Stewart Warner gauges were added to the new dash, and the fuel tank was placed in the trunk, whose hinges were formerly on a '53 Studebaker. The '55 T-bird battery is located behind the rear tag. Sonny shot the '55 Ford in Pastel Blue right there in his garage, later adding the '48 Ford taillights. The details on the original upholstery are dim. It is thought that the seat was fabricated and stitched by Sonny, but there are no facts to support it.
After driving and racing the car all over New England until 1957, Sonny put the car in his basement for some unknown reason. He had started, at some point, to redo it, but must have been sidetracked by life, and the car sat there under a table and piles of junk for 40 years. Later married, his wife did laundry within a few feet of the car for 15 years, and never even knew it was there.
Longtime friend Russ Cummings, of Danvers, Massachusetts, began asking Sonny about buying the car in the early '90s. Sonny was reluctant, but, after some time passed, asked Russ his intentions for the car. Russ told him he would restore the car as close as he could to the way Sonny built it starting in 1953. Sonny finally relented and sold the pieces to Russ for $7,000-and pieces it was. It took Russ months to find them all in Sonny's basement. He restored the car in less time than it took to build it in the first place, and showed it at many car events in the region. At the same time, two brothers, AB and Bernie Shuman, published a book on the history of hot rods in the New England area, called "Cool Cars Square Roll Bars." Sonny Mazza and his roadster were mentioned and historic photos were printed, forever capturing a long-ago kid and his homebuilt roadster. After several years, Russ traded the roadster to Rudy Pasternack for a finished '34 Ford. After Rudy, the little blue roadster ended up at Dragone Classic Motor Cars of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
About this time, Jeff Mincheff, a collector of neat old race and sports cars in Portland, Oregon, was trying to make a deal on a classic car in Florida. It wasn't going well, and when the dust settled, the Sonny Mazza roadster went to live on the West Coast. Its first outing caused quite a stir at the annual Portland Transmission get-together, and grabbed the eyes of ex-East Coaster Donn Lowe. He, being one of the premiere customizers on the West Coast, and knowing that I am a transplant, told me where the car was located, and it was love at first sight.
At the recent 55th reunion of the Columbia River Timing Association, at Portland International Raceway, Sonny's roadster was again at the starting line-with the original flagman, Ron Love-for the first time in almost 50 years. Facing off against this author's '30 Ford roadster, it made a great photo op for the history books. After returning from one last trip down the 1320, the former East Coast hot rod was awarded the Reunion Class Recognition Award, a fitting tribute to its history and its new life.
Editor's note: A special thanks to the Shuman brothers, Russ Cummings, and the new owners, Jeff and Jacqulyn Mincheff, for their help with research and for providing early photographs.