When I saw the car at the Hill Climb I about fell down in awe! My wife got sick of me drooling all over it and moved on down the line and left me there in my stupor. People can say what ever they want but it's a cool, cool car and it looked/looks perfect to my old eyes. Beautiful photo's by the way and great right up.
Overall I think the roadster looks good, yes it could do with some taller rear rubber, I don't know why the E & J headlights get such a bad rap on here, I think they are a work of art and way ahead of there time, if anything I would like to see them sitting a little lower, they look at little googly eyed sitting so high.
I really dig it. You think of the time frame when this 32 was built and the parts that define the look of this "Wicked GFY Roadster," it's definitely one of a kind. Looking at the 32 and knowing it was built in the mid to late Seventies when traditional hotrods were starting to be turned into graphic laden easter egged clown cars, you can see the builder didn't care what people thought, you can look at the roadster and see he appreciated those cast off parts and created one hell of a Traditional Badass Hotrod from them. I'd be proud to have it in my stable. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Jason is keeping the Roadster in the shop right now and it is just plain cool to see it when i open up the doors in the morning. I wouldn't change it that is the way it was built and each car has its own style. The top and the Duvall make the car for me. In all the comments i didn't see one about the fuel tank Tom didn't notch the 32 tank he just slid it back to clear the quick change, i figured with this crowd someone would have mentioned that.
I can't pick out some of the stuff that draws the rantings on this feature. Perhaps because it works on this one. While I wouldn't go out of my way for E&Js I get it. As to so much early "stuff", maybe because this traditional thing is now a "thing" it does seem a bit like a showcase for parts of lust. Like a 69 Camaro of any flavor, I wouldn't walk across the street to look at another Deuce Hiboy, especially another black one, but this one gets it done. The stories all those parts could tell would be something, wouldn't it? There is one thing that seems all too common and so misguided and disrespectful. Leaving all the fuckin dirt on something like that as if dirt itself has value. It doesn't.
I t like this roadster and wouldn't change a thing, except removing the Hi-boy emblem. All this drama about the headlights is exactly why I chose not to use the pair I had on my coupe. I had plans to paint them black, mount them very low and set back on a quick release head light bar. I think they would have looked good, but I wasn't going to live with all the drama they would cause every time I pulled into a show. It just wasn't worth it to me. Besides I almost never run the car with head lights on it unless it's dark. Then I just pull them out of the trunk and plug them in. Very few traditional parts seem to be so polarizing as E&J's. .
The masses have spoken! There will be no deviations from the accepted standards! I personally think the car is pretty damn cool.
Well, send them on over here so I can put them to use. I don't give a rat's ass what people think. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I really hate all this stupid drama surrounding the headlights. For the record: I really, really like E&J's. But, I really, really only like them on Coachwork '20s and '30s cars since, to my tainted eye, they are the only things that they make stylistic sense on. This might deserve another thread, as this one defiantly doesn't need any more tangents, but how many early hot rods even used the things? I can think of quite a few high-dollar prewar cars that did, but I can't seem to remember any particular car built in the golden age of hot rodding sporting the little cigar lights. Posted using my Lil' Orphan Annie Secret Society Decoder Pin
Haha! I was trying to think of something Walt would say, but couldn't come up with a pat phrase. Jesse will do just fine. We certainly are a hot rod nit-picking fucking crowd, are we not? Too high, too low, too wide, too narrow, too shiny, too flat, good god almighty . . . never ceases to amaze me why we can't just appreciate something for what it is. Why the urge to "make it mine"? (Well, first thing I'd do is lose the _________________) Hey , news flash . . . It ain't yours, it's his. And it is a genuine hot rod, and it is traditional . . . And it is featured here with some fantastic wordsmithing and photography! Well done.
Funny how everyone goes ga-ga over the cam grant car ?.. probably the same people that are picking this car apart....except this car pre-dates cam grants by 20yrs! I told Jason it could use bigger tires, his comment was yep he knew that... He figured proper 16" tires were pretty hard to find in 1978 , this car is completely unchanged from 1978 ! this is the builders origional vision ..sure the headlights could be placed different, god forbid the highboy script! If a guy was rich in the early 50s his roadster would look just like this... Gar-un-tee! And a guy thought about that in 1978! You Think about that! I don't really think the dude who built it in 78 cares if you don't like e&j's and pretty sure the man who worked overtime all year to save enough to buy it....THEN not change it for 30yrs is pretty darn happy with HIS 32
Jason is good folk. I hounded him about this car when we worked together a few years back. Donahue was a 70s/80s icon that got press in Rod Action and was/is an amazing guy. I see a trend here. Folks that hate the car and ME, I know the crazy history of this car. This is a true 50sish survivor built in the 70s while shit was al two tones and cowl lamps. Tom Donahue and his dad were a huge part of keeping the flame in the last 50 years.
I'll give it this much, yep it's got lots of rare parts. To keep the drama to a minimum , that's all that I'll say.
I would bet if all those exact parts were not "high dollar parts" that a lot fewer people would take issue with this car. For whatever reason their seems to be a stigma that having money in a car make it less traditional and cool. I dig it.
I GET this car...and everything the owner was trying to achieve. His car/His taste. I personally never liked boat windshields on cars, but I understand why they did it...for aerodynamics. The only deuce roadster that I thought used E&J's effectively, was Jesse James'. They were mounted down low...but I still thought they were ugly headlights. I guess we all have our own personal take on what looks good and what doesn't...to me it's about proportion and aesthetics. This car kinda reminds me of a gook wagon from back in the day...too many accessories on one car. The good thing is that everything can be unbolted. These are only my opinions...your taste may vary.
How the hell is it cubic money when the guys dad bought it 30 years ago when cars and parts were cheap.?
Figured most people wouldn't get it. This is the real deal. That's why I like it. Doors shut perfect rides awesome and has that go fast look without even moving. If it were personal opinion , I do t like 32s at all. But this thing is fn punk. Thanks Ryan for the call for work. And thank you Jason for your time to let this fool do what he does. Maybe we're all just pissed its not In our garages maybe not. Build em the way you want and drive the shit out of em. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
