Historic hot rods have been welcomed at major concours for some two decades. Pebble Beach features a hot rod class every other year since 1997. This now popular segment celebrates American backyard ingenuity and the efforts of the hot rod pioneers, many of whom earned their mechanical skills during military service and then spent their immediate post-war years modifying old cars to make them faster and cooler than the original manufacturers ever imagined. Many were featured in rodding magazines, raced at the quarter-mile strips, Bonneville, and other “dry lakes,” or shown at the Oakland Grand National Roadster Show.

Every great custom begins with a concept that is polished and refined, and then not deviated from in the build process. Jack Boxstrom’s instructions to the Longleys were typical: “a 20-year-old ex-service man buys a used ’32 Roadster in 1947, removes all the unnecessary parts, hops up the motor, and goes racing.” The Longley effort pretty well nails this concept.

The standard color ’32 Ford faded paint with homemade “Lakes graphics,” filled grille shell with an original insert, chopped windshield and stanchions, custom louvered hood, ’39 taillights, and F-1 front shock mounts with its integrated dropped headlight bar all contribute to the period ‘Hi-boy’ look. The interior is equally appropriate, with bomber alloy seats with period seat belts, an original ’32 Ford steering wheel, Hollywood-style panel with Stewart Warner “greenline” gauges, and stenciled ammunition case floor boards from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. The theme continues with the “big ‘n little” wheel combination. The fronts are 1940 Ford with Firestone dirt track 500/15-inch and the rears are Firestone 7.50/16-inch, finished with 1946 Ford hub caps all round, of course.

Sporting a perfect Rake and Stance, this Longley-built Dry Lakes Deuce Roadster will provide a knowledgeable purchaser with the perfect example of a uniquely American automobile phenomenon.