Ver. III
How did I acquire the QuadraDeuce?
This was a simple case of being in the right place at the right time. I was not looking to purchase a ‘32 Roadster as I was already deep into a long term build of a twin turbo ‘69 Camaro. The Camaro was about halfway done when I had the opportunity to be the new caretaker of the QuadraDeuce. So the Camaro has moved on to another owner and another shop to complete one day.
Back to the story, I was roaming the web and ran across someone mentioning an insane all wheel drive ‘32 roadster was up for auction on eBay. Following the link, there it was, the actual QuadraDeuce that I vaguely remembered from magazines decades ago. It was originally created by Summit Racing as a show car for many of the parts they sell, and was taken all over the country for car shows. After 20 years, they decided it was time to build something new for their catalog covers and marketing department, so they posted it on eBay for auction. The team at Summit did an outstanding job of taking close up pictures of every single tiny nick and scratch, so I knew exactly what I could be getting without even having to see it in person. It was currently located at their headquarters in Ohio, and had been parked in the lobby for many years after it made the rounds of all the shows.
The listing on eBay had only been up a few days, and in all honesty, the current bid was very, very low. So knowing that it was several hundreds of thousands of dollars to build the car back in 2000, I went ahead and put in a bid. At this point, I figured that I would probably not be getting the car. Several days later, my phone beeps on a Sunday afternoon, and the message states that I have been outbid. I completely wrote off the car and assumed I would have been outbid long ago, so I actually forgot about the auction. The message also stated the auction ended within the hour!
At this point I showed my wife the bid I had placed earlier in the week, and that only now, in the last hour I was outbid. I had less than an hour to decide if I wanted to take a serious stab at owning the car. I was justifying to myself, and my wife, that if I were to bid to bid again, the car would easily be worth several times that when appraised. There was no reserve on the auction, so the highest bidder would be the new owner. We decided to place another higher bid within the last 10 seconds of the auction, and we won! I was in total disbelief. The only explanation I can think of is that maybe it was not advertised as much as it could have been, and there were many other people like me thinking it would go so high that they didn’t even attempt to bid. Now came the wait until Monday morning when I could speak with someone at Summit over the phone to make sure they were really going to sell me the car and the crazy low winning bid.
On Monday, the call went well, and though they were sad to see the car go, and also thought it would sell much higher, they stuck with the winning bid and started the purchase and shipping process.
For the next several days I was watching comments on several online forums and social media. The word around was that someone stole it for the price it went for. I would have to agree - right time, right place, and lots of luck.
Yes, That is a Driveshaft Next to the Headers!
Specification Changes Since 2015
Updated in 2016 by Campbell Auto Restoration, the paint, engine and drivetrain were all retained. Everything else was updated including new interior, leather dash, gauges, soft top, brakes, wheels & tires, headlights, and some changes to the suspension geometry. From 2018 forward, Steve Strope’s Pure Vision Design has been continuing to perfect QuadraDeuce as it is now driven quite often. She has a few nicks and chips, but that iconic paint from 2000 is still there.
Campbell Auto Restoration updates
Installed remote brake fluid reservoir - since it was a show car, the master cylinder is mounted under the dash and impossible to get to. Now I can check the fluid level easily in the engine compartment.
Replaced headlights with larger LED units - the original lights were small driving lights, not really headlights. I wanted great lighting since it’s being driven more now.
Replaced Billet Specialties wheels with Budnik Pivot SKO, 18x8 front and 20x10 rear - I kept the original wheels and tires, but wanted to update the look a bit. The Budnik titanium centers are a close match to the color of the lower half of the car.
Pirelli P-Zero tires, 245/45-18 front, 285/40-20 rear - updated the look with a slight taller sidewall. Lots of spreadsheet calculations to find a brand and tire for both front and back that work with the AWD gear ratios without the wheels fighting each other.
Replaced all brake calipers and rotors with updated Baer 6P calipers with 14" rotors - the originals were very early Alcon Baer units, I still have them.
Replaced radiator, added coolant recovery tank - original radiator had a leak, so we decided to replace it with a more efficient one in the same custom upside-down “L” shape to fit around the front differential.
Replaced GM ECU with Holley ECU - with very limited programming capabilities on the GM unit, we decided to replace it with a programmable Holley unit.
Replaced entire interior and gauges - over the years the interior was very worn and showing it’s age, now all updated by Kevin Long in a nice distressed grey leather. Kept the entire original interior. Also moved from the early 2000s “modern” dashboard to a more traditional style covered in leather.
New Budnik steering wheel and non-tilt column - the tilt wheel was never in the right spot, so we installed a new fixed column exactly where I need it.
Removed hard top and replaced with Sid Chavers soft top - trying to give it a slightly “meaner” look, we asked Sid to build a custom soft top. Kept the hard top.
Removed window wings and replaced with rear view mirrors
Removed stereo, speakers, and amp - couldn’t hear it anyway, and I would rather hear the exhaust, and it took up space in the trunk. Kept all components.
Replaced gas tank, reupholstered trunk - went with a slightly larger tank and an upright shape versus the low and wide one originally. Now I can travel with quite a bit in the trunk.
Shortened front axles by ½” and modified Ackerman angle - sharp turns and U-turns were a bit difficult, so this change made it much more drivable.
Replaced B&M T-handle with Lokar shifter - along with the rest of the updated interior, changed to a newer shifter.
Replaced fuel and brake lines - for new tank pressure regulator and just for safety’s sake.
Pure Vision Design updates
Heat shielding on complete underside of passenger compartment - on longer drives the heat was really coming up from under the seats, this has cooled it down.
Removed H-pipe from exhaust, added flex sections - this section made the entire exhaust so stiff that the exhaust tubing was cracking at pressure points.
Replaced transmission oil cooler with larger one up front - on longer drives the transmission was getting hot and slipping, so this solved that.
Deeper transmission pan - also part of keeping the transmission cooler for longer drives in the summer.
Reworked front steering arm clearance - at full turn the wheels were touching the A-arms and causing slight damage. New steering arms were made from billet by Evod Industries.
Replaced valve covers - wanted to update the engine compartment from the old carbon fiber covers. These were painted by Budnik to match the wheel centers.
Replaced radiator fan - installed a Spal variable speed fan, which fixed some overheating issues on real hot days.
