Motor sports -- Rise and shine for ’33 Ford roadster

Richard Dunn

POMONA - While Richard Berg’s immaculate 1933 Ford hot rod will be

on display for the first time this weekend at Fairplex in Pomona, you

might spot him driving around Newport Beach in his classic, chrome-yellow

roadster.

Berg, who purchased the chassis and engine on a whim about two years ago,

is a retired banker who has lived in Newport Beach for 32 years, having

spent countless hours volunteering for community fund-raisers and

donating time and resources to charity.

But Berg, a member of several local organizations, including Hoag

Hospital’s 552 Club, the one most dear to his heart, decided it was time

for a little fun.

“I just kind of did it. I thought, ‘Gee, I want to play, too,”’ Berg said

Friday at Fairplex, where he was preparing for this weekend’s hot rod and

custom car show, the 11th Goodguys Southern California Eagle One

Nationals.

“It’s one of those itches you always wanted to scratch,” added Berg. “I

don’t regret a minute of it. It’s been a lot of fun, and, now, to see the

thing come to its completion is really neat.”

The car, which Berg plans to show throughout the summer, will graze the

cover of Street Rodder magazine in October and will be displayed at the

prestigious Grand National Roadster Show in San Francisco in January.

The ’33 Ford roadster, with an estimated value of $300,000, is a

hand-built, all-steel project of Barry White Street Rods in Placentia,

where Berg’s brother, Bob Hubbard, had his 1944 Coup built.

“I came up here to Barry’s shop with my brother one day to check out his

Coup and meet (White) and we hit it off right away,” Berg said. “Barry

said this car’s available, and I thought, ‘Gosh, this looks like fun.

I’ll do it.”’

The car, also on the cover of Street Rodder this month as a primer, took

less than two years to finish.

“I’ve always liked roadsters, and I wanted an open-air car, a

two-seater,” said Berg, who once owned a ’44 Woody, originally built by

Boyd Coddington, then later traded it to his brother for a ’69 Chevelle.

“Between now and (the Grand National Roadster Show in San Francisco),

I’ll be driving my car,” said Berg, a member of the Balboa Bay Club,

Newport Harbor Yacht Club and Newport Beach Country Club. “It’ll be on

the streets of Newport Beach.”