John Willoughby’s T-Bird Deuce Has a Long and Storied History

John Willoughby’s 1932 Ford Roadster was originally turned into a hot rod in 1955 in Ontario, Canada, coming to him in 1963, following an earlier unsuccessful attempt to win it in a raffle. “I bought tickets hoping to win it,” explains John, “but that didn’t happen. I never got this car out of my mind, though. It was just like the hot rods in California we would see in the movies. I knew I had to have this car. “ And eventually he did.

John was the seventh owner during the early 60’s and sold the car in 1964, when drag racing his ’49 Anglia G/Gas was taking up more of his time.  After retiring, he started to look for his old car and in 2011, was lucky enough to find it in Michigan.  As John was one in a series of owners the first time, he decided to trace the history of the car and the people who it had belonged to since it rolled off the line. The full history of the car can be found here, complete with a description of the mods and changes each of the owners made: T-Bird Deuce History. 

Eleven of the original owners or family members of the original owners attended a reunion for the vehicle at Steve Plunkett’s “Fleetwood Country Cruise-In”  in 2011.

Captions:
John Willoughby and Hot Rod in 1962.
The T Bird Deuce today.