Orosco Special
“Hopped-up” in California during the early 1950’s; found and rescued from a barn in the mid 80’s. This Don Orosco restored 1932 Ford Tudor is now a resident of Melbourne, Australia.
It was at Motorclassica 2013 when I first stumbled across this exquisitely presented Tudor. Coming down the staircase from the upper level of the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, I quite literally almost lost my footing as this early Ford sedan — sitting proudly on the ground level — stole my attention.
At first glance, it appears to be just a beautifully restored Tudor sedan, but missing were wire wheels, replaced with solid wheels and the front-end looked a little low. Looking closer revealed a lot more. There was a dropped axle sitting up front and a side exiting exhaust just before the rear wheels — this wasn’t just a restored car. Final confirmation rang through when I peered into the louvers of the closed hood to see an Eddie Meyer intake manifold fitted to a 21-stud flathead V8 — this was a hot rod. It was an easy mistake to make, especially considering the company of other cars on show that weekend.
When this Model B Tudor first rolled off the production line in 1932, it was delivered to a Ford dealership in Bakersfield, California. The original owner sold the Tudor to Fresno resident Randell Overstreet in 1951, and he promptly used it as transport to high school. When Randell started to hop-up the Tudor, he did things you would normally associate with a roadster or coupe of the same era, not a 2-door sedan. Hydraulic ’40 Ford brakes and wheels were fitted to go along with the 21-stud flathead V8 — modifications seen on many street and racecars during that period in California.
Don Orosco — owner of Monterey Speed & Sport — discovered and rescued the Tudor, purchasing it from Randell back in 1985. It still retained the ‘50s-period modifications and was a bit of a barn find but it was all in a state of disrepair Don recalls.
“It’s paint had deteriorated badly, the interior had clearly seen better days and the flathead had unfortunately thrown a rod”.
It was to be another 25 years before Don embarked on the restoration process. Being a serious hot rodder for over 50 years, Don has taken iconic early Californian hot rods to first place at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (the Lloyd Bakan coupe and the Dick Flint roadster) — so he clearly knows what it takes to return a historic hot rod to its former glory.
Don and his team at Monterey Speed & Sport performed a complete nut and bolt restoration on the Tudor over a 12 month period. The process started with removing the body from the frame, stripping every part back to bare metal and massaging it all back to new.
Renown Northern Californian upholsterer Rich Santana was hired to install an original Bedford cord interior supplied by the LeBaron Bonney Company in place of the moth eaten and well-worn original. Another Northern Californian expert Stan Vermeil worked on the flathead which was bored and stroked (3 3/16th bore by 4 1/8th stroke) to 252 cubic inches. Stan also ported the block before reassembly. A pair of Red’s Headers was added to help in exhausting the spent gases and a Centerforce clutch was also fitted. This resulted in a flathead engine “with gobs of low-end torque” as Don describes and makes the Tudor a pleasure to drive around town in modern day traffic.
Don didn’t stop there, he dressed the engine with a period correct Eddie Meyer “Hollywood” finned aluminum, high-compression heads and an Eddie Meyer “Hollywood” dual carburetor intake manifold. While a rebuilt pair of original Stromberg 97 carburetors — completed by Max Musgrove, sit rightfully on top.
The Tudor’s 1939 Ford 3-speed transmission was rebuilt by Jim at Ford Parts Obsolete in Southern California, using new old stock 26 tooth Lincoln-Zephyr gears. Don says this allows the engine to wind out further in each gear for drag racing purposes and is a trick performed by many hot rodders. A completely rebuilt Columbia Two Speed rear end was installed, another late 30’s / early 40’s component which lets this Tudor cruise at normal highway speeds — at a flick of the switch — without over revving the flathead V8.
All the chrome plating was performed by award winning Sherm’s Chrome Plating of Sacramento, California. A period perfect, new old stock and chromed Arvin heater was also added to make cruising more comfortable during the colder months.
The body was refinished in Andalusite Blue and re-mated to the original chassis with black full fenders and highlights. Every part of the Tudor was restored to a very high “Pebble Beach” standard, as is the case with everything coming out of Don’s award winning restoration shop in Monterey, California.
There are also wonderful details that are hard to see but little treasures to peering eyes, like the chrome plating and red inserts of the drum backing plates and the engine block, bell housing and gearbox being also painted and polished to show standard.
If you attended Carmel’s Concours on the Avenue in 2012, you may have seen this Tudor on the downtown streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was this visit to the US that current custodian Graeme Raper put an offer forward to Don for the Tudor. Since landing in Australia last year, the Tudor has appeared at the aforementioned Motorclassica, Fuel’s own “Coffee and Classics 2” and returning to the Royal Exhibition Building again in January of this year for the 49th Victorian Hot Rod Show.
Graeme himself is no stranger to rare and interesting autos. Graeme’s background includes racing classic cars in the local Appendix J category. Graeme is also the current care taker of another two, very rare Ford flathead V8 powered cars with racing origins dating back to the 1940’s:
“Monoskate” and the “So-Cal Special” are the last remaining cars built by Bathurst local and early Australian Grand Prix legend, George Reed; with the So-Cal Special being built in conjunction with Alex Xydias (So-Cal Speed Shop).
So it’s safe to say, this Californian “barn find” Tudor that now resides in Melbourne, is in very safe hands.
Now that the Tudor’s show duties are over, Graeme uses this hot rod as his daily driver. It’s driven to work, used to collect groceries and for Sunday drives. Stone chips aren’t a concern, with Graeme insisting every new paint blemish is an achievement and evidence of the enjoyment this hot rod gives.
It’s the subtle clues waiting to be discovered behind the fenders, hood and within the standard sedan body, which sets this modestly modified car apart from more obvious hot rods. If Mr Overstreet could see his old Tudor now, I wonder if it is everything he envisaged back in 1951…
This story was originally published in issue 17 of Fuel Magazine.
For more photographs visit: tony-starr.com/32-tudor
