The McMullen Roadsterb y K e n G r o s s

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The McMullen Roadster

Check out this photo:A flamed, hoodless ’32 Ford roadster, with its drag ‘chute fully deployed, is being hotly pursued by an intrepid California Highway Patrol Officer riding a motorcycle. The deuce’s driver, sporting a DA haircut and skinny shades, looks determined; the helmeted cop, in full chase mode, looks even more so. This image is one of the most famous in hot rod history.

It’s outrageous, but so is this car, and so was its creator, the late Tom McMullen.

Arguably the country’s most visible hot rod in the 1960’s, Tom McMullen’s ’32 roadster was everywhere – it appeared on magazine covers, starred on record albums, and was prominent in advertisements, on TV and in the movies. The roadster was enthusiastically drag-raced on sanctioned strips, illegally raced on the streets, ran in official NHRA National events at Pomona and Indy and it set a top speed record for street roadsters at El Mirage Dry Lake.

Although there have been many contenders, no single ’32 Ford has been acclaimed as the best “deuce” ever. But if such a ballot were taken, one roadster would surely top most lists.

The World’s Most Iconic Hot Rod

Flamed, chopped and dropped, with liberally drilled running gear, this in-your-face 4:71-supercharged, small-block Chevy-powered, black deuce highboy roadster, with a Moon racing aluminum fuel tank clenched arrogantly between its frame rails, and rolling on race-inspired American magnesium wheels, positively exudes attitude. And how about that “arrest me now, officer!” Diest cargo ‘chute, and all that ‘over-the-top’ white pinstriping? In its day, this brash, street-driven two-seater set record quarter-mile drag racing times, along with several El Mirage and Bonneville speed records.

In hot rod parlance, we’d call it bitchin’. This ’32 roadster was built by the late Tom McMullen, a talented, colorful rebel who once wrote articles for Hot Rod Magazine, started his auto electrical firm, built up a successful motorcycle chopper catalog business, then founded a publishing empire that included Street Rodder Magazine, rose to a position of universal industry admiration and respect, then died tragically on February 12, 1995, along with his wife Deanna, in an ice storm, while piloting his Turbo Commander aircraft cross-country.

Here it is:

Tom McMullen’s story is the quintessential “Live Fast, Die Young,” saga. This roadster was his signature, and it served a dual role as Tom’s everyday driver and his race car. Never shrinking from a challenge, Tom raced illegally on the streets, at the drop of a hat, as well as at sanctioned events from El Mirage Dry Lake and Bonneville to the Riverside drags. He didn’t like to lose, so he was always improving this car. When it was obvious he’d gone as far and as fast as he could with it, McMullen sold his roadster in 1969, then built several additional updated, more powerful variants, always searching for more style and speed.

But this car is the original.McMullen was a hot rodder’s hot rodder. Bold, occasionally profane, unpredictable, always innovative, he was never, ever satisfied with the commonplace. Like every great hot rodder, Tom McMullen always wanted to go faster. And he lived that way right to the end.

Tom wasn’t the first owner of this definitive, often-imitated deuce, but with his personal modifications, he made it an icon. He bought the roadster for just $650 in 1958, from a truck driver. When he took the car to Don Hudson, in Downey, CA, for upholstery work, he learned Don had begun the very

same roadster four years earlier. Although the Deuce started its rodding career with a Ford flathead, by 1956, after several prior owners, it was powered by a 283-cid Chevy small-block OHV V-8.

Of course, Tom yanked that mill right away, replacing it with a bored and stroked, 352-cid Chevy V-8, at first with six(!) carburetors. After they caught fire and the car nearly burned to the ground, he added a potent GMC 4:71 supercharger and two 4-bbl carbs. He then set an A/Street Roadster record at El Mirage of 167 mph, and ran a best speed of 118 mph in the quarter-mile, and later topped 138 mph in the half mile at Riverside. And if you caught up to him, heading home from work in this unmistakably noticeable rod, and you wanted to race, right there, well, he’d risk a ticket to blow your doors off.

And no doubt, in this car, he would. You could argue Tom’s roadster took every hot rod styling and performance cliché, including many tricks that had been done perhaps in two’s and three’s to other cars, and simply lathered them on. Not according to hot rod writer, Pat Ganahl, who wrote: “when he reconfigured it to the form that blazed our eyeballs on the April, ’63, cover of Hot Rod, once again, we’d never seen anything like this!”

Critics, and even this car’s most recent restorers, have pointed out the chromed wishbone hanging plate obscures the lovely sweep panel that’s a feature of every ’32 Ford frame. There were a few more mixed mechanical metaphors, as well, like the GMC-blown, 327-cid small-block that was performance-constrained by a fragile ’39 Ford three-speed box with Lincoln-Zephyr gears, coupled to a noisy Halibrand quick-change rear. The gaudy, black and white naugahyde interior was impractical, then and now. And although those raucous flames were applied by none other than Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, they don’t match side-to-side.

Who cares? This car was and is, a killer ride. And that’s all part of its appeal. Brian Brennan, Editor in Chief of Street Rodder Magazine called McMullen’s ’32 “the most identifiable hot rod of all time.” This roadster has appeared on the covers of Hot Rod Magazine, Street Rodder and Popular Hot Rodding, on several record album covers, and in countless magazine and Annual features and photos. Tom drove the wheels off it, and he only sold it because he knew he’d have to start from scratch to make an even faster, more contemporary roadster. He was never satisfied with yesterday’s efforts.

So when he tired of destroying ’39 Ford gearboxes, Tom fitted a sturdy Muncie 4-speed and a rare Klentz racing differential. But by 1969, the idea of a hot rod that could hold its own on street or strip was obsolete. Besides, Tom’s business was growing and he needed cash.

To raise money, he offered his iconic ‘32 for just $5,000 in the January, 1970, issue of Hot Rod, a sum that seems astoundingly low today. By then the roadster packed a 427-cid Ford big-block developing 850-bhp and an Art Carr-modified C6 automatic. It’s likely Tom didn’t think twice about the sale’s significance (although later he called it, “one of my biggest mistakes”). His next effort would be another ’32 highboy, painted black, with flames, and the latest Chevy power plant. He kept the second car from 1976 to the early 1980s. By the 1990’s, Tom missed having a roadster, so #3 was built, externally resembling the first car in 1964. After Tom and Deanna’s untimely death, it was bequeathed to a good friend. Street Rodder commissioned a ‘clone’ of Tom’s first roadster a few years ago – a tribute to one of hot rodding’s greatest characters.

You could argue that Tom McMullen’s roadster was highly recognizable because in fact, there were four of them, and because for many years, Street Rodder displayed a likeness of Tom’s ever-so-fast, audaciously flamed ‘32, streaking across the top of its cover.

Meanwhile, Tom’s first roadster lost many of its original components. It passed through several hands, including Richard Lovesee, Albert Baca, then to vintage racer, Don Orosco, and finally to Jorge Zaragoza, an El Paso collector who also owns the 2005 Pebble Beach Hot Rod Class-winning, ex-Jack Calori ‘36 Ford coupe. Jorge asked Roy Brizio, whose shop in So. San Francisco, CA., has produced numerous award-winning hot rods, to completely redo the McMullen classic ’32 from the ground up.

Appropriately, Brizio and Zaragoza decided to restore the car to match the way it appeared on the cover of Hot Rod in April, 1963. “The sheet metal was virtually complete,” Roy says, “and we still had the original front suspension, along with the dash and the instruments, even the California black plates, but the chassis had been updated, so we had to find an original ‘32 Ford frame and some running gear. We located a correct small-block Chevy and a ’39 Ford gearbox. Everything else was copied from period photographs. The flames are, in fact, different from side to side, so we digitized the patterns, then copied them.

“We painstakingly researched everything about the car. It was done exactly as it appeared on the cover of Hot Rod. Darrell Hollenbeck did the black paint perfectly; Darrell and Art Himsl

laid out the flames, and “Rory” did the striping. We had some of Ed Roth’s work on the original dash to go by, so we digitized it as well, to ensure the restoration would be exactly as it was,” says Brizio.

After its completion, the original McMullen deuce roadster was driven very little, anticipating its appearance for the 75th Anniversary of the ’32 Ford, and in readiness for a command performance on the lawn at Pebble Beach in 2007 where it took third in a very toughly-competitive Historic Hot Rod Class.

Thinking back, that Pebble Beach appearance almost didn’t happen. One night, back in 1984, Tom McMullen and I were riding in his much-modified, chrome yellow, chopped ’32 Ford Phaeton. It looked as if the street rod industry was about to falter, because strict EPA and DOT regulations had put an end (temporarily, we soon realized) to exciting performance cars from the industry and the aftermarket.

“We’re dinosaurs,” Tom said to me sadly. “This hot rod business is going to go away. Maybe I’d better sell my magazines before other people figure it out.”

But carmakers quickly learned how to meet safety needs and stringent emissions requirements, while retaining and even enhancing economy and performance. The hot rod community

appropriated the latest technology, making rods better and faster. McMullin & Yee Publishing, Inc. grew beyond Tom’s wildest dreams. He had two sensational homes, every car he could want, including a customized Ferrari Testarossa, even his own airplane. Sadly, it was not to last.

But Tom’s ‘32 has survived, and it reminds us what a hot rod is all about. Sure, McMullen built several copies of the rod that rocked the country in 1963, but there’s only one original Tom McMullen roadster,

and this is it.

Reminiscences from Brian Brennan,Editorial Director: Street Rodder Magazine

“I first met Tom McMullen while on a job interview right out of college in ‘71. Tex Smith was putting together a magazine publishing company for Tom and he located me at the nearby school and asked me to come in for an interview. Turns out I was the only one of the graduating class with any automotive background. Our first books were about motorcycles but I was told it wouldn’t be long before we got into hot rods. And that led to Street Rodder.”

“Upon meeting Tom I recognized him as the “guy with the flamed roadster” I had remembered from April of ‘63 Hot Rod. Tom and I sat down and spoke very little about magazines and a lot about cars. He had sold the roadster before I came onboard and he told me that he wished he hadn’t let the roadster go but he needed the money. He said it wouldn’t be long before he would build another. (He built two clones with the first one in the mid-’70s that featured Moser racing heads on a small-block Chevy. The second one was closer to the original but it too featured changes that Tom wanted.)”

“Many people probably weren’t aware that Tom was a capable builder and had a well-tooled shop that also included a spray booth at this house. He handled many projects there some of which very few people ever saw. But he did enjoy working in the garage. Often

times guys from the various magazine staffs would find themselves working late into the night on one of Tom’s projects.”

“Tom was a gambler and was willing to take chances; that led to his success and to his downfall. He knew taking chances could (and at some time would) backfire but it didn’t stop him. He and I would fly to Las Vegas on Friday evenings after work and come home by Saturday at noon. He loved to gamble so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Tom was a risk taker.”

“Tom did like to drive. When we did have hot rods around (and choppers) he liked to jump in and get going. Spending an entire day just driving was fun for Tom and he would do this every chance he got.”

“Tom was forever modifying anything and everything. I remember once when he decided he wanted to go Bonneville racing so he hired Mel Disharoon to build a go-fast Harley powered bike for the Salt Flats. Tom didn’t want to ride the bike at those speeds but he thought flying to the Salt Flats in his latest Cessna 310Q complete with the latest Molly paint scheme would be cool. I remember arriving; first we buzzed the pits and then proceeded to land crossing both courses. Needless to say he didn’t make many friends after that stunt!”

“Tom liked cats--little cats and really big cats. I remember little cougars running around the offices in the early days. ‘Little’ was about 30 to 60 pounds. They would scratch the heck out of the office girls’ nylons and each day he would be shelling out cash from the petty cash box to replace torn nylons.”

“There’s never been anyone in the hot rod world quite like Tom McMullen.”

Remembering Tom McMullen

Here’s a hot rod history lesson...

It might surprise you to learn that no one really knows the origin of the expression, ‘hot rod.’

Oldtimers think it could be a contraction of the words, ‘hot roadster,’ because in the sport’s infancy, an open, stripped-down two-seater, most often a Ford, stripped of its top and fenders, usually without a hood, and always with a highly modified or “souped-up” engine, was the model most often associated with youth, speed, thrills and danger.

Initially a workingman’s pastime, hot rodding always had a seductive, call it an outlaw image. It began in the late 1920’s in California, then spread rapidly eastward

after WWII, thanks to Hot Rod Magazine and countless other competitors. Hot Rodding’s irresistible appeal was easy to understand. Young men, many of them just home from the service, with newly-minted mechanical skills and saved-up overseas pay, demanded new cars that were faster and more expressive than the prosaic 1946 models (and their long waiting lists after the war) that Detroit offered.

So hot rodders modified cheap older cars and raced them, at first illegally on the streets, then legally on California’s dry lake beds, at the Bonneville Salt flats and at organized quarter-mile drag strips. Dozens of speed fledgling equipment manufacturers sprang up to supply what soon became an insatiable demand. But there was one car everybody wanted. Lightweight, handsome, readily

available and equipped from the outset with a strong frame and a lively V-8 engine that responded well to speed and power modifications, the “Deuce,” as the 1932 Ford became known, was soon the icon of the sport.

This seminal car’s appeal is timeless. ’32 Ford roadsters and coupes have been rejuvenated from badly decomposed examples that would challenge the best classic restorers. They’ve been reproduced in fiberglass and in steel. Highly coveted original cars with magazine or competition history fetch huge prices today that would shock early rodders. The ‘deuce’ has been celebrated at hot rod shows across the country, as well as on the Concours d’Elegance lawns of Pebble Beach, Meadow Brook Hall and Amelia Island.

The year 2007 was the 75th anniversary of the birth of the 1932 Ford. To celebrate, Ford Motor Company sponsored a search for the best ’32 Fords of all time. More than 450 significant nominees were whittled down to 75 finalists by a panel of experts. The winners starred in a huge display at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA, in January, 2007; at the Petersen Automotive Museum’s “Deuce Week” in February, at the Los Angeles Roadster Show in June, and at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that summer.

Fittingly, the Tom McMullen Roadster was named one of the acclaimed “75 Most Influential ’32 Fords of All Time,” and it won a class award at the posh 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

If you’re looking for an iconic, award-winning, absolutely timeless and still very quick ’32 Ford roadster, look no further.

What’s the fascination with this particular ’32 Ford?

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