It appears that at some point in the dim, dark past, someone has begun to transform this 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe into a hot rod, but the project has stalled. The body seems to be very solid, and the more that you look at it, the more that it seems to be begging to be turned into something truly special. As the foundation for such a project, it is a blank canvas for the next owner. It is located in Fort Worth, Texas, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached $15,100 off the back of some strong interest, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
It seems that the transformation process commenced with the body being channeled, and that’s about where the project stalled. Thankfully, it hasn’t been chopped, although it is possible that the next owner might choose to do that. The entire vehicle wears a pretty consistent coating of surface corrosion, but given the fact that the project stalled so early, dismantling it to address the corrosion should be a pretty easy task. The doors and trunk lid all seem to fit nicely, with even gaps all the way around. As is the case with the rest of the ’32, the only rust that they wear is a coating of surface corrosion.
As you can see, someone has started to fabricate a custom transmission tunnel for the Ford, which suggests that they had some pretty clear intentions when it came to the final specifications for the vehicle. With nothing having actually been cut at this point, at least the next owner won’t be faced with the prospect of undoing someone else’s handiwork. What we can see of the floors and the frame continues the trend of having a coating of surface corrosion, but no actual rot. The Ford comes complete with a very clean radiator shell, along with all of its glass and the majority of the exterior trim and moldings. There have been a couple of minor mechanical changes made to the Coupe, including the fitting of an Oldsmobile rear end and a Ford steering column from the early 1950s. Once again, whether they stay or whether the go would be a matter of personal choice.
In my mind’s eye, I can see this Ford Coupe painted yellow, a set of chrome steelies on all four corners, and a beautifully detailed flathead occupying the engine bay. I know that it isn’t particularly imaginative, but it’s something that I’d quite like. I am sure that if I slept on it, tomorrow I would have a completely different vision…and the same would be true the day after that. That is the beauty of vehicles like this. They allow enthusiasts to create the custom car of their dreams. So I guess that it comes down to a simple question: Do we keep dreaming, or do we act on those dreams?
Wonder if this was ever finished? There is some mud along the lower extremities. Looks sooo cool channeled. Wonder if this is where Milner started out??? Will be interesting to see how much this brings, would be cool to know what the reserve is. Now that you can buy a new good quality steel body, especially. Good luck to the new owner. I wouldn’t chop the top, cool to see one non chopped.
“you can’t mess with the law, Milner”- officer Holstein
Stay safe and Happy easter
Cheers
GPC
Milner wasn’t stopped because of his rod’s chop, it was because his front axle was too low.
That said…what would be the most unusual street legal engine to put in there? SBCs, BBCs, Hemis, they’ve all been done. Let your imagination run wild.
“Do we keep dreaming, or do we act on those dreams?”
Depends…I might dream about working in space, but time has run out on my becoming an astronaut.
As Moonlight Graham said, “it’ll have to stay a dream.”
A few years back, a guy in Portland built a ’32 powered by a Rolls-Royce V8 and someone else stuffed a V12 Jag into one. I love Portland!!
do something right off the wall here how about a a pair of harley davidson 1200 v twin engines? look ma no rad! keep it light and bet ya it would work well ,and a lot better than another small block chev all day long!
Just to be different I’d build a vintage 390 Cady or a 394 Olds plenty of speed parts still available for them, it would be nice to see old school again
My question is Why would anyone pay 15 grand for this vehicle. You get nothing (or at least very little for your money) and then you have a multitude of hours of hard labor in front of you before you even get to a driveable point. To each their own.
God bless America
Because they’re original once. Mud or not.
The price of this car is way too high, at this point in time. Original only once does not apply here, a rusted butchered mess of a 32 5- window yes. Some, I am sure don’t agree, for them I say ,look at the facts, 32 Fords are going down in value, Why? Supply and demand, it is a saturated market, all the after market has caught up to the demand and demand is on the decrase. Fact , this car has been on B/F several days and has about 5 comments, it used to be a 32 Ford would bring a 105 comments. You could have a brand new steel re-pop for less than it would take, to do the bodywork on this car. I know it wouldn’t be original. The car would be a patched up original and you would have braging rights, for anyone who cared. I love 32 Fords and all early Fords through 1948, I am 77 years old, I have allott of friends that feel the same way I do and our birth years span about a decade. Do the math the youger car guys are not as taken with these cars ,as my generation was, its not a bad thing, it just isjust a thing.
For this kind of money I would opt for a fiberglass reproduction and start out new. Granted it’s not a true 32 Ford for my purpose it would be a whole lot easier to build the rod that I want and in the end I doubt it would be to much less than a totally molested original. Then there is my preference to leaving the originals to the folks that may want to restore them back to true original status.
Not that long ago I know of a 3-window that was hanging in a barn with out the firewall or deck lid and two guys passed on it at the price of $10 K. Another guy bought it and took it to the swap meet at the Streerod Nationals and sold it the first day for $30 K. So yes there are buyers out there for “real steel”.
I guess that sure shows what I know about the subject Dennis! Not very much to say the least!
1932 Fords have a dedicated, if not fanatical following that determines what they sell for. Their appeal is timeless and if you ask why, you probably won’t understand, but I’ll try to explain it. I am one of those people and I own nine of them, including three 5 window coupes like this one. One in a 55,000 mile original, one is a flathead powered hot rod, and other one is Chevy 355/Muncie 4 speed powered hot rod.
These cars were special from the day they were introduced in the depths of the Depression. Look back in ads from 40’s and 50’s and you’ll find they always brought substantially higher prices. That is a reason so many survived when you rarely see other cars of that era that are still around. Henry’s all steel body construction instead of wood, using the best materials and engineering made them perform and last. Most importantly it was the first mass produced V-8 factory hot rod, they were the affordable muscle car of their day. In 1932 these cars would do 75 mph when others were lucky to hit 50 mph, and they could do it without throwing a rod.
In July of 1932, Pennzoil conducted a reliability run with race car driver Eddie Pullen behind the wheel of a 1932 Ford Victoria V-8 that covered 33,301-miles in 33-days with temperatures running between 110 and 114 degrees. That run was conducted on a 32-mile road course in and near Rosamond, CA. In that promotion gasoline economy of 19.5-m.p.g., and oil consumption of 1.5-pints per 1000-miles was emphasized.
The speed and reliability of the V-8 Ford is why Clyde Barrow wrote a letter to Henry Ford praising his cars.
https://www.thoughtco.com/clyde-barrow-letter-to-henry-ford-1779294
This particular car will be less valuable than one that wasn’t channeled, simply due to the fact that replacing the subrails and floor parts will cost several thousand dollars in parts alone, plus your labor. Channeled ’32 Fords just aren’t as desirable either. You can currently buy a United Pacific steel reproduction body for about $22,000, but that won’t include the original chassis this one has. Buying a fiberglass body will make a your car worth much less than what you saved to start with. If you want one made of fiberglass, buy one already done for much less than it costs to build one. Its a great way to get into a 1932 Ford hot rod you can enjoy and have fun with but you’ll always want Henry built body if you really catch Deuce Fever. That’s what happened to me!
Vintage hot rods that’s good information thank you. You did not mention the Pinto based versions sold in the mid 70’s. They give the look with somewhat updated running gear. Can’t seem to remember what they call those models, but they can be bought fairly cheap.
God bless America
I believe you are thinking of the O’Shay or something [old brain cells] like that. I also think that they were Model A replicas only.
Shay model A’s were sold through Ford dealerships. They were 29-30 models, there were plans for a 32 but it seems that never materialized.
God bless America
As a younger gearhead in my 30’s I have a good appreciation for early street rods. To say that the younger crowd doesn’t care about these cars is partially true but then again they don’t tend to care about cars in general. I couldn’t wait to get my license at 16, many kids don’t care if they do or don’t these days. But anyways back to the main topic. How can you look at a car like this and have only one idea to finish this car. My first natural thought goes straight to Graffiti coupe clone, but better. Obviously movie cars are a little crude. Did get to see an original at world of wheels a few years back when Paul was doing a Graffiti tour. It was cool to see but the local clone that was also there is just done so much better. Beyond that choice, not sure what engine I’d pick but for sure NEEDS 3 PEDALS! I may take flack for this but I actually prefer full fendered 32’s….and it would get chopped. Happy motoring, let’s hope we can get back to car shows soon.
Looks like a 1965 Chevelle console turned backwards – save your money –
almost two dozen restored ones coming up for sale next few months in Kansas.
Looks like the same flipper that’s trying to move those 406/427 Galaxies…..
Dang what a honey hole he’s found……….
Here is the aforementioned Kansas auction of the Bob Regehr Collection. It will be an interesting test of the market given what’s going on now, if they even have it.
https://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/auction/the-amazing-bob-regehr-collection-approx-140-plus-vehicles/
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-0905-bob-regehr-car-collection/
For the sake of comparison, here is a beautiful completely restored original one that has been owned by the same owner for 40 years.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1932-ford-5-window-stunning-stocker.1183742/#post-13536319
A search on the same forum finds a lot of nice ones that have sold recently in the same price range. Mostly original or original looking traditional hot rods sell pretty quickly in the $50K range.
Here’s a really nice original one repaint barn find on Ebay for $45K. I really like this one!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1932-Ford-1932-FORD-COUPE-ORIGINAL/293546952490?hash=item4458c3072a:g:EmkAAOSwGIReX~2w