1932 Ford Highboy Roadster “The Edelbrock Special” | RM Sotheby's | The Boeckmann Collection

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The Boeckmann Collection event, 28 January 2027.
Offered Without Reserve | $400,000 - $600,000 USD

• Built and raced by Bill Likes, a machine shop operator for performance equipment titan Vic Edelbrock Sr.
• Highly successful in RTA and SCTA competition throughout the 1950s, setting 13 land speed records at hallowed venues including Bonneville and El Mirage
• An exemplary 1929 roadster on Deuce rails, with Ford Model A bodywork on a 1932 Ford chassis
• Powered by an over-bored, de-stroked flathead V-8 fitted with Edelbrock heads and an Edelbrock intake topped with triple Stromberg carburetors
• Equipped with Halibrand quick-change rear end, Harman & Collins magneto, and menacing flex pipe exhaust headers; spartan cockpit features bomber seats and Stewart Warner gauges in an engine-turned dash
• Beautifully restored to its as-raced appearance; accompanied by memorabilia and documented with trophies, timing slips and placards, historic images, and more
• An archetypal highboy roadster from hot rodding’s golden era, with incredible, unrepeatable provenance

A dedicated disciple of speed in the post-war years could hope for no better boss than Vic Edelbrock Sr. The founder of a burgeoning performance equipment empire, Edelbrock understood that racing success was key to promoting his products. In addition to piloting his own 1932 Ford Roadster on the California dry lakes and Bonneville Salt Flats and racing midget cars, Edelbrock encouraged his employees to follow his lead.

Bill Likes, a machine shop operator for Edelbrock, apparently took very little convincing.

Likes began building what would become the “Edelbrock Special” in the late 1940s. With a 1932 Ford Roadster as a starting point, he made use of plenty of his employer’s go-fast parts in the construction; just as importantly, he also tapped the expertise of his fellow Edelbrock employees, with flathead V-8 legend Bobby Meeks assisting with the build and tuning of the 259-cubic-inch Mercury motor under its hood.

But Likes also developed a few performance tricks of his own. 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.

Finished in simple black, just as it was in Likes’ time, the Edelbrock Special offers a compelling glimpse into the past. Its interior is shockingly spartan—a three-spoke steering wheel with a tape-wrapped column fronts an engine-turned dashboard with Stewart Warner gauges, the lap belt on the driver’s bomber seat the only concession to safety—which makes Likes’ feats of speed all the more daring. Even the white tonneau cover Likes buttoned down over the passenger seat during his runs to minimize air resistance is still present.

Offered now from The Boeckmann Collection, it is rare to find a surviving vintage lakes racer that was so carefully considered in its construction and evolution, so successful in competition, and so well-documented in its time as Bill Likes’ Edelbrock Special. A classic highboy roadster with unrepeatable provenance, this is the very image of a winning dry lakes car, a time machine to a bygone era.

All that is needed to complete the picture is Bonneville salt on its wheels. To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/ba27/.