Calori coupe, McMullen roadster to cross the auction block ...

Jack Calori-built 1936 Ford coupe. Photos courtesy Mecum Auctions.

On the face of it, the ex-Jack Calori 1936 Ford three-window coupe and the ex-Tom McMullen 1932 Ford roadster share little in common. Built in different eras and in different styles by two different men to accomplish widely different goals, about all they materially share are their blue oval and Southern California origins. Yet both are widely considered iconic and groundbreaking cars ? enough to warrant Pebble Beach invitations for each ? and both will cross the block at Mecum?s upcoming Anaheim auction.

Calori, a World War II veteran and Long Beach native, grew up in the dry lakes era of hot rodding and competed in early post-war SCTA meets with a 1929 Ford Model A powered by a Clay Smith-prepared 1946 Mercury 59A flathead V-8 engine, posting speeds in excess of 120 MPH. In search of a tow car for the Model A (as well as something he could legitimately drive on the street), in 1947 he came across a 1936 Ford three-window coupe for sale by its original owner. He eventually handed it off to his friend Herb Reneau, a body man who convinced Calori that the coupe needed a few custom touches. Reneau then proceeded to chop the top a full three inches, rework the front sheetmetal to accommodate a 1939 La Salle grille shell and 1940 Chevrolet headlamps, install a pair of 1941 Hudson taillamps, selectively accessorize the coupe with rear fender skirts and 1941 Ford bumpers with Lincoln overriders, and paint it black. To get the coupe sitting as low as possible, Calori installed a dropped front axle and Z?d the rear frame section.

Just before finishing the coupe, Calori sold his Model A ? sans engine ? to his dentist and installed the Model A?s flathead V-8 into the coupe, propelling it to a 114.50 MPH run at a 1948 Russetta timing meet. He didn?t race it much more after that, though ? the flathead engine ran hot, thanks to the smaller opening of the La Salle grille and the lack of space for a fan in the engine bay ? but its good looks landed it on the cover of the November 1949 issue of Hot Rod Magazine along with Calori?s girlfriend. A year later, frustrated by the overheating issues, Calori traded in the coupe for $1,600 of credit toward a 1950 Mercury. From California, the coupe traversed the country before ending up in Spokane, Washington, where collector Don Orosco bought it in the 1990s. In 2002, Orosco sold the coupe to its current owner, who commissioned hot rodding legend Roy Brizio to restore it for the Early Custom Cars 1935-1948 class planned for the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d?Elegance. Brizio?s work paid off with a class win, accepted by Brizio and Calori himself.

Looking for a roadster soon after his move from the East Coast to California, in 1958 McMullen found a 1932 Ford that had previously been used in some film and TV productions and fitted with a small-block Chevrolet V-8. He added a Moon fuel tank ahead of the grille shell and first painted it green metalflake but would soon ditch the metalflake for Ed Roth-laid flames and pinstripes over black. In that guise, it would remain as McMullen street raced, drag raced and later began to freelance for the Southern California-based hot rodding publications, thus making the Deuce a common sight to hot rodders throughout the 1960s. However, in 1969 McMullen sold the roadster to finance his business ventures, and while he would later come to regret that decision and build at least a couple of similar cars, he never was able to buy the original back. Meanwhile, Orosco eventually ended up with the actual McMullen roadster, selling it in a package deal with the Calori coupe to the current owner. As with the Calori coupe, Roy Brizio was then trusted to handle the restoration, completed in time for the roadster to appear in the Historic Hot Rods class commemorating the 75th anniversary of the 1932 Ford at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d?Elegance.

Mecum?s Anaheim auction will take place November 15-17 at the Anaheim Convention Center. For more information, visit Mecum.com.

Source: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/09/20/calori-coupe-mcmullen-roadster-to-cross-the-auction-block/

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