Photos Courtesy of Kustomrama

Maybe it’s because we live in Southern California, but sometimes it’s easy to forget how far and wide the culture of hot rodding has been spread over so many decades. Here to remind us was Kustomrama, whose well-curated tale of Bruce Olson’s Deuce Coupe was rather interesting.

Olson and his coupe, circa 1958.

Purchased in 1954 for the sum of just forty dollars, Olson had been inspired by a five-window he had seen in Trend Book No. 102 “Hot Rods”, wherein the car, owned by Lynn Yakel, sported a Hi-Boy look that Olson found irresistible.

The teenaged Olson soon found himself channeling the body six inches over the frame up front, and eight inches out back. Though he originally had his heart set on finding and installing a flathead, Olson found them too rare and expensive to be worthwhile, and wound up using a Chrysler Hemi instead.

The car was painted flat black, and ran around town without the hood, bumpers, or fenders. It also lacked a proper exhaust system, license plates, and an interior, and was a favorite of the local police force, joked Olson.

In the late ’60s, the car was painted Mandan Red, and given Amercian Racing Torq Thrust wheels and Goodyear Blue Streak tires.

While serving in the US Navy for a brief time, Olson fixed the issue of his driveline by installing a LaSalle transmission and Oldsmobile rearend. Much to his delight, the car was able to perform admirably at the 1958 NHRA Nationals in Oklahoma City, getting a best time of 13.40 seconds at 107 miles per hour.

The Ford received a revised drivetrain seventeen years later, when Olson and his son Todd went full-on Mopar and used an Imperial 392 Hemi and Torqueflite transmission. Olson continued to race the car whenever he got the chance, eventually running 12.87 at 108 miles per hour in Fremont, California.

Olson had many more years of fun with his Deuce Coupe before passing away in 1990 from cancer. Todd has since kept his father’s prized ride in peak condition, and taken to giving out the “Bruce’s Deuce” award at every Goodguys West Coast Nationals event in August, from 1991 to present day.

We encourage you to find the rest of the story on the Kustomrama website, and don’t forget to find Kustomrama on Facebook for some terrific photos and retrospectives.