Nelson drew the car in an inspired birds-eye three-quarter view while parked at the Greenbriar resort with people all around it as if in deep discussion.
Of course, flattered to be included in the illustration were Thunderbird styling studio boss Bud Kaufman, styling chief Joe Oros, and head of the Ford division, Lewis Crusoe.
The idea was a stroke of genius, and some 1,900 Thunderbird Sports Roadsters were sold in 1962-63 as a result.
Priced competitively with that of an imported Ford Mustang, there was immediate interest in the Uirapuru after its public debut during the 1964 São Paulo Auto Show.
Production started in March 1965 and, after a minor interlude, ceased two years later. In all, 73 cars were built, including two convertibles and a single Gavião, a law-enforcement shooting-brake version.
Coachcraft, Ltd. was a Hollywood-based coachbuilder established in 1940 by former Howard "Dutch" Darrin employees Burt Chalmers, Rudy Stoessel, and Paul Erdos.
It existed somewhere in the tightly-knit space between coachbuilt and custom.
Not long after the firm opened its doors, Coachcraft began experimenting with ways to introduce drama to the metallic form. One experiment was the "Yankee Doodle," a flag-waving little slip of a thing that was Coachcraft's attempt to shape the budding identity of the American sportscar, and all before America marched off to war.
Dutch Darrin supported his former employees and was a near-constant presence at Coachcraft. Stoessel, his ex-foreman, welcomed his input; Darrin's influence can be seen in the windshield frame, upholstery patterning, and sweep of the door cut-out. If the Darrin name is familiar, you are a bonafide enthusiast: He was the principle behind respected Paris-based coachbuilder Hibbard & Darrin, and the pen behind the Kaiser Darrin.
But more than anything, the Yankee Doodle was really the dream of a young high school kid, Seward Allen, who built the chassis as a high school auto shop project while a student at Palisades High School.
Essex frame rails and a narrowed '40 Ford front frame section were the bonafide backbone of the project. A modified 59A Ford flathead, dyno-tested at 200 bhp, was the the powerplant of choice, complemented by a 1940 Ford side shift transmission, and a Columbia two speed rear end. That was true ground-pounding stuff in 1940.
With the chassis buttoned up, young Allen approached Stoessel, who had recently closed the Darrin Packard shops in Hollywood and hung a shingle outside Coachcraft of Hollywood, to build the body.
Realizing that cost was a factor, but that the car would become a rolling billboard for Coachcraft's handiwork, Rudy agreed to work with young Mr. Allen on price, and dispatched the teen to source a pair of 1940 Mercury fenders, as well as various and sundry other bits and bobs. In all, Coachcraft's bill for completing the body, windshield, dashboard, and interior came to a still-stout $1500. All in all, that's a lot of lawns mowed in 1940.
No matter. The end result was stunning.
Performance was certainly not an issue. The car's 200 bhp was pushing a scant 1600 lb. unladen curb weight. The little Yankee Doodler was no dawdler.
A pity that all the fun came to an end on December 7, 1941. Seward Allen did what any young patriot did in those days: he enlisted in the Navy. Creeping authoritarianism would not creep onto American shores. Not then.
Allen took the car with him to his many postings during the war, putting miles on the car and giving it the well-earned monicker of the “Yankee Doodle Roadster”. In 1948, with his days in the Navy winding down, Allen put the car in Coachcraft’s sales showroom and sold it to a local machinist.
The new owner was as proud of the car as Allen and Rudy ever were, and so commissioned a bit of a refurbishing.
Renowned Indy car builder Frank Kurtis was tapped to update the car, employing a signature Kurtis grille, a new dashboard, and updated shapes in the cowl and hood. Entered in the well-publicized 1952 Motorama, the car was not only a sensation while there, it was a prizewinner, too. Magazine covers came calling by the score.
And then, just like that, it simply vanished. Decades passed before the Yankee Doodle Roadster was heard from again.
In 1984, Bill Stoessel, Rudy's son, received a phone call at Coachcraft, still in operation. The Roadster was for sale; would Coachcraft be interested in a purchase?
Over the objections of his father, Bill readily agreed. A besotted customer saw the car at Coachcraft, negotiated its purchase, and commissioned a ground-up restoration.
After seeing the Yankee Doodle in the metal again after more than thirty years, Strother MacMinn, the influential instructor of the Art Center College of Design, remarked on the car's historic significance when he noted that not only was the little car the first full custom sports car, but also the first sports car produced in the United States.
Oh, and was it mentioned that the foot wells in the Yankee Doodle are below the frame rails for step down body chassis construction, eight years before the introduction of the famed step down Hudson of 1948? Well, they are.
No small feat, that.
Restoration complete, the Yankee Doodle has been invited to attend a host of prestigious automotive events, including the 2007 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
The Yankee Doodle Roadster gleams today the same as it did when it was displayed at the 1952 Motorama Show, resplendent in its navy blue paint and terra cotta interior.