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Projects My 1932 Henry Ford Roadster...

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by gtopillado, Oct 23, 2013.



  1. I'm a Greybeard who's still buyin and buildin
     
  2. thequietwon
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 600

    thequietwon
    Member

    And I'm a younger guy trying to accumulate all that I can...
    I have bought quite a few 32-34 Fords over the last 4 years. It took me over 3 years to buy the first one. I consider myself very lucky to find what I have. But a find like this is pretty rare...
    Sam
     
  3. eightbanger
    Joined: Feb 17, 2007
    Posts: 378

    eightbanger
    Member

    Wow. Dreams do come true! Congrats.
     
  4. David (gtopillado) -

    Congrats on the find / purchase!!!

    I'll have to let your old shop teacher (John Walsh) know that you're now a fellow Deuce owner!

    __________________________________________________

    A quick Internet search yielded an "R.K. Wasella" of Amboy, WA that was born on December 18, 1906 and passed away on June 22, 1989 ... He and his wife Dorothy were married July 15, 1929 and had two sons ... R.K. Wasella Jr. who died in 1950 ... and Kenneth Wasella Sr.:

    RK Wasella info.JPG

    It appears there's a "Kenneth O. Wasella" still living in Amboy ... You might try contacting him (@ PO Box 114 Amboy, WA 98601-0114) to see if your roadster was once owned by his father or brother ... Perhaps the loss of R.K. Jr. in 1950 was a factor in the sale of the roadster to Bob Davenport ... ???

    __________________________________________________

    Here's an excerpt from Robert (Bob) Davenport's obit:

    I know a few Hot Rodders that are ex-UAL mechanics / engineers (@SFO) ... I'll ask around to see if they knew Bob ... Maybe they can provide some more insight into the history of his (now your) Deuce Roadster.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2013
    kidcampbell71 likes this.
  5. snopeks garage
    Joined: May 25, 2011
    Posts: 556

    snopeks garage
    Member
    from macomb MI

    you took the word out of my mouth.
     
  6. ss34coupe
    Joined: May 13, 2007
    Posts: 4,239

    ss34coupe
    Member

    oh yeah! Nice score!
     
  7. gtopillado
    Joined: Jul 5, 2013
    Posts: 106

    gtopillado
    Member

    Hemi32, thank so much for the information, I will continue to find as much history on this car, I really appreciate your efforts as well. As Sam stated, I feel blessed to have the car like I have my GTO, Roger Vasquez was the original owner of it and we (Fred & me) nagged him for months before he sold it. Please tell Mr Walsh I got this roadster, he will get a kick out of it.
     
  8. bonesy
    Joined: Aug 14, 2005
    Posts: 2,999

    bonesy
    Member

    Congratulations on the awesome score.
     
  9. gtopillado
    Joined: Jul 5, 2013
    Posts: 106

    gtopillado
    Member

    DMV paper work is all complete, had a friend (officer Arvoner) checking over paperwork and signed off where need be, I'll submit it later this week. Been thinking on which direction to go for power plant, I'm putting a Flathead in it. I'm having Tony Lloyd build it, cool having a guy with lots of experience doing this for me. It will be a 48-53 block with Mercury crank, thinking of mating a 5 speed to it. Will have a good size cam and aluminum heads, plenty of grunt for this project. Here's a picture of the engine and Tonys Flathead Dragster. Enjoy...

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    Last edited: Nov 18, 2013
    cadillacoffin likes this.
  10. McFly
    Joined: Oct 10, 2001
    Posts: 1,169

    McFly
    Member

    WOWZERS!! What a find. Congrats.
     
  11. rory_a
    Joined: May 31, 2013
    Posts: 51

    rory_a
    Member
    from Sparks, NV

    Amazing find, congrats! Between the body/frame and a Merc'd flathead, looks like your off to a good start.
     
  12. From the sound of it the car will be very traditional,,,again,,I hate you! :D HRP
     
  13. gtopillado
    Joined: Jul 5, 2013
    Posts: 106

    gtopillado
    Member

    Thanks guys, appreciate it (even the hate jokes ;) ) Last weekend I picked up the other parts that came with the car, hood, rear end, grill, lights etc etc. the Grill is in pristine condition, will take a picture of it later. I've got a frame guy line up as well, he works at a customer of mine in Campbell called Nor-Cal Autoworks. Want to make sure frame is straight before I go forward, so car will go to the shop soon. Will make decisions on frame setup after it's been checked out. Want to keep most of the frame modifications as it was done period correct, but want more info first.
     
  14. KKrod
    Joined: Jun 20, 2010
    Posts: 1,454

    KKrod
    Member

    Nice find. Have you checked the interior of the doors for old rolled pieces of newspaper? The newspapers were used to give the door a solid "thunk" when they were closed. I found 1947 L.A. Examiner newspaper scraps in my roadster in 1994. Still don't know who owned the car back in the day.
     
  15. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,052

    wicarnut
    Member

    Congrats! Great Find! I love to read these stories, Now, go buy some lottery tickets, you are on a roll! John
     
  16. Gives me a boner!
     
  17. gtopillado
    Joined: Jul 5, 2013
    Posts: 106

    gtopillado
    Member

    Thought I'd give you guys a update on my Roadster. Engine is completely done, has everything I could add to make it as powerful and reliable as I could. Tony has said its one of the strongest street Flateheads he's built. Next, had everything media blasted by my friend Steven at Accessories Plus, removed all old primer and filler to see what I really have. Im amazed, metal is in primo condition. It's now at Claytons Hot Rods in Santa Cruz for Clay and Casey to do there great work in fabrication. I'm really happy it's there, we all have the same vision on how this car should be built. Enjoying the pics guys, more to come.......

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    Last edited: Feb 13, 2016
  18. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    Looking good, thanks for the update. Bob
     
  19. KKrod
    Joined: Jun 20, 2010
    Posts: 1,454

    KKrod
    Member

    Any more updates?
     
    The37Kid likes this.
  20. uncle buck
    Joined: Feb 13, 2007
    Posts: 1,876

    uncle buck
    Member

    He hasn't been logged in since March 2017 according to his profile
     
  21. gtopillado
    Joined: Jul 5, 2013
    Posts: 106

    gtopillado
    Member

    Sorry for such a long update guys, here's the latest. All work was going strong and then the shutdown stopped everything. I was always working (job) but wanted to wait and see with economy before I kept pouring money into car. Then a couple guys that were suppose to help me dragged their feet until I was able to get car back. It's been re media blasted and primered and went back to Claytons in Watsonville for completion. All metal work is finished....so much metal work was done so that there was a minimal amount of filer. Body exterior is completed and has been re blocked a couple times. It's super straight! All Fabrication to frame completed and you can see in the pics below frame was powder coated, sides blocked, primered and re blocked and finally coated with PPG Black with 2021 clear coat. Body work is completed on bottom side and that will soon be painted as well as inside cockpit area. Engine and trans will soon been installed as well. It's getting exciting as I can finally see light at the end of this tunnel. Enjoy the pics.
     

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