Doane Spencer's 1932 Ford
In 1941, Jack Dorn bought a maroon 1932 Ford roadster. Jack painted it black and installed a 1937 Ford engine. He filled the grille shell and shaved the deck-lid. Jack aquired a DuVall Windshield after fellow classmate of Hollywood High School Doane Spencer, crashed his Model A. Jack paid Jimmy Summers $45 to modify the cowl and install the DuVall Windshield Jack sold the roadster to Doane Spencer for $500 in 1944.
In 1944 Doane Spencer bought Jack Dorn's 1932 Ford Roadster for $500. The car was then black with a stock 1937 Ford Flathead V8 and a DuVall Windshield. Doane removed the fenders, and installed a 1946 Mercury 258-cid Flathead V8 equipped with Ord heads and twin carb log manifold.
In 1947 the Doane Spencer Roadster won the Best Appearing Roadster award at the Pasadena Roadster Club's 1947 Reliability Run. At the same show the roadster was invited to be displayed at the first annual Hot Rod Exposition in 1948. After racing the roadster at El Mirage for a while, Doane began to rebuild the roadster preparing it to run in the Carrera Panamericana. The Mexican road race was canceled before Doane was able to run the car, so he ended up selling it to Lynn Wineland.
Lynn Wineland put a Ford Thunderbird V8 in the roadster. He also installed a 1937 Ford tube axle, and rear radius rods. Lynn never completed the build, and sold it further to fellow Rod & Custom staffer Neal East in 1968. Neal managed to put the car back on the road, and equipped it with the old 1946 Mercury Flathead V8 and a 1948 Lincoln Overdrive Transmission. In 1995 Neal East sold the roadster to collector Bruce Meyer. Bruce had Pete Chapouris and So-Cal Speed Shop in Pomona, California restore the car to show condition in its most famous form.
August 1997 the Doane Spencer Roadster won first place in the Class R Historic Hot Rods category at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. 1997 was the first year hot rods were allowed to take part of the event.
Magazine Features
Hot Rod Magazine February 1948
Sources
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