that a car this significant isn't on the auction list for wither one of those auctions (of course if it sells at California, I would imagine it won't be at Dallas). You think they would be promoting the hell out of that car.
YUP ME TOO on the Doane Spencer 32 roadster and my sencond choice would be Phil Cools blown deuce with the big slicks
Didn't know about the wiring kit but I find it very interesting that the shoebox custom he drove out from Mass burned up in a mysterious electrical fire that gave him the funds to buy the roadster in the first place.
That kit and its instructions led me and my '48 through darkness, smoke, and flame to figuring out wiring on my own...once I had snipped out my old wiring and strted into installing that %$$#$ I was committed...it was either learn how to do it a LOT better on my own or just accept death by fire. I would have been a lot better off using Ed Roth pinstripes as my wiring diagram!
Makes you wonder if quality issues had anything to do with Auto Electric Engineering becoming AEE Choppers
The original McMullen roadster is one of my favorite hot rods. Tom did it all in that thing, primary transportation, drags, lakes, everything. Plus he did it himself. I think my favorite version might be with the big Ford engine, but all the ones with the flames looked great. Ever see a color pic of the car when it was metalflake green? It was hideous and not even close to shiny. I also believe the car was brown when Tom bought it, and it too was uninspiring. But when he painted it black and Roth laid on the flames, it was instant classic. Best looking roadster ever, IMHO
I was at the auction that day when they got in a bidding war for Mr. Immerso's 32 , when it got over $300,000 you could cut the air with a knife ! I thought maybe $100 to $150K , what did I know . He had a lot of neat stuff that sold that day , I didn't get anything .
Seems to me, I read an article on the history of the car and it actually sold for $2,000 after sitting for a couple years in the corner of his shop. Talk about giving it away...