I
n 1977, having been inspired by what he’d seen in American rodding magazines, a young Merv ‘Magoo’ Barnett started building a ’32 Ford roadster. Back then using a steel body for such a build was virtually unheard of on
Forty years ago, this Deuce roadster Its journey since then
wa ha
Words: Dave Biggadyke
Pics:
these shores, so Merv opted for Jeff Jago fibreglass and the build began. The body was mounted on a Jago chassis, with the rolling stock comprising of a drop-tube front axle and Jaguar IRS and power coming from a 2.5-litre Daimler
hemi mated to an automatic transmission. Assisted by a few fellow Bristol Hotrods members, the roadster appeared at the 1978 NASC Street Rod Nationals, finished in primer and sporting multi-coloured suspension parts. Merv then spent the next
6 CUSTOM CAR DECEMBER 2022
8pp Tebbs 32.indd 6
13/10/2022 15:05
