Rick D’Louhy behind the wheel of The Californian. Photos courtesy Geoff Hacker.
It would be hard to put a label on car collector Rick D’Louhy. With Geoff Hacker and a team of supporters, he was an automotive adventurer who found cars that many never knew were lost. As secretary and newsletter editor for the Volusia Region AACA, he shared his passion for, and knowledge of, all things automotive. As the promoter of the annual Daytona Beach Dream Cruise, he built a sizeable event that celebrated its ninth anniversary in 2016. On Wednesday, November 30, Rick died of complications following surgery at age 67.
Hemmings readers will likely know Rick from his work with the ever-enthusiastic Geoff Hacker, a founding member of Forgotten Fiberglass. In recent years, Rick and Geoff unearthed a one-off fiberglass prototype created by designer Ray Cannara, found and identified one of the few remaining Ferber Motor Coaches, and rescued and restored the Leo Lyons Merc, which appeared at Pebble Beach in August of 2015.
Geoff Hacker (L) and Rick with the Leo Lyons Merc in 2014.
Perhaps of more significance is the notoriety that Rick helped to bring to early fiberglass-bodied cars. As a contributor to The Emergence of the American Post-War Sports Car: The Greatest American Car Story Never Told, which appeared in the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance program, Rick helped to explain the significance of low-volume, fiberglass-bodied creations as part of a larger movement, one that would influence automotive design and eventually give rise to production cars like the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford Thunderbird and the Kaiser Darrin 161.
He was instrumental in getting fiberglass cars recognition at key concours d’elegance events as well, including Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, The Elegance and our own 2013 Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance. Through Jay Leno’s Garage and Ray Evernham’s Americarna, Rick and Geoff also helped introduce automotive obscurities to a new generation of fans.
The Forgotten Fiberglass team with Ray Evernham. Rick is second from left.
For the past decade, Rick played a key role in rescuing cars largely overlooked. With members of the Forgotten Fiberglass team, he helped to save both Kurtis-Omohundro Comets, all three el Tiburons, a Quincy-Lyn Urbacar, a Grantham Stardust, a Jones Meteor, an Allied Cisitalia Swallow, a Victress S1A and S4, and the Bearcage, built by Don Edmunds for Bill Stroppe in 1959, which served as a prototype for Bill Thomas’s Cheetah. As recently as September, Rick was on the road to pick up a 1953 Jowett Jupiter Special from a 50-year owner in Maryland.
Arrangements are pending, though a Daytona Beach cruise event in Rick’s honor is tentatively planned for December 28th or 29th. We’ll provide updates as they become available.
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