Rich’s relationship with his roadster began with a pristine ’32 Ford coupe that had been retired to his family’s wrecking yard when he was 13, in 8th grade.
His dad owned the Santa Rita Garage, a wrecking yard in the then-rural east San Francisco Bay community of Pleasanton. A family friend named Al Stanton (whose uncle had sold the yard to Rich’s father) drove in one day in his ’29 highboy roadster.
Barely a teenager, Guasco was mesmerized, recognizing a real hot rod from similar cars he’d seen in magazines left in junked cars. Stanton told Guasco it had a ’32 Ford frame in need of bodywork.
Seeing this as the basis for his “dream car,” Rich proceeded to tip it on its side and cut off the unwanted body and fenders (remember this was just another 20-year-old used vehicle at the time). Then went into the junkyard and promptly tipped a nice five-window '29 coupe on its side and cut off the body and fenders.
A hopped-up Flathead and a genuine 4-inch dropped Mor-Drop axle were soon added and Rich had himself a honest-to-goodness hot rod.
in 1962 Guasco's Top Fuel Dragster won the America's Most Beautiful Competition Car trophy.
At the Grand National Roadster Show in Oakland. Rich Gausco is the only person to win them both
from Muscle Car Review
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0110sr-rich-guasco-roadster/
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0603rc-1929-ford-roadster/
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1929-ford-highboy-roadster-2/
It's the whitewalls that make it a cut above.
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