Just when you start wondering if a Camry parked in 2002 is a barn find, something like this comes along! Reportedly built for a car magazine in 1953, this 1932 Ford Five-Window Coupe was parked during the first year of the Kennedy era, 1961. The Beach Boys wouldn’t even release “Little Deuce Coupe” until two years after this Gilroy, California example left the roads. For reference, a “Deuce” coupe is a play on the French word deux (two) and 1932, emphasis on the “2.” A Buick V8 and ’39 Ford running gear represent the significant mechanical updates to this Ford back in the day, and the current owner has cleaned it up without going too far. The motor runs and new tires add a margin of safety.
A Buick “nailhead” V8 fills the engine bay, topped by a sextet of Stromberg carburetors. The latter may ring familiar for fans of the ’58 Chevy in American Graffiti. I once brought a first-year (1953) nailhead back from the dead and I remember how it burst to life and almost immediately settled to a glass-smooth vibration-free idle. Even with the two-speed automatic the nailhead moved my Dad’s ’53 Roadmaster well enough, so I can imagine the fun you’d have in this lightweight Ford with a (presumably three speed) manual gearbox.
Check that interior! Custom striping on the dash matches the red and white Naugahyde upholstery. The ’39? Ford Deluxe steering wheel may have come from the ride that donated other parts mentioned in the listing.
Speaking of American Graffiti, this car is rather different from character John Milner’s ’32 Five-Window in the movie, though it would have been a contemporary build with the flashy yellow chop-top. This body looks stock, and I’ll let our hot-rod experts chime in with comments if I’m missing something.
“Zephyr gears” referenced in the description here on Craigslist are probably taller cogs from a Lincoln Zephyr: less aggressive at launch, ergo better suited for cars with more power, and more long-legged for higher speed cruising… at least that’s the story on the HAMB. We’ve seen similar ’30s Ford hot rods from the ’50s and ’60s with rust problems and rough interiors. Thanks to reader T.J. for spotting this So-Cal classic. I’ll go out on a limb and say only a fool would change this one more than necessary to make it safe and fun, especially after approaching the $65,000 asking price. Hopefully it doesn’t become a life-sized Matchbox, a mechanical novelty displayed for bragging rights like a topiary rabbit or Ming vase. Would you drive this 60-year parked vintage hot rod or keep it for show?
I am feeling different about this 1932 FORD coupe. I think most readers of BF know me as the, ‘if it’s a vintage FORD it should have a FORD engine in it’ guy. BUT, seeing this was built in 1953 for a magazine, there wasn’t much to pick from for FORD power back then, and that Buick engine looks to fit really nice in there, (at least it’s not just another SBC), I’m giving this 32 my ‘FORD GUY’ stamp of approval. I would clean it up, make sure it goes and stops good, maybe some different wheels, and I’d be taking to to as many car shows and cruises as I could. I like it!
All I can do here is sit and really miss my ’32 5 window with the Mercury flathead, ’39 transmission, dropped front axle and the ’46 hydraulic brakes.
Would make it healthy and drive the wheels off it! This is a sweet old Ford.
Zephyr gears would mean a 3 speed.
It’s 2024. I haven’t seen anyone searching for where this particular ’32 has been hiding. Pull the Buick and install the proper Blue Oval engine. Take your pick. Flatty, 289, 302, 351, 428, Coyote, Voodoo, etc.
No, this is a surviving period built hot rod 1950’s, it’s more interesting as it sits. It represents a specific period in time. Performing an engine swap turns it into a generic hot rod. Not to worry, nobody that would support an engine swap to make it all Ford again will step up with a pocket full of cash.
Steve R
Leave it period,it doesn’t need a Ford or Chevy in it..
I agree with leaving the Buick Nailhead Mill in there. Its period correct. And lets face it, the Buick mill has been in there more years than the original Ford engine. I’d enjoy exactly as it sits.
Stuffing a set of Zephyr gears into a
’39 gear box helps you take more advantage of the torque that your engine was putting out which means
more speed and comfort for you and your car. A lot of old school guys I knew as a kid also did the Halibrand
quick change rear end thing to get even more torque and power from their cars. They’d put gear sets back
there ranging from 3:54 to 4:11 depending on what they wanted the car to do as they drove it. Those guys
were heros to me as they knew how to get more ponies from an engine
without breaking the bank. And a lot
if them did it with stuff you found at
your local wrecking yard. They did
their weeck-connisance and their due
dilligance to make sure everything was done right. This car reminds me
of those wonderful times when you could build a really decent car without
spending cash you didn’t have to get
a mind blowing result for the dough
you already spent. By all means, keep
it as it is to show all these boy racers
today what building a car is all about.
I’m a Ford man, so the Buick (GM) engine needs to go, a flathead with all the “period correct” go faster bits needs to be under the bonnet.
Hell if your going to put a GM engine there, might as well drop in a Lada engine!
I’m a Ford Guy too. There is no known cure. (If owning a Ford won’t do it, there’s no hope. 😏) I too like Ford engines in Ford cars- but this is different. This car is a literal time capsule. It shows what they did, and how they did it back in the day,
It really should be left as/is. It’s absolutely amazing that it has survived this long, and in such nice shape.
Better than MILNER’S Coupe with 2 extra carbs and a ’40 steering wheel. L-Z gears don’t make anything go ‘faster’…just higher 1st and 2nd gear ratios. All this car needs is the proper appreciative new owner,add gas and enjoy. Anything more would be Hot Rod sacriledge….!!!
Leave it as is. My 38 Ford pickup has a 351W in it that I put there. That “Nailhead” 322 is perfect for that era. The Zepher gears not only changed the ratios but are also stronger. What a find! It makes me yearn for the Nailhead powered 49 Chevy I built in 62 and had a blast.Many would put an LS in it now. No way. I am 79 and not ready to quit.
I like it but I would convert it back to a Ford drive train
I’d stick with the nail-head Buick to preserve the period-correct build. Overhead valves were seen as an upgrade over flatheads. People didn’t have credit cards and used whatever was available at the local auto-wrecker. And whatever cash was left over from a small paycheck.
And as I understand it, the LZ transmission was mainly stronger than the available Fords. It didn’t create any more power. It just absorbed more abuse without failure.
And I never had a Halibrand quick-change rear-end, but as I understand it, the different tooth count meant the gears could be quickly swapped for a lower gear ratio for drag racing acceleration, and then swapped back for a higher ratio and lower rpm highway cruising.
The asking price seems high to me, but as others have pointed out, 32 Fords are getting rare and the market has deep pockets. There are other equally attractive pre-war cars and pick-ups at lower prices that provide all the pleasures of old-time wrenching and driving, but they lack the name recognition and bragging rights of “deuces”.
Listing has been taken down from Craigslist.
Sold?
More than likely. There is a rather large subset of enthusiasts interested in surviving early hot rods. They’ve been chasing cars like this for years, these guys will step up when a car like this pops up and put money on the table. That appears to be the case with this car.
Check out Chip Foose’s YouTube channel, he’s done a couple of videos in the last few weeks on an unmolested early-50’s Barris built Olds Convertible that surfaced recently.
Steve R
Let’s hope the new owner reads these comments and sees that reverting back to a Ford engine (the rest of the drive train is already FoMoCo) would be sacrilege. Buick and Olds engines were so far ahead of the flathead that they were the common swap. Please leave this time capsule as-is and enjoy hot-rodding as it was when you could build ( and register!) a car like this affordably and you didn’t need name-brand aftermarket parts to do it.
Kool car but I choked and started gasping when I saw the asking price was more than double what it sells for today. Who is paying double for the single most common old hotrod anywhere. Wow!
Dang….I posted in that HAMB thread way back in 2017 !
leave it alone and drive it and enjoy.
Back in ’64, my buddy and I built a model A roadster with a ’51 Olds engine/trans, using a ’56 Ford pickup rear axle. It’s what we had available at the time. If I bought this car, I’d leave it the way it was built.
It’s perfect I wouldn’t change a thing just make everything work. My friend has a 31 2 door sedan no fenders with a 401 dual quad and that thing pulls like a freight train it’s so fun!
Whenever, a vintage Hot Rod is listed, I think it is my responsibility to comment. The reason being I am 81 years old now and that era was my life from 12 to I don’t know when, probably last week, all I ever loved was Hot Rods. I still continue to drive my 34 Coupe.
So when I read the comments I take it personally, that some people have no idea what they are talking about. The comments on this car did just what I would expect, although many were fairly accurate. One thing surprised me no one commented on the interior, There were some cool things going on in there. For instance that dash cluster? The gear shift knob? Steering column drop? The stripped 2-tone Naugahyde upholstery? Stuff you don’t buy on the internet, you make it or scrounge it. I am not sure about 65 K ? I think that might be a little optimistic for this car.
The other comments of engine choice Ford vs Chevy, was not a surprise, however many accepted the Buick, how generous. I just can’t understand how many of you can’t let this go. It reminds me of politics you have no tolerance for anybody ,with a different point of view. Maybe we should all organize into groups and define our platform, no Chevy’s, only Fords, just Flat heads , just original no modification!
Then you join the party which fits your ideals and all their members. These platforms are defined for all to know. Then there would be no argument you could just say I am a member of the Flathead party, or the Segregation party, or the Big Block party. Then when you say what party you belonged to, that would stop the conversation and we wouldn’t argue about it. It’s just your political choice, your right and no one has to defend it, it’s covered under freedom of choice!
Very well put. Agree with you wholeheartedly. I also grew up in that time frame, although just a tad younger then you. Very interesting times to say the least. keep this hotrod just the way it is.
Absolutely right about those details and the dash is the best part of the car. But the predator fliip attempt?