The Coupe of Wrath

Let's Build a Hot Rod, Part II

Some of you know I like 1932 Fords. Well, okay, I lust for 1932 Fords. But it's an honest lust, one I share with a number of upstanding citizens, and one I've had for as long as I can remember. I've spent countless hours filling my grade school, high school, and college notebooks with crude drawings of the damned things, cataloging various schemes of how I would make one if I ever got the chance. I decided it would have to be a real steel Ford, a roadster or coupe, no Tupperware, vintage style like my old man would have done in the 50s.  I considered every permutation of chop/channel/ section, fenders on/off, engine setups, tire and wheel combos. Forgive me Lord, for I have coveted.

I have owned a few hot hot rods, including a '31 Ford coupe I have mentioned here before. I've loved 'em all, but they've never diminished my unconsummated desire for a Deuce. So when I had the chance at this, I jumped:

That there is a 1932 steel 5 window coupe sitting on its original 1932 frame. It was a Chicago street racer in the late 1950s to early 1960s, with a hammerweld 3" chop executed sometime before 1963 (Note the 1963 Chicago city sticker on the chopped windshield).  It was also channeled 6" which unfortunately means that the rear framehorns are bobbed; to comply with early 1960s Illinois hot rod fender laws it had rear bobbed fenders welded to the quarterpanels, the remnants of which can be seen in the photos.  The paint scheme was apparently a garish two tone of purple body and gold frame. 

According to the folklore I've heard, the fellow that originally hot rodded it took it apart in the mid 60's to update its worn-out flathead with a small block Chevy set up. He was drafted into the military, and the car never got put back together. After he returned from the service it languished in his back yard for 25 years until the city gave him an ultimatum: store it or sell it, or we're taking it to the crusher. A friend of mine bought it from him and was a careful custodian for more than a dozen years, doing a bit of body work (including unchanneling it) but leaving it unassembled. After a few years of dealing with my whining, cajoling and arm-twisting, he finally relented and let me haul it home, along with a '53 241 Dodge Red Ram hemi, '39 juice brakes and a set of 16" Ford rims.

So this is square one, the foundation. The plan is to restore this long-dormant Deuce in a style befitting its glory days: a no-nonsense, nasty mid-to-late 50s Chicago street racer.  Still deciding what to run for a mill and whether it will be channeled, but it will certainly sans fenders and hood.  Don't worry, the purple/gold paint isn't in the works, thanks to a can of  '53 Dodge 'Tahitian Bronze.'  Like they say, a bad penny always comes back.

Comments

[HW]

Dat is going to be one nice deuce.

[Scott Noteboom]

Oh man.... '32 Ford, and an earlier build hot rod on top of that. I can feel the soul of that car glowing through the photo and I'm very stoked for you. I'd go with the flathead like was in it's first version, or hell.... run the hemi. -scott noteboom

[iowahawk]

I'll be posting soon re engine choice, and a '53 Merc flattie is possibly in the mix.

[cratedigger]

what about the caddy motor that we pulled 2 years ago?

[Tman]

Nice find man! Keep us posted on the progress........this mean you are selling the A?

[iowahawk]

Tman - not initially, but will probably sell the A sometime after the Deuce is done. This is the keeper.

[concerto de parabrisas]

Cool discovery!

[Angelica Emmanuel]

Cool beans! That seems to be the foundation needed to make a solid, no-nonsense, street racer. I'm sure that, once you finish that project, you'll have one rad racer in your hands.