Richard Megugorac (February 5, 1928 – January 13, 2016), commonly known as Dick or by his nickname Magoo, was an American land speed racer and customizer.

Early life

Megugorac was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, on February 5, 1928. In his early teens, he began working on cars, starting before he got his driver's license; he joined the Low Flyers Racing Club whose members included Stu Hilborn, Jack Engle, George Barris, and Jack McGrath. He spent 18 months with the American occupation forces in Japan after World War II as a mechanic's instructor, and returned to settle in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, setting up a garage there.

Customizing career

In the 1960s, Megugorac and brother-in-law Carl Riggen co-founded Riggen Slot Cars to capitalize on the fad at the time; the company became one of the most successful makers of slot cars. In the 1960s, he opened Magoo's Hot Rods in

Canoga Park, California Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a Ranchos of California, rancho, and after the American victory it was converted ...

; he would be aided by his (later) wife, Lois, who did upholstery work. Megugorac built "some of rodding's most prominent hot rods", including a number of entries for the Grand National Roadster Show at Oakland, among them the winning car of the 1979 America's Most Beautiful Roadster trophy. Known as ''Deucari'', and built for Brian Burnett, this was a highboy Deuce powered by a

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

V-12, and is still running. Megugorac provided the first-ever Goodguys giveaway car, a '29 roadster, and built early giveaway cars for the National Street Rod Association. Megugorac customized almost all aspects of his cars, including chassis fabrication, engine building, body work, and custom paint, although he left upholstery to his wife. Megugorac focused on getting the details correct when car customizing, and had a reputation for building cars that had "bomb-proof reliability" and "could be driven anywhere, anytime". "Lil' John" Buttera said that if he wanted a custom car to actually drive, he would go to Megugorac. Many of Megugorac's project cars were featured in major magazines, including ''

Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

'', '' Rod & Custom'', '' Street Rodder'', and others. Megugorac was named to Darryl Starbird's National Rod & Custom Hall of Fame. Among his admirers, and a longtime friend, was

Tom Medley Tom Medley (20 March 1920 - 2 March 2014 ) was an American hot rodder and cartoonist, best known as creator of Stroker McGurk. History Medley was born in Lebanon, Oregon, 20 March 1920.Vaughn, Mark, West Coast Editor. "Tom Medley 1920-2014", wri ...

, creator of

Stroker McGurk Stroker McGurk is a cartoon character created by Tom Medley, featured in Hot Rod magazine, ''Hot Rod'' and Rod and Custom magazine, ''Rod & Custom''. Medley's famed creation debuted in the third issue of ''Hot Rod'', and continued in the magazine u ...

, who drove a signature '29 highboy roadster. "Magoo builds really bitchin' '29s," Medley once said. "Stroker would have approved!"

Personal life

Megugorac met Lois Riggen, Carl Riggen's sister, in Los Angeles in the 1940s. They were married for 40 years and had two sons. Megugorac died on January 13, 2016, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, age 87.

References

External links

Hot Rod.com
(bio)
Jalopyjournal.com
(bio)
Goodingco.com
(Magoo's '29 roadster)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Megugorac, Dick 1928 births 2016 deaths American people of Greek descent Kustom Kulture artists People from Santa Monica, California Military personnel from California American automobile designers Vehicle modification people