Modern Rodding Tech
InTheGarageMedia.com
Worth The Wait
An Epic, Almost-30 Year Build Comes to Fruition
By Kev Elliott
Photography by THE AUTHOR, Pete Chapouris III, Tony Thacker & the Veazie Bros.
Illustration by Eric Brockmeyer
T

wenty-seven years, that’s how long this roadster project took to complete. Considering it has had two owners and gone through three shops during that time, it has turned out remarkably close to its original design.

The project was initially started by SO-CAL Speed Shop, using one of the company’s prototype Step Boxed frames, for Bob Garibay as a clone of “Limefire.” The current owners, Scott and Gary Lorenzini, had Veazie Bros. Fabrication finish it, adding a few tweaks and their own ideas. Evin and Justin Veazie, both former employees of SO-CAL Speed Shop (now own Veazie Bros. Fabrication, located in one of SO-CAL’s former buildings), were the perfect choices to handle the build, as they knew exactly how a SO-CAL–style 1932 comes together, having built several.

The roadster debuted at the 2025 Grand National Roadster Show and even competed for the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award. This elevated the build and detailing to the next level. Here’s how an almost three-decade-long project evolved into a street-driven hot rod that more than holds its own at indoor car shows.

Illustration of a red 1932 Ford highboy roadster with dark "as-cast" Halibrand wheels. An inset reveals the black pleated interior, dash, and steering wheel. A "Lorenzini" logo is displayed in the upper left.
1-2. It was in the Oct. ’25 issue of Modern Rodding that Scott Lorenzini’s 1932 Ford highboy roadster and Larry Jacinto’s 1941 Willys pickup graced the cover. The roadster was shown with original magnesium Halibrand wheels, polished on the passenger side, and “as-cast” on the driver side. (Illustration by Eric Brockmeyer.)
A bare metal 1932 Ford roadster in the SO-CAL Speed Shop. The rear view shows large tires, a parachute, and a mocked-up dash. In the background, the green and orange flamed "Limefire" roadster is parked in the garage.
3. Almost twins! Still in the build stage at SO-CAL Speed Shop—the dash layout is being mocked up here—“Limefire” sits in the background.
Close-up of the bare metal roadster's rear bodywork, featuring a custom-fabricated recessed channel for a parachute mount that spans the center of the rear panel and the top of the fuel tank.
4. With original owner Bob Garibay aiming to race the car at Bonneville, a parachute mount recess was added into the body and on top of the gas tank.
Close-up view of the bare metal prototype SO-CAL Speed Shop Step Boxed frame. A cylindrical Moon tank is mounted to a custom tubular bracket located forward of the front crossmember.
5. A tubular mount was added forward of the front crossmember for the Moon tank, which serves as the coolant overflow tank. The roadster features a prototype SO-CAL Speed Shop Step Boxed frame.
Grayscale photo of a Funny Car-style rollcage bolted to a car frame on jack stands. Red handwritten notes and arrows highlight modifications, specifically a "new tube" and an "added gusset" within the tubular steel structure.
6. Part of the Bonneville racing plans called for a rollcage. This Funny Car–style cage was built to bolt onto the frame. Scott still has this cage, minus the cowl hoop, but since he’s significantly taller than the original owner Garibay, it no longer fits him.
Close-up of the roadster's unpainted metal exhaust system. Large header primaries exit the side of the body and merge into a thick collector pipe that curves downward toward the undercarriage.
7. With more than a passing nod to Limefire’s headers, larger primaries and collectors feed a 3-inch system that snakes its way under the framerails, over the ladder bars, and under the rearend.
In a workshop, Evin Veazie holds a large, raw metal exhaust header vertically while Greg Hirota, wearing a welding helmet, TIG welds the bottom flange on a workbench.
8. Evin Veazie supports the passenger side header while Greg Hirota TIG welds the flange where it connects to the muffler.
Top-down view of two cylindrical MagnaFlow mufflers. Each is encased in a smooth, polished 18-gauge stainless steel wrap with visible vertical weld seams, effectively concealing any original manufacturer branding.
9. The mufflers are from MagnaFlow, and they were wrapped in 18-gauge stainless steel to hide the stamped branding, then polished.
A low-angle view of the car's undercarriage showing a silver Winters Champ quick-change rear end unit with a finned cover. It is mounted between the rear axle housings with various suspension components visible in the background.
10. This Winters Champ quick-change was replaced with an N.O.S. Halibrand 301 Champ from the 1970s, modified to accept later 31-spline axles, a positraction differential, and bell axle housings.
Rear view of a flat, silver aluminum outer firewall panel with a large semi-circular bottom arch and rectangular center opening. Small mounting holes for Dzus fasteners are evenly spaced along the outer perimeter.
11. The firewall is made from two aluminum panels sandwiching plywood. This is the outer panel, built by Pauly Rivera, viewed from the rear. It attaches using Dzus fasteners to tabs welded to the body. A bolt-in recessed centersection clears the distributor and provides access.
Plywood firewall panel on a workbench featuring various routed vertical slots and circular holes for hidden wiring. Metal threaded inserts are installed around the edges, with some marked by small pieces of green painter’s tape.
12. The inner firewall panel bolts to threaded inserts in the plywood, which was routed to allow the wiring to pass through but enter at the top on the inside and exit lower, behind the engine, making for a clean appearance on both sides.
High-angle view of the black 1932 Ford roadster mid-build. Features include an exposed supercharged engine, silver headers, and white firewall. The car sits on large rear slicks and polished front wheels in a workshop setting.
13. After a protracted build at SO-CAL Speed Shop, Mick’s Paint took over the project following Pete Chapouris’ untimely death, a process which involved pushing it across the yard from one building to another.
Low-angle rear view of the black 1932 Ford roadster in matte sealer. Features include oversized rear tires, teardrop taillights, and visible silver rear-end components and suspension under the chassis.
14. Mick’s Paint nearly finished the roadster for paint, with it sprayed in black sealer, until Garibay took it home. The project had been 25 years in the making by this point when Scott and Gary Lorenzini purchased it and delivered it to Veazie Bros. Fabrication.
Interior view showing the custom dash with five gauges and 4-spoke steering wheel. A floor shifter with a white knob is positioned right of the transmission tunnel. A black tubular seat frame is installed on the silver floor panels.
15. While the roadster was nearly ready for paint at this stage, Scott wanted to make some adjustments, some to give it a distinct identity apart from its Limefire clone roots, and others out of necessity. We’ve already noted that Scott is taller than the original owner, so the modified seating was replaced with a lower, custom setup, and the shifter was moved to the right side of the Rivera-fabricated transmission cover.
Close-up of a supercharged engine with a polished injector plate. A black SO-CAL pad is taped over the front. A wide drive belt, alternator, and detailed fuel injectors and wiring are visible within the bare metal engine bay.
16. The technology has progressed somewhat since this project began, so the original EFI system was replaced by an injector plate machined by Matt Carricaburu, using 80-pound LS injectors. It was connected to a Holley HP ECU and a dual-sync MSD distributor, with hidden wiring exiting at the rear.
Overhead view of the 1932 Ford body in gray primer. The louvered hood side is tilted open, revealing the bare metal chassis and the intricate internal structural supports for the cockpit and floor area.
17. With the roadster stripped down, the firewall and interior panel Dzus fastener tabs are visible, along with the internal toeboard, tunnel, and floor framework. The rollcage mounting plates can also be seen on the frame.
A technician performs body prep on the rear of the gray-primed 1932 Ford roadster. The car is mounted on its rolling chassis with large rear tires and sits outside the workshop, prepared for final panel alignment and paint.
18. Cypress Auto Body got the nod to complete the final body prep and paintwork, with the body mounted and shimmed to the rolling chassis to ensure no issues with panel gap interference once painted.
The roadster frame rests on a metal stand in a workshop. The outer perimeter rails are painted a vibrant burnt orange, while the internal crossmembers and boxed plates are finished in contrasting satin black.
19. Although you might think the orange hue was chosen as a nod to the flames on Limefire, the custom-mixed burnt orange was actually selected to match Scott’s Gretsch drum set. Note that while the perimeter of the frame is body color, the crossmembers and Step Boxed plates are satin black.
Close-up of the red roadster body featuring a newly installed gloss black outer firewall. The firewall includes a rectangular center opening for distributor access and clearly reflects the SO-CAL Speed Shop logo in its polished surface.
20. Back at the Veazie Bros. shop, with final color sanding and buffing completed by Serafin Patiño, final assembly can begin, starting with the gloss black outer firewall, complete with distributor access panel.
Studio photo of the rolling chassis against a black backdrop. It features bright orange rails, a polished supercharged engine with chrome side exhaust, a red grille shell, and large rear tires on dark magnesium-style wheels.
21. The roadster was later debuted at the Grand National Roadster Show and would compete in the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster competition. To meet the requisites for a “Build Book,” the assembled rolling chassis was photographed in a makeshift “studio” inside the Veazie Bros. shop.
High-angle view of the red 1932 Ford body sitting beside its rolling chassis. The chassis displays orange frame rails, a supercharged engine, and the black TH400 transmission with a visible scattershield before the body is installed.
22. Similarly, the body and chassis were photographed together before mating the pair. This means many details, such as the painted scattershield on the TH400, are hidden from view once the body is installed.
A team of seven men in a workshop work together to manually lift and lower the painted red 1932 Ford roadster body onto its completed rolling chassis, carefully positioning it over the chrome engine and orange frame rails.
23. Many hands make light work, and sometimes there’s just no substitute! With a group of guys from Mick’s Paint helping the Veazie Bros. crew, the body was installed without any issues.
Top-down view of the polished 383 Donovan engine with a Mooneyham blower and red-bladed bug catcher. Symmetrical chrome headers and a wide drive belt are prominent, all mounted on a vibrant orange chassis frame.
24. Using an aluminum Donovan block paired with a Teflon-lined Mooneyham 6-71 blower, the 383 engine made 660 hp and 533 ft-lb of torque on the Westech dyno. Notice the symmetry of the headers and the nearly hidden engine wiring. The throttle position sensor (TPS) is mounted on the bug catcher blade shaft.
Machined aluminum throttle pedal assembly on a metallic surface. It features a curved arm with four circular lightening holes and a detailed central pivot bracket held by hex-head bolts.
Three machined aluminum pedal parts on a gray quilted mat. One is a curved pedal with a textured oval foot pad; the others are straight linkage arms. All pieces feature circular lightening holes.
25-26. The throttle pedal showcases the level of detail throughout the roadster, despite its simple look. Scott’s longtime friend Johnny Kaiser designed and machined the pedal parts, with both pedals finished by Matt Carricaburu after Kaiser’s untimely death.
View from the trunk looking through a black metal X-brace into the red interior. Exposed wiring and electrical modules are visible on the firewall. The floor is covered in silver insulation with a yellow tape measure resting in the center.
27. The X-brace that Veazie Bros. always installs on any 1932 they build has a cutout for accessing the battery from the trunk, as the roadster features a one-piece aluminum panel wrapping around the seat from B-pillar to B-pillar.
Close-up of the red roadster's interior footwell showing neatly routed wiring harnesses and connectors. Electronic modules are mounted to a silver panel, with black HushMat insulation lining the inner body panels.
28. The Holley ECU, American Autowire fuse panel, and MSD 6A and Blaster II ignition components are mounted on a dedicated panel inside the foot of the firewall. With help from JAX Motorsports, Justin Veazie installed the wiring with removable harnesses.
Rear view of the red dash panel showing intricate wiring from circular gauges connecting to a black fabricated cover. The cover features three large rectangular electrical ports to facilitate easy disconnection of the dash assembly.
29. The wiring connectors shown in the previous picture connect to this fabricated cover, making it easy to remove the dash. This includes the wiring for gauges, ignition, lights, and horn.
Interior view of the red roadster with a laptop displaying a colorful 3D tuning map in the driver’s footwell. The cabin features black HushMat flooring and a red dash with a polished, engine-turned gauge panel.
30. Unless you’re building a car without ECUs or any computers, tuning a new build usually looks like this. Veazie Bros. preferred tuner used his laptop and extensive knowledge to get the blown and injected 383 starting and running perfectly.
Two magnesium Halibrand Sprint wheels with Michelin and Firestone tires lean against the front of the finished red roadster. The supercharged engine and polished chrome components are visible in the background.
31. Scott drives the roadster with these original 15×4 and 16×11 single-bolt pattern magnesium Halibrand Sprints, wrapped in Michelin and Firestone rubber, respectively. This is how the world sees the roadster when Scott has the roadster out and running.

American Autowire
(800) 482-9473
americanautowire.com
Auto Meter
(866) 248-6356
autometer.com
Holley
(866) 464-6553
holley.com
Veazie Bros.
@veaziebrosfab
Modern Rodding
VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 64 • 2026
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