One to Buy: ex-Bill Likes 1932 Ford Model A Highboy Roadster "The Edelbrock Special"
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In addition to racing his own 1932 Ford Roadster on the California dry lakes and Bonneville Salt Flats, Vic Edelbrock, founder of the eponymous Edelbrock performance equipment empire, encouraged his employees to follow suit.
Bill Likes, a machine shop operator for Edelbrock, did just that.
Using a 1932 Ford Roadster as a starting point, Likes began building what would become the “Edelbrock Special” in the late 1940s. Not only making use of his employer’s go-fast parts, he also enlisted the help of fellow Edelbrock employee Bobby Meeks to assist with assembly and fine tuning of the car’s 259-cubic-inch Mercury flathead V8.
In addition, Likes came up with a few performance tricks of his own.
According to RM Sotheby’s, who will be putting “The Edelbrock Special” under the hammer as part of The Boeckmann Collection in Phoenix on January 28th: “In a feature titled “Pet Secrets of Speed” in the 1952 Fawcett Publications guide How to Build Hot Rods, Likes explained that he preferred de-stroked and over-bored engines—here, de-stroked 1/8 inch and over-bored 0.100 inches—for their high-revving characteristics. The motor’s Edelbrock heads were milled and modified to increase the compression ratio from 8½:1 to 10:1, and this was paired with, in Likes’ own words, “plenty of carburetion—the more the better,” in this case an Edelbrock intake crowned with triple Stromberg carburetors. He also revealed that he preferred to run methanol fuel while chasing speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats (though he did also use gasoline on occasion). A Harman & Collins magneto provided spark, and the engine breathed through menacing flex pipe headers that dumped just aft of the cowl.”
“Likes debuted his roadster in 1950, putting in a strong rookie showing that included a 138.67 mph Class “B” top speed in SCTA competition at El Mirage. At Bonneville that year, reportedly at Edelbrock Sr.’s suggestion, Likes swapped engines with the Pierson Brothers; equipped with his V-8, the Piersons’ famous chopped-top 1934 coupe achieved a Class “B” Modified Coupe record, while Likes managed a 141.06 mph run using the Piersons’ Class “C” engine.
Ahead of the 1951 season, Likes kept the 1932 chassis but replaced the bodywork with a lighter, narrower open-top body from a 1929 Ford Model A, a classic combination known colloquially as a “’29 Roadster on Deuce rails.” At the rear, there was no license plate—in fact, the part of the tail where a plate would normally sit was cut away, letting trapped air flow out the rear of the car at speed and allowing a glimpse of the competition fuel tank in the trunk. Below this sat a Halibrand quick-change rear end. With the iconic 1932 Ford grille retained, Likes’ car had evolved into what we can now consider a textbook example of a roadster in the highboy style.”
Likes’ updated Edelbrock Special continued to dominate in competition. In 1951, Likes set an RTA “A” Roadster record of 148.76 mph. At Bonneville that year, he used both Class “B” and “C” setups with his 259-cubic-inch flathead and a larger engine supplied by Vic Edelbrock Sr., respectively. Running on his preferred methanol fuel, he set four speed records on the Salt Flats, with a B Roadster Class top speed of 153.583 mph.
Success continued the following year, with a 146.365 mph SCTA B Roadster record at Bonneville. In 1953, running on gasoline at a Russetta Timing Association (RTA) meet at California’s El Mirage Dry Lake, Likes set a G Roadster record at 141.67 mph. Notably, because his 1952 Bonneville record was not broken until 1954, Likes was a record-holder at both the Bonneville Salt Flats and El Mirage—two of American land speed racing’s most hallowed courses—simultaneously.”
“Likes continued racing his roadster through 1957, retiring it when its flathead powerplant was no longer competitive. This is where the stories of many successful vintage dry lakes cars end: Their careers over, they are modified beyond recognition, parted out, or simply lost to history. Not so with the Edelbrock Special. Likes converted the car for road use and retained it for some time; he also kept a literal trophy case’s worth of awards, timing plaques, paperwork, and his original photos. This archive accompanies the car today and allows its full story to be told in a way that is seldom seen for hot rods of its era.
Likes eventually gave the car to a friend after falling ill, and it later traveled with this caretaker to New Mexico. There, it was used only occasionally and maintained in highly complete condition. Under previous ownership, the Edelbrock Special was beautifully restored to its 1951 appearance, a process no doubt greatly aided by the photos taken of the car at that time by Bill Likes himself.”
