Rise and fall of a great American hotrod

Well, I don't know how GREAT it was, but let's just say it was "great enough" to make the cover of a known hotrod magazine back in the early 70's.

I HAVE BEEN TRACKING DOWN MY HOTROD'S HISTORY

I am not going to get into too much details here, as I am not done yet. What seemed to be a project that would entail a few phone calls has turned out to be the search for the Holy Grail! It has been the most exciting and fun thing I have done this year, I feel like Sherlock Holmes on a serial murder case :LOL: .

Each new phone call unveils a new owner, new stories, and additional hotrod modifications for my little guy (and color). Mr. Hiboy has had quite a life! And no, it was not built in the 80's like many of its later owners had thought. And no, it was not created from scratch and made of misc odd balls parts like many others had thought.

I have so far tracked the story back to the late seventies. Yesterday I hit the jackpot when talking to an owner (TERRY) who actually LOVED the car and knew quite a bit about its past.

MY ROADSTER STARTED ITS LIFE AS A 1932 CABRIOLET. It had the original steel HF body on it all the way until 1979. As far back as terry can remember, the car was a hiboy. Terry had noticed the car when it made the cover of a known hotrod magazine back in the late 60's or early seventies (by a miracle of God he saved the magazine all these years and will mail me a copy of it :) ). At the time the owner of the cabriolet Hiboy went through a divorce & parted the car out, and the body shell was sold to one person )for $10,000), while the rest of the car (complete with even the original steel firewall) was sold to Terry. Terry could not afford to spend the extra $10,000 for the original body, plus maybe he prefered to have a roadster body rather than a cabriolet. So he then bought a crated Wescott body (the one I now have) and get this:

MY WESCOTT BODY IS BODY NUMBER SEVEN!! Basically, an antique :LOL:

I furthermore found that Terry finished the roadster (complete with paint and interior) and painted it green and raced the roadster and showed it. He said that no one could beat him as far as racing went. At the time the roadster still had the original HF hood on it. It had a corvette engine and would "give you a whiplash" (I quote). :LOL:

I was happy to find my roadster had at some point been "Glorious", but at the same time I was sad. Sad because I wondered why so many of the subsequent owners did not care for it and respect it like they should have. Why they dismentelled it, ran it into the ground, and how it went from the glory of a hotrod magazine cover, to losing it hood, interior, seat, steering wheel, engine, and ended up sitting in a garage for 12 years, looking like not much more than a rolling chassis.

:mad: :mad:

Ironically, Mr. Hiboy's body is out there, somewhere, it would be interesting to track it down...

Now I am of course curious as to when the cabriolet was initially hotrodded... 70's? 60's? Earlier? But that's yet, another story for another post for another day.

FAITH

When you get that original hot rod magazine, post a picture of the cover. I probably have it, and would like to read the article and see if there is anything more that can be determined about the car.


It must have been a nice body to command that kind of money back then.

Don

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

It must have been a nice body to command that kind of money back then.

Don

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Booohooohoooo... Don't torture me :LOL: Although as Terry pointed out he said: "don't feel bad, if it still had the cabriolet original body on it, you would not have been able to afford buying your roadster... "

And he's right, I would not own Mr. Hiboy today.

(drying up my tears)

:LOL:

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

When you get that original hot rod magazine, post a picture of the cover. I probably have it

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Do you keep them sorted by issue date? If so maybe I can call him today and ask him to tell me the name of mag and issue date... In case he flakes and never get sme the copy :rolleyes:

I really appreciate the offer to help find out more... THANKS!

No, my collection is a mess. It is scattered between my bedroom, my bathroom, and the bulk of them are at our shop, filling 5 of those 6 foot high metal shelf units, so it will be a little bit of digging. But I pretty much can recognize a magazine and tell if I have it or not, as I have read them so many times.

BTW, what are you doing up at this unGodly hour? Isn't it like 4:30 AM in California??

Don

".....Sad because I wondered why so many of the subsequent owners did not care for it and respect it like they should have. Why they dismantled it, ran it into the ground, and how it went from the glory of a hotrod magazine cover, to losing it hood, interior, seat, steering wheel, engine, and ended up sitting in a garage for 12 years, looking like not much more than a rolling chassis......"

Cars go through a lot of different stages as they go through their life cycle(s)...especially cars that are destine to eventually become hot rods.

Normally they start out as mundane mass produced passenger cars and are worn out and discarded (usually after passing though numerous hands). Those that have managed to elude the crusher eventually reach an age where due to their age actually become desirable again (if they haven't been stripped to the point of being a parts car).

Each owner of the car usually adds a little personality to the car, be it in the form of modification or more scars.

In a lot of cases many first time hot rodders buy a car with their own vision of what it will eventually be......and in many cases will get a start on the car before admitting they are in over their heads either financially and or ability wise.

Almost every car I have built and sold over the years has eventually been further modified by follow on owners (just as I usually do when I buy a new project).

The 3rd owner of my 65 Biscayne after me bought it for the dual quad motor/4 speed and a few of the options I had on it for his 65 Impala 2dr hard top. The rolling chassis was sold to some other aspiring Hot Rodder.

My 37 Dodge pick-up (pending project) was a nice old stock pick-up until around 90 or so when it underwent an attempt at being turned into a ???(well I won't really say hot rod). It had a Mustang II style front suspension professionally installed and then the butchery began with a chopped up fire wall, a 2.8 V6,C3 and 4 bolt Mustang II rear end installed, then left outside with the front end sheetmetal in the bed until around 2003 when I came along. I went through mock-up with a Hemi and torqueflight, sold it to help step daughter pay for a custody battle for my grandson and eventually bought it back where I hopefully get back to putting it together next year.

The 57 Plymouth I'm just finishing up (should move under it's own power sometime this weekend for the first time in 30 years) had a repaint and quarter panel repair and aftermarket "Belvedere" some time when it was fairly new. At some point someone rebuilt the motor (flat head 6) and it didn't even warn enough to burn the overspray paint off the exhaust manifold before it threw a rod out the side of the block. It then went to a wrecking yard for a while was bought by someone intending on build a 426 wedge/crossram hot rod out of it.....was bought by my friend who had to take the car in a package deal to buy the crossrams for another project who sold it to me......on a side note he tried to buy it back from me to use as a parts cars for a rusty 57 rag top he latter picked up.

MY original plan was to built it as a nostalgia drag car, but that eventually changed direction and is now going to be my hiway cruiser/vacation car.

The old saying "the constant in life is change" also applies to a cars life. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

When you get that original hot rod magazine, post a picture of the cover. I probably have it, and would like to read the article and see if there is anything more that can be determined about the car.

Don

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Rod and Custom February 1973... Has the shot of 3 cars on cover, one of which a cabriolet (my car) - DO YOU HAVE IT????

At this very moment I am talking with a guy who recently bought his first rod, an older T-bucket that I had painted the graphics on.

After owning it for a few months, he decided to build a new car with some improvements, and new ideas he has, but realized it is both cheaper and faster to redo what he already has.

Now the car will have the chassis redone with a different rear, the body will be modified, rewired and repainted, and the motor will be changed and have a different look also.

The point of this is that someone in the future will wonder why it was redone.

When you get the mag you'll learn the car on the cover and inside feature belonged to Brooks Cranmer in Milton, Mass. If he got $10k for just the body in the late '70's he's a god!! That's about what the price of a nicely done complete deuce with one of the much more desired bodies like a roadster, or either style coupe went for around then. But hey............that's what stories are all about! Kinda goes with the "nobody could beat it" line!:D

FYI ...

When researching your 32 ... do not put a lot of faith in everything you hear. ... Fact is ... people LIE ... or have their version of the truth.

I built a 69 Camaro some years back. It was a car with no engine, no transmission and no rear end. All the glass and interior was gone. It was a stolen and recovered vehicle. I had to put a junky rear end under it to load on my trailer. I installed a Big Block Chevy ( 454 + .030 ) , a Turbo 400 and 9 inch Ford rear end. I did the body work and had a friend paint it. I bought a repro interior kit and installed it. I installed all new glass in the Camaro also.

I sold it to help get money to buy a house ( that I still own ) ... :D
A few years ago, I was 125 miles from my home and ran across my old 69 Camaro at a cruise night. It had changed hands a few times since I sold it ... but the current owner told me how he pulled it out of a storage shed and built it himself. :(

I know it is the same Camaro ... I used the Pace Car interior kit, drilled the hole in the rear panel for the cut-off switch ... and installed the MSD. No doubt it was my old car ... ... But he will tell you how he built it **)

And 10 grand for a 32 Cabriolet ( body only ) in 1979 ... would be like 40 to 50 thousand dollars now ... I know ... I sold a running steel 32 Hiboy roadster for a little less ... and everyone said I raped the new owner ... :toocool:

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Originally Posted by HiboyGal

Rod and Custom February 1973... Has the shot of 3 cars on cover, one of which a cabriolet (my car) - DO YOU HAVE IT????

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I'll look in my collection too, Faith.

I'll dig around too. GIve me a few days or so.

Don

The July '72 issue of Rod & Custom had a build up feature of the car in the "Garage Scene" section. You may want to find that issue as well.

Mick

To me digging up the history of a car is as interesting as the build itself. My 28 Hupp has been in my family since it was new and only now, almost 80yrs later, is the car being modified from being original. Thanks for sharing, and keep up informed with the dig!

"........But he will tell you how he built it......."

I hear you, I sold my 58 Chevy mild custom a few years back (there's a picture in my gallery, and the side trim is very distinctive, a combination of Belair and biscayne and lot of trim removed), a friend of mine who knew the car mentioned to me one day that it had shown up on E Bay a couple of years after I had sold it. It was being listed as a car that had been bought from an estate sale of the second owner and that it had sat in the garage for the last 10 years. :rolleyes:

Years ago I built a bugeye Sprite with a 289 Ford in it. Sold it to a Buddy when I went into the Service. Few years later I walk into a garage, and there is the Sprite sitting there. I told the owner of the garage "I built that car about 6 years ago." He tells me that is impossible, as he bought it from the guy who built it, and he even went into great detail how he made every little bracket and mounted all the parts!

So the guys are right. Don't believe everything you hear about your car. We rodders are notorious for stretching more than sheetmetal.

Don

All us geezers must have at least one of these stories. The '72 Chev p/u posted in my gallery was seen by a buddy of mine down in Sacramento a year or two after I'd let it go. He said he listened to the owner go on and on about how he'd done thus and so, then told him what he really knew about it's history.:D

Yup, done any number of cars right here in my own shop then later at some rod run or show here a new owner telling all about the history of the car and how hard he had worked building all the parts on it!!!! Friend of mine just this summer got back a drag car I built in '95.... He heard some very interesting stories about the origin and history of the car.

I'm back! (Was at a car show all day, had fun though, some photographer took 3D photos of the roadster & I, I am curious to see what it will look like - trippy!)

OK, I read all your posts, and I do agree 100% with everything said. I do however have to clarify a few points:

1- I am a very very smart person with extremely enquisitive mind and great attention to details. I do make a great detective. I thouroughly question, check and test any data that is given (3 times). I compare threads of each story given by each owner, to see if the DNA matches :LOL: you know what I mean. I am waiting for a second phone conversation with that owner to get more details so I can assess how accurate the data is. I guess what I am saying is: Give me a little credit ;)

2- Tracking the car as far back as 1979 I have spoken to many owners. No less than 7 people. There are other owners in between these 7 key people, but these guys only kept the car a month and basically passed it on "as is".
I know the car belonged to Eric Coceja since it's engine rebuilt at the 2002 NSRA Nationals was documented (with photos) on streetrodder.com I can recognize my car from these photos with NO doubt. I seperately talked to both his Dad and Eric and both their accounts matched 100% (and they gave me lots of details). From there, I carefully tracked back one owner at a time. None of these people are currently still in touch with each other so I asked about the purchase/sale details each time, to see if the data matched and to be sure that this is the same car. From there I asked more details about the car, how it looked like at the time, what was done to it, etc... I AM VERY VERY THOUROUGH. Most of these people offered to mail me photos of the car when they had it. That will also help.

3- Of course, the further back in time I regress, the more "fuzzy" things are. People don't remember details as well, some of these guys have owned and bought/sold SO MANY RODS they can't keep track. I was lucky one owner has cards of every rod he bought, and he is currently looking for the photo of the car, which he has in a card box. He said he sold MANY 32 roadters over the years (he is an older man) but only 3 had a fiberglass body. he usually only dealt with steel. because my car was half black (body) and half metallic green/blue (hood and nose) he was able to remember which of the 3 cars mine was. Yet, I asked him to trippple check his records one last time. Currently I am not 100% sure the green car on the cover is in deed my car, but so far odds are about 75%. I am still checking on a few things, just to be VERY sure. I checked the upper inside part of my hood last night, where the louvers are, the heat has pealed the black primer paint. Guess what color is underneath? Lighter Mettalic green/blue. So the descriptions given me were accurate.

4- IMPORTANT NOTE: None of the owners I spoke with told me they "built the car" themselves. Many right out confessed, they did NOTHING on the car, just bought it and sold it, or let it sit in their garage for 12 years, intending to "finish the project" but never getting around to it.

5- Terry, the oldest owner I have found so far, is a 65 year old retired teacher, and seems like a man with a good head on his shoulder, not the "bragging type". He did say the car in his area was the fastest of his group at the time. He also said his friend's roadster always beat him at shows, so that gives me some credibility because he was very willing to admit he was not winning, his friend's car was a better show car. Of course not to say it is not possible that he is lying, but I don't really see the point, since he no longer has the car, has not had it for over 20 years and did not himself sell it to me.

6- Ironically the guy who did sell it to me downplayed it. He forgot to mention about many of the original parts on the car. He even failed to tell me the rails were original 32. :LOL: Not a very good seller !! :LOL:


Well this post is way too long, but I thought I would mention all this so you guys have a better understanding of how I am going about this and that I am by no means "gullable". Everything will be tripple checked for accuracy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

When you get the mag you'll learn the car on the cover and inside feature belonged to Brooks Cranmer in Milton, Mass. If he got $10k for just the body in the late '70's he's a god!! That's about what the price of a nicely done complete deuce with one of the much more desired bodies like a roadster, or either style coupe went for around then. But hey............that's what stories are all about! Kinda goes with the "nobody could beat it" line!:D

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Bob, it sounds like you have a copy of that magazine. Would you be able to make me some good quality color copies of the cover and article? I can send you money via paypal to cover your expenses.

ALSO, are you able to take a quick digital shot of the cover and post it here? I might be able to recognise an element or two that might help me tell if this is the same car or not... (providing any of that car's elements remained on the car throughout all these years!!!)

We're going to have to start calling you "Cannon". :)

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Originally Posted by HiboyGal

Bob, it sounds like you have a copy of that magazine. Would you be able to make me some good quality color copies of the cover and article? I can send you money via paypal to cover your expenses.

ALSO, are you able to take a quick digital shot of the cover and post it here? I might be able to recognise an element or two that might help me tell if this is the same car or not... (providing any of that car's elements remained on the car throughout all these years!!!)

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Sorry, I'm in Vegas til the end of Nov and the mag is in Wa. Maybe Don will find his copy...............he works cheaper than me too!:3dSMILE:

Sorry, I'm in Vegas til the end of Nov and the mag is in Wa. Maybe Don will find his copy...............he works cheaper than me too!



Oh, suuuuuure, give it to old Don. He has LOTS of spare time and works dirt cheap. In fact, just send him a sandwich or some cookies and he will work his butt off.:D :D :D :D :D :D

Don

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HiboyGal

I am by no means "gullable". Everything will be tripple checked for accuracy.

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We did not say you were stupid or gulliable ... :)
Just that you cannot believe everything you hear ...

Lots of folks buy/sell/trade cars like some folks change clothes ... details get lost or misplaced. Time also affects the memory. With over 25 years of owners and the changes in the car and the lives of the many previous owners ... anything can happen.

IMHO ... it does not really matter where it has been or what it has done ... :D Nor the DNA of the parts ( But at least it does have some original Henry Ford 1932 Ford parts DNA ... a lot of " so-called 32 roadsters ;) do not ) ...

What really matters is it is yours and you are enjoying it. Trying to improve it and make it yours ... :3dSMILE: :3dSMILE:

Its funny all you guys have stories of people taking credit for cars you built, i know , and talk to the 3 prior owners of my merc on a weekly basis ,and i cant get none of them to admit they did anything to it, they all blame each other, funny how nobody wants to admit to the crappy builds

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Originally Posted by DennyW

Isn't there a saying for that called ? "Passing the Buck" !! :LOL: :LOL:

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No, in this case it's called"passing the BUICK.":D :D :D :D

Don

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Originally Posted by DennyW

Isn't there a saying for that called ? "Passing the Buck" !! :LOL: :LOL:

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:HMMM:

See if this saying fits better ;)

"Success has many Fathers, but failure is an orphan"

Unfortunatly i passed 6000 bucks for the orphan

You bought the whole d*** Orphange.:D :D :D :D


Don

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DennyW

scroll down to feb, 73.

http://www.tias.com/11384/InventoryPage/1736513/1.html

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I LOOOVE YOU MAN!!

I ordered it and paypaled them the $ and can't wait to get the copy... Hope this is my car in deed, but if not, that's OK, I'll have an extra magazine to read when I'm sitting around at the next car show :LOL: .

It is cool to have your cars picture in a magazine considering the ratio of cars not in a magazine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DennyW

I was going to show the picture, but they were strict with the copy thing. :)

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I can't tell what color the car is... i assume the cabriolet is the first car on the left, right? Can you describe color? Can you read the license plate number? What is it? With that number, could i contact the DMV in Mass and find out what the vin number of that car was... then see if matches mine? is that doable?

I appreciate all the help you guys have been giving me, see, Sherlock Homes needs a Dr. Watson to solve the mystery :LOL:

You'll be able to verify when you get the rag, but if I remember correctly it was Deuce 2 (that would be from the dept of redundancy dept.). Don't be surprised if their records don't go back that far, though with a personalized plate it could be different. As for color, all I can remember is it's dark.:D

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Originally Posted by DennyW

If you do happen to see any numbers, rather than scrapping, use the paper and pencil trick.

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brilliant ! well done Dr. Watson, well done :D -

I don't have the Feb 73 issue or the July 72 issue that has the "Garage Scene" build up of the cabriolet, but here is a scan of the photo of the Feb 73 cover. This is from the "50 Years Of Rod & Custom" book.

Mick

I looked at the cover of that issue Denny posted on the ebay ad. I know I don't have that one. I got out of street rodding during that period and went drag racing for a few years. So I wasn't buying any magazines about street rods at that time.

Sorry.................


Don

Don't you guys worry, I don't think this car is my car after all :LOL: - see my new thread!

Well, what's really weird is that some of the details did fit. For exemple, the way the horn and spreader bar are completely boxed on both my rod and Terry's rod. (remember that the cover was shot probably in 1972 and Terry bought that cabriolet - minus body - in 1979, so many things had changed on it already since the photo).

Also terry's roadster had a home made 1 inch squarish steel bar going under the inner lip of the dash - cursving along with the curve of the dash - AND I HAVE THE SAME BAR ON MINE. DO fiberglass bodies usually come with one?

Last but not least terry's described his steering wheel as a 54 CHEVROLET TRUCK - which is exactely what I have on my roadster - and I have not seen a steering wheel like this on any other roadsters around here... Seems an uncommon choice - so what are the odds both his and mine have it?

In short there is still a small chance that car may be my car, but I now have another lead to check, one that seems more likely. So I'll let you guys know.