History The last Hot Rod, A tribute to Dad

On the Carrera Panamerica Replica.. I picked up that 54 for next to nothing, Bergen asked what I planned to do with it, I said lets make a Carrera replica out of it. It had to be done on the cheap since he had just finished my 57 Porsche and was starting on my 27 T highboy. I had a 54 Carrera rulebook and we used as a guide. I had a 54 entry list and used the driver name and number from an obscure Argentine entry, the rest is pure fantasy. It hit the Road for less then $4000.00. I took it some local car shows and a lot of fun with it. After about two years I sold it to Warren Fetzer for a $1000.00 profit I put that money to finishing the T highboy. Form there the story gets a little murky, Warren sold it to someone who flipped it thru the Auburn auction. From there it landed in a museum in Auburn In.
At that point someone got the idea it was a real Panam race car.It then sold at a Barrett- Jackson auction. and went to Texas. The last I knew of the car it sold on an the Bring-a-Trailer online auction. I think it sold for 17 grand.

 

The T roadster parts in the picture with Bergen's new Firebird were not the start of his roadster pick-up,but the start of my T highboy. The T pick-up was sold long before he got the Firebird.

 

Thanks for clarifying that for me, John. It was pretty hard going through all of these pictures and trying to organize and make sense of them. Actually the ones from the cars he built while I was living here were easy. Some of the older ones had me a little stumped. I'll try to find a picture or two of your T.

 

That definitely takes the angst out of this story. It was your Dad's plan all along and you're carrying through with it.

 

A bunch of Dad's friends organized a rod run in his name. It is today. They plan on making it an annual event. I will be driving the Roadster . This will likely be the last time I drive it. I have a meeting with the probate attorney on Tuesday. We will be selling the Roadster shortly after . I'll be posting pictures of the event later.

 

I'll post a few that I took have more but just not uploaded yet.. Was a great day weather and all..

Amazing when you stood back and figured out how many cars he had built or had a hand in that we're there..








































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Ok, my turn. Almost everyone that showed up for this event, Dad knew personally. Most were his good friends. ALL of them were inspired by him in one way or another, that's why they came out. This was quite possibly the most enjoyable cruise-in I have ever attended. The number cars that showed up was amazing. It was held a good friends garage, which is amazing in it's self.
Not every car there was H.A.M.B. friendly but most were. I took over 200 pictures. My wife took over 400. I won't post them all, don't worry. I'll do a few follow ups on some of these cars later.

 

Thank you for sharing this about your Dad. It shows your pride of his life's work and l'm sure he be proud of you.

 

A few pics inside of the garage where this Cruise-in was hosted. Lot's of good stuff in there.


This is the last car Dad chopped. I've got pictures of it sitting in his shop last spring.

 

Many thanx for sharing your family story and images. Just a thought, could his 389 Vette have been the first BB Vette, ever? Gary

 

I guess it's possible. I never really thought about it like that. I know how Hot Rodders are though. Always going bigger and faster. It could have been one of the first, for sure.

 

Great story and pictures. One thing I find kind of sad is the fact that your dads roadster will be sold.
If my father had built one like it, I don't think I could let it go.

 

It's just a little sad, but Dad was going to sell it to fund his next project, the 3window coupe. He had already been talking to a guy that was interested in buying it. I'm just carrying out his plan. The guy that is buying it is my daughters boyfriend. Dad took an interest in this guy several years ago and sort of nudged them together. That is a part of his legacy also. It's all good! Besides, what was more important to me was getting all of the stuff in the shop. The memories in there are priceless. He just rented the building and I have secured it for as long as I want. My son is one heck of a bodyman also, so maybe we can keep the legacy going for a very long time.

 

That's just super!

 

This is a car that Dad and I both worked on. It belongs to a guy I went to school with. He is not new to the show car scene. He had a 55 Chevy that he campaigned for many years. I started working on it in 2005. I worked on it off and on until 2007. I had all of the bodywork done at that point and that's when Dad took over. He did all of the work hiding all of the plumbing and wiring. He took a one piece front bumper and made a smoothy out of it along with modding some Harley Davidson headlights into it and a few other things, like in dash air, etc.. The only thing different I did was to shave and peak the hood. Other than that, I just made it arrow straight. This guy is very picky, so everything had to be PERFECT! That roof was a royal pain. It was pretty rough and seemed like it was a mile long. This is the only job Dad and I both worked on since I was 21. That makes me sad.
A lot of other people were involved in this build doing the engine, interior and so on. The guy who painted it is awesome!!! I love his work! Steve laid down another fine paint job on this one for sure.

 

I went over to the shop to do a little maintenance to the beater car I drive to work every day. When I was done I went around and took a few pictures, like I did when Dad was around. Just some random shots of stuff. I think I'll continue doing this. It's good to use as a reference.
Also, yesterday I got some good news from the estate attorney. The appraisals came in for the 32 coupe, the contents of the shop and the other random vehicles around the shop. I will be able to keep everything and not have to dip into my savings to do it. I've been worrying about this for a very long time. This will make the 3 window go a little quicker. I hope.

 

So glad to hear it is all working out for you on the contents and coupe....

 

Any more updates i cant wait to see the 3 window come to life

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This is wonderful! Thank you for posting it all!

 

I have been in sort of a mental funk lately. Things are moving along much slower than I would like, but they are winding down. I have been soaking up as much info as I can about the construction of the 32 3 windows. I'm new to this old stuff and I'm not thrilled with the thought of a wooden B pillar protecting me in the case of an accident. But I will solder on. It will be an adventure for sure!

You are very welcome. I'm not done with this thread yet. I just need to get focused again. I sort of lost track of where I was at.
Thank you, guys, for reminding me that I need to get busy. Maybe that is what I needed.

 

Here are some of the pictures of your T highboy that we took at the rod run. It fits the theme of this place perfectly.
This is another one that Dad built along the way. There were quite a few of them that showed up.

 

Well, tomorrow is the day. I finally got six of the eight titles back from the Judge with his stamp of approval. Tomorrow the 32 Roadster will be sold and the 32 3 window will be in my name. Sort of a bitter sweet day and on the Eve of Thanksgiving to boot. I would still rather have Dad back than have the 3 window but I didn't get that option.
I have some pretty big shoes to fill going forward. Dad never stopped trying to get me more interested in these old twenties and thirties cars, but being born in 57' made me more of a lover of the cars and trucks from the mid fifties to the mid sixties. I liked them and was interested but I never had his passion for them. I remember him telling me all of his stories of the cars he'd had and all of the fun that he and his buddies had back when he was a youngster. I think that he hoped he would be able to get me hooked so he could share more of his vast knowledge with me. He was like a walking encyclopedia when it came to the old cars. The last several years he had me drive the Roadster to some of the shows so he could trailer his prized 41 Ford GP (Jeep) prototype to the shows. He was finally getting me interested. Now I won't be able to get any more advice or ideas from him, so I will do my best to apply the things I was able to learn from him.
In a way, I know how he felt. I have a son that's 31. I work with him every day. We work as a team doing collision repair at a Honda dealership. My son is really big into the Honda's, Toyota's and Mazda's but is only marginally interested in the 50's and 60's cars that I love. Go figure! But one thing the three of us share equally is the love of cars and the ability to fix and build them.

 

I now am the proud owner of a genuine 32 Ford 3 window coupe. I plan on finishing up this thread and starting one for the build on the 3 window after Thanksgiving. I have a bunch of pictures from the building of Dad's 32 roadster. It should be interesting. It changed a few times before finally got it the way he wanted it. Also I ordered a new inner panel for the decklid on the coupe the night I got the title back from the Judge. The outer is salvageable but the inner was beyond hope. So the money spending has already begun. My wife is thrilled!
I'm glad that some of you have enjoyed this thread as much as I have enjoyed telling the story. I am thankful for that. I wish I were a better story teller because it's one heck of a story.
I would like to wish everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving!!! On my way to Mom's to celebrate with family.

 

Thanks I have really enjoyed reading this and look forward to the build thread. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family also.

Ryan.

 

Well, This thread has made for some interesting reading, and I expect your next build thread will do the same. I'm looking forward to it.

 

Neat stuff. Is there a build thread on here or some more pics of this primered red oxide 32 roadster?

 

Hi Zombiecat.Thanks for a swell thread.Just post a link to the new thread.Thanks.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Here are a few pictures of the beginnings of the Dad's Roadster build. He had been building rollers for a guy that's a distributor for Brookville for several years when this build started. He was building them from parts, so it was fairly time consuming. He did several A's and then they started on the 32' Roadsters. I'm not sure exactly how many he did but I'm guessing he did a couple a year plus his own stuff and he was always taking on small jobs, freshening up cars, chopping tops, etc. to keep him busy. While he was building these rollers the guy was also supplying him with whatever parts he needed for this Roadster. He changed a sorts of things before he finally settled on what he wanted and did the final paint on it.
He picked up a basket case 32' somewhere along the way. I think all that was used from it was the grill shell, the firewall and the title. I guess the most important thing was the title.

 

I'm not sure about a build thread on this one. I believe it was built by Curbside Hot Rod Parts in Danville, Ohio. I do know that they were the ones that drove it down for the memorial Cruise-in where this picture was taken. I may have a few more pictures of it. Not sure of the powerplant in it but it sure sounded healthy!

Thanks! I'll post a link to it on this thread as soon as I get it started. I hope to get over to the shop later this weekend to get some more pictures of the coupe.

 

My heartfelt sympathies to you and your family. Good looking cars you have there. The 3 window is looking good as well, can't wait to see it done. Once again you have my sympathies.


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