Ian Cusey's 1932 Ford Roadster

A photo of Ian's roadster from the 1962 Rod & Custom magazine photo shoot. Photo courtesy of The HAMB.

Photo courtesy of The HAMB.

Ian's roadster on the cover of Speed Tuning & Trouble Shooting, published in 1963. Photo courtesy of The HAMB.

Ian's roadster and Tom McMullen's 1932 Ford Roadster on the cover of an Astronauts record from 1964. Photo courtesy of The HAMB.

The roadster as it sat in 2011, after Randy Pimpler of Austin, Texas bought it. Photo courtesy of The HAMB.

Photo courtesy of The HAMB.

After 7 years of owning the historic hot rod, Owens completed the restoration late in 2021. In January of 2022, he debuted the restoration of the car at the 2022 Grand National Roadster Show, displaying it as it was on the cover of Speed Tuning & Trouble Shooting in 1963. Photo courtesy of Bob Owens.

Photo courtesy of Bob Owens.

Photo courtesy of Bob Owens.

Photo courtesy of Bob Owens.

Photo courtesy of Bob Owens.

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1932 Ford owned by L. A. Roadsters member Ian Cusey of Bell Gardens, California. Ian bought the roadster from a fellow classmate of 1954 Bell Gardens High School graduate, Don Streiff. Don had bought it from a fireman from uptown Riverside, and he only kept it for a few months before he sold it to Ian. It was painted 1957 Plymouth Coral green and featured a hopped-up flathead, bobbed rear fenders, a full hood, 1939 Ford taillights, smaller chrome BLC headlights, and hydraulic brakes. The windshield was chopped and painted the same color as the body. The dashboard was fitted with Stewart-Warner gauges. 15" Mercury wheels with baby moon hubcaps were installed.

Sold to Randy Pimpler

Cusey's roadster appeared in several magazines, and it even laded on an Astronauts album cover alongside Tom McMullen's 1932 Ford Roadster. The album was named "Competition Coupe". Randy Pimpler of Austin, Texas saw the car on the cover of Speed Tuning & Trouble Shooting. It was exactly the kind of car he liked. He liked the rake, and he liked the fact that it didn't derivate too far from stock. Randy noticed Cusey's name in a small type inside the cover. After some brief detective work, Randy came up with Ian's phone number. He called him and said, "I'm sure if you still have your old roadster that you wouldn't consider selling it". Ian told Randy that he was wrong about that. A deal was struck, and Randy became the owner of the old hot rod. It was mostly complete when he got it. A 1982 Street Rodder magazine feature on updating old hot rods left it with a few components that were a little too modern for Randy's taste. In 2012 Randy was working on the car, restoring it back to its earlier cover car glory.

Robert Owens buys the Car and Completes the Restoration

In April of 2014 Randy sold the roadster to Robert Owens of Wellington, Texas. Owens had Jamie Johnson at Hot Rod Haven in Albuquerque, New Mexico restore the car for him. After 7 years of owning the historic hot rod, Owens and Johnson completed the restoration late in 2021. In January of 2022, he debuted the restoration of the car at the 2022 Grand National Roadster Show, displaying it as it was on the cover of Speed Tuning & Trouble Shooting in 1963.

Magazine Features

Rod & Custom July 1962
Speed Tuning & Trouble Shooting