Lloyd Duzell

1928-2014

I speak from 50 years of memories with Lloyd, known to me as “The Duze”.  Early life details were sketchy to me.  Born September 8, 1928 Lloyd worked with his father as a painter.  I believe he was an only child.  Lloyd met Gladys some 65 years ago and became childhood sweethearts; they later married at St. Peters Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  Lloyd joined the Army shortly after marriage.  He and Gladys came from humble beginnings and worked side by side building the beautiful estate they now own with home-garage and private museum filled with memorabilia, Buddy L and Tonka trucks, his 1940 Ford pickup, 1935 Ford sedan and his recently finished 1939 Ford standard coupe; which will be shown at the Central National Meet this August, one of his last wishes.

I met Lloyd in the late 1960’s at a restoration shop in Gurnee, Illinois know as “Restoration by Beaver,” proprietor and partner Merv Culver.  They turned out high-end restorations of many notable historic icons, restored way beyond the standards of the day.  I brought them my 1932 Auburn convertible coupe basket case.  Beaver introduced me to Lloyd who was upside down pounding out an F-1 1950 Ford pickup rollover.  His first words to me were “Do us a favor and take that thing to the crusher”.  As many of you know, Lloyd was a man of few words and told it like it was.  He came across as a gruff sort of a man with the heart of a teddy bear.  He realized this was my dream car and restored it to show and drive over 30,000 miles.  Lloyd did 3 other cars for me which were all national first place winners.  I soon learned I was dealing with one of the best auto body craftsmen in the country.  His restorations withstood the test of time.  Testament to his work was 97 year old Vern Hagenbrink’s 1912 Knox; one of Lloyds first antique car restorations that is still driven and shown after 50 plus years.

Lloyd spent his life doing what he loved, working side by side with Gladys on these rusty relics.  His favorite marque was the Ford, especially the flatheads.  Lloyd restored many Fords and helped many V-8 members restore theirs.  Notable cars and trucks he did for himself were slight custom to Lloyd’s good taste.  He liked leather seats, dual exhaust, Columbia 2 speeds and Edelbrock heads with special gauges and there was always a small Swedish saying hidden on the body.  Lloyd later split from the Gurnee shop to his own garage where he would work the rest of his life restoring show cars.  To me Lloyd was an Encyclopedia of Ford knowledge.  He knew what was and wasn’t correct on a Ford.  Lloyd and Gladys became very good friends and were family to us.  We spent many enjoyable holidays together.

I was delighted, as sick as he was, that he and Gladys spent this past Easter with us, which included his much-desired visit to the Pre-War museum building.  Lloyd loved to go to the AACA Hershey swap meet in Pennsylvania.  He liked to go with me in our motor coach where we stayed on the grounds.  We set up display and would host a steady stream of good friends and fellow collectors; I was proud to be with him.  He searched for needed parts and always commented about his magnetic Ford belt buckle that led him to the parts.  We shared many Hershey war stories at the bus.  We always had great conversations during the drive and he was my navigator.  He was alert during the entire drive and made it known if our rig was too close to the mountain guardrail.

Lloyd believed old cars were a leveler of mankind.  A gas station attendant could converse about cars with a corporate executive on the same level and learn from each other.  Lloyd’s word was his bond; his handshake was his contract and he delivered what he promised with honor and integrity.  He was truly from “The Old School”.  He had a special attachment to the Volo Museum and was inspirational to the development of the Pre-War building over 50 years.

He was the best and will go down in history as a legend in the restoration world.  There were restorations and there were “Duzell Restorations” which stood out from the crowd.  He left his mark on the world with the restorations of some fine historic vehicles.  He had a subtle humor about things and was a man of few words and conversion.  He was my pal and always called me Billy.

Respectfully,

William Grams, President Volo Classic Cars