Two ultra-high-profile hot rods, McMullen's roadster and Calori's coupe, to cross the Mecum auction block.
Back in the day, Tom McMullen’s flamed (by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth) ’32 Ford highboy roadster and Jack Calori’s ’36 Ford custom/rod coupe graced the covers of top magazines in the field. The McMullen roadster hit the Trifecta: HOT ROD, Popular Hot Rodding and Street Rodder. Calori’s coupe also scored big: HOT ROD and The Rodder’s Journal.
While I did not know Jack Calori, Tom McMullen and I were friendly during the 1960s when he was a photojournalist, freelancing stories to Popular Hot Rodding and I was Editor of Hi-Performance CARS. Our paths always crossed at the early SEMA shows when they were small and in Anaheim, CA. After selling the roadster he built an impressive empire around publishing, custom motorcycles, parts and hot rods.
Tom McMullen drag raced his roadster and also ran top end at El Mirage and Bonneville. At one time he set a record for Street Roadsters. Roy Brizio has restored it to exactly how it looked on the cover of the April 1963 issue of HOT ROD. It’s powered by a supercharged Chevy small-block mated to a ’39 Ford three-speed and took a 3rd at Pebble Beach in 2007.
Built by Jack Calori and Herb Reneau, the three-inch chopped ’36 Ford three-window coupe is powered by a bored and stroked Mercury 59A Flathead with Eddie Meyer heads, Weiand intake and a Clay Smith cam. Customized with a clamshell hood, Buick teardrop fender skirts, ’39 LaSalle grille, ’40 Chevy headlights, ’41 Ford bumpers and ’41 Hudson taillights, the slick coupe won its class at Pebble Beach in 2005. Featured on the cover of the November 1949 issue of HOT ROD, it too has been restored by Roy Brizio.
For more information and photos, please visit http://www.mecum.com/auctions/top_picks.cfm?AUCTION_ID=AN1112
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