Bruce Larson's First Hot Rod

Bruce Larson's First Hot Rod

The early fifties are considered to be the highlight of hot rodding for most young males growing up in that era, and drag racing legend Bruce Larson is no exception. Bruce was corrupted at a very young age after riding a hopped up motorcycle and never turned back. His first hot rod... the very same one... is the one featured on these pages.

The story begins with Bruce buying the 1932 Ford coupe from a farmer in Franklintown Pennsylvania at age 14. By the time Bruce was 16 he had completely transformed the full-fendered stock coupe into a California style hot rod show piece that featured a 3" chopped top, cycle fenders, and a full-race Flathead V-8 engine. His very first piece of speed equipment was a multi-carb intake. The gennie Ford body was coated in 14 coats of lacquer blue enamel and was as nice as anything the west coast had to offer. But looks weren't enough for Bruce. He was bitten by the speed bug...maybe harder than most, and made sure the car performed as well as it looked, all the while keeping safety in mind.

The car was entered in the very first NHRA Safety Safari organized drag race in the east at Linden, New Jersey in 1954, and later competed in events as tracks sprung up in Pennsylvania and Maryland, including Lancaster PA, Frederick MD., and Hagerstown MD. When Bruce wasn't racing, he was cruising the '32 and hanging out at places with names like the old Barbeque Cottage, and Shelly's Drive-In, The blue Pig and many more. He also showed the cars at places like Dorney Park in Allentown PA and Harrisburg and was quite successful showing and going.