Meguiar’s Top 5 West Coast d’Elegance Finalist of 2026: Nicole Baird’s 1932 Roadster Built by Squeeg’s Kustoms
If you’re of a certain age, or if you or spend time browsing early-’60s hot rod and custom magazines, you’ll immediately understand why Nicole Baird’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster-winning ’32 Ford is an excellent tribute to the show cars of that era. From the color choices to the whitewall drag slicks and engine, the car simply nails it.
The combination of Nicole’s vision and the work by the team at Squeeg’s Kustoms created a ride that would have been right at home in those days and is a standout in the modern era. For historical context, when shop owner Doug Jerger’s father, Squeeg, built his first car, a Deuce coupe, in 1962, it earned a feature in Hot Rod Magazine. Doug built a candy red roadster inspired by that car a few years ago, which in turn helped inspire Nicole’s roadster.
For this ride, the chassis was built using a frame and other pieces from Vintage Parts of Arizona, as well as period-style parts like a 5-inch dropped front axle, Speedway Motors drum brakes, and a ’40 Ford spring supporting the chrome-plated 9-inch rearend. Wheelsmith chrome reverse wheels are wrapped in front with wide whitewall Excelsior tires and in the back with vintage cheater slicks from Towel City.
Power comes from a vintage 401c.i. Buick 401 Nailhead that was built by Roger Beckman to produce 440 horsepower. Vintage Hilborn stack injectors were converted to EFI and surrounded by vintage Weiand valve covers. Internal parts include a Howard’s cam, while the engine’s exterior has been smoothed, painted, and beautifully detailed. Exhaust exits through custom stainless headers. The GM 700R4 transmission is controlled by a Lokar shifter.
The Brookville Roadster body was thoroughly massaged by Squeeg’s team before being coated in a custom-mixed candy ice blue PPG finish with white scallops and blue pinstripes. The color scheme is reversed underneath, with blue scallops on a white base. The ’39 Plymouth taillights provide a distinctive finishing touch.
Inside, the dash features body-color paint and scallops along with an Auburn-style gauge panel from Dale Grau filled with a mother of pearl insert and Stewart Warner gauges. Tracy Weaver and his team at Recovery Room worked their magic on the upholstery, stitching the custom bench seat in white leather with pleated inserts crafted from vintage blue fabric and augmented with stainless buttons. A chrome-plated ’57 Thunderbird steering column and white ’57 T-Bird wheel are great period touches, as is the scalloped shift knob.
With 440 horsepower and a speedometer capable of displaying 160 miles per hour, this roadster has the potential to be a handful out on the road, though it can easily take your breath away just sitting still.
Photos: Michael Christensen, Damon Lee
