This 1933 custom Ford roadster debuted at the 1952 Oakland Roadster Show. Named the “Hula Girl” it was built by Bill Montero Sr. and his son, Bill Jr., of San Jose, California, in the early 1950s. It shows what a customizer could do back in the ’50s when customization was all the rage. Who wouldn’t love this orange pearl paint job with the wind in your face?
Hula Girl Changes
After the 1952 show, the roadster was channeled, allowing the body to sit even lower as it appears today. To add to the chops of this roadster it was then converted to an alcohol-burning drag car and campaigned across Northern California and then parked. As presented it easily broke 100 MPH in the quarter-mile strips.
Hula Girl Build
It was restored in the late 1990s and eventually bought in 2006 by Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson Auctions. It is powered by a 1953 Ford flathead V8 with Ardun heads. A supercharger with three Stromberg carburetors complete the look. A manual transmission was utilized and the rear end is from a 1948 Ford. The stunning wire wheels came from a 1953 Buick Skylark.
Craig Jackson, the Chairman do the Barrett-Jackson Auction, stated he was selling it as he rarely got the chance to drive it and felt it should be driven. Jackson promulgates that people are only the “caretakers” of these cars and he always admired the “piece of eye candy”.
Hula Girl Sells
The paint is an orange pearl and sizzled under the lights of the March 2021 Barrett-Jackson Auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona. It sold for $126,500 (including buyer’s premium) and Hula Girl is now off to new adventures.
