Hot Rod Or Leave It Alone? 1932 Ford Roadster
Hot rodding certainly isn’t a recent development. It’s been going on for almost as long as the automobile has been around. It has, however, gone through several iterations as new styles and trends have come and gone. When this 1932 Ford V8 Roadster was restored in the late ’60s/early ’70s, most people were building wild customs out of their tired old Fords, but instead, the previous owner decided to keep things simple with this one. You can take a closer look here on eBay in Rancho Cucamonga, California and it is already bid to $36k!
The ’32 Model 18 was essentially a factory-built hot rod. It was light and equipped with Ford’s then-new flathead V8. The 221 cui V8 was rated at 65 horsepower, which was a nice boost over the Model A’s 4-cylinder. The previous owner and restorer was a well know Lincoln and Cadillac parts supplier and went to great ends to get all the correct factory original parts for the car. That is except for the engine, which was replaced with a slightly newer and more powerful flathead V8. There’s no word on what year this engine is out of, but it probably has between 75 and 85 horsepower.
Shortly after completing the restoration, it was shown at the Hershey car show. That was in 1971 and it’s spent much of its life since in storage. It was maintained while being parked, but the paint and interior are starting to show their age. As the seller puts it, “It had a show restoration, but now has the warmth of 50 years of patina and age”. I have to agree, it shows nicely with the kind of look that only comes from age.
The seller states that this one has yet to be hot-rodded, although I’d say upgrading to a more powerful V8 makes it a bit of a hot rod. The fact that the body and chassis haven’t been modified does make it a better option for those looking for a car to either preserve in stock condition or to build into a hot rod of some sort. Personally, I’d service it and just drive it as is. If I changed anything, it would be upgrading the brakes so that it’s a bit safer to drive in modern traffic. What do you think, is this one a hot rod already or just a nice old restoration that should be kept as is? If you hot-rodded it, what would you do with it?
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Comments
Sure, take a beautiful car that was restored 50 years ago, lovingly preserved ever since, and hot rod it. That’ll earn you some friends.
If anyone wants to hotrod a prewar Ford, buy a fibreglass one and do what you want. Don’t ruin a beautiful car like this. Love the colour combination.
Please let her as she is.Plenty others to hotrod.
So you really think someone might pay over $36,000 to tear this apart?
Yes some people would. They could then sell off the antique items.And I hope nobody does this.
I had a friend that had a ‘42 Hudson 8 convertible, of which 3 were in existence. I don’t remember whether it was 3 Hudsons or 3 Hudson 8s. Anyway a guy bought it sight unseen and had a transport company pick it up. He rides it and painted it purple. The only way we found out what happened was that the engine was later offered for sale. To the best of my knowledge the car has never been seen again.
Should be “he rods it”.
I’m happy that the restorer kept to the original style of engine instead of going to the center-outlet of ‘37 and up. There was very little difference between the Model 18 of ‘32 and the Model 68 of ‘36. The most noticeable was the single throat Detroit Lubricator carburetor of ‘32 and ‘33. There were some subtle changes throughout the years though. If I managed to latch onto this car I would drive it and have a good time with it. Being somewhat of a purist I would try to find an actual Model 18 engine and put it in.
I’m a street rodder and even I think it would be a crime to alter this car in any way. You can buy a repop body in steel and do what ever you wanted to it for what this is bid to.
DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT ruin this wonderful car! If you do, I will make it my duty in the afterlife to haunt you until the day you kick off, and then I am going to make your afterlife crummy. Boooooo!!!!!
Joshua. Real disappointed you even put the words “Hot Rod” on the title of this car. I get the idea that you really don’t get how rare this car is and what an important piece of original history it is.
Youth is wasted on the young.
Yes, I agree. I think Joshua should be hot-rodded!
To Gary; you are my new best friend.
To alter this car in anyway would be an abomination, it looks about as perfect as a car could look. I concur with Gary, it would be a cardinal sin to change a thing. I would haunt somebody as well, it would be like someone making a Duesenberg a lowrider. Beautiful car.
I really can’t imagine what it must be like to own something this nice. It is just beautiful with its aged softness.I would think that it would go much higher, and that alone should preclude its being hot rodded.
I’d be proud to own it.
If I am correct…only about a dozen remain in this condition? Having built some streetrods even I would not recommend modifications. Just love it or buy a finished one for the same money! Leave it alone?
Leave it alone!!! What are you thinkin’?
why ruin a perfectly good vehicle ????
Leave it alone unless you want to go to hell when you expire.
Josh, I’m surprised that the words “hot tod” even entered your head when you were looking at this beautiful car. I can’t stand the Model A Ford so do whatever you like with them as they are like backsides, everybody has one, but the Deuce, they are more rare than hens teeth so leave it as it is and enjoy it.
Solosolo, I was surprised to see that the seller suggested hotrodding it several times in the listing, so I can understand why Josh might have brought it up. But it would be a crime to do so.
I don’t know about only a dozen restored 32 roadsters left, there is way more than that. I love 32’s and I have been fortunate to have owned a couple and they were all traditional Hot Rods. I also think the 32 Ford is an icon in Hot Rod history , it is sacred to Hot Rodding, and I treasure that. However times have changed , lots of 32’s out there, if you want one, also there are just about all the parts to build one and that you need, and all you have to have is a credit card. So I agree. Why would you want to Turn this roadster into a Hot Rod. There is no logical reason to do that. And that’s from someone who is a 100% Hot Rodder , I don’t even want a restored 32 , but for crying out loud, why would you change this car, That is just STUPID!
Definitely keep the 32′ a stock ‘ roadster ‘ !!To ‘ pristine ‘ to reconfigure as a ‘ rod ‘ this far ‘ down the road ‘ . A tangible tribute to ‘ the way we were ‘ and I wish we still were . GM / MOPAR man here but ‘ old Ford’s ‘ still ‘ speak to me ‘ as to my nostalgia recollections of Ford ‘ coupes and sedans ‘ on the country roads of my boyhood . Our neighborhood ‘ country grocery ‘ store man ‘ ‘ drove a ‘ 1940 Willys coupe ‘ as a ‘ daily driver ‘ !! The ‘ old coupe ‘ was a ‘ faded green ‘ and so tough that I do not think one could have ‘ dented the fenders ‘ with a ‘ sledge hammer ‘ . Indeed , ‘ the way we were ‘ !!
What an ignorant thing to even suggest.
I look at this car and I look at the video game things offered as vehicles for 2022, with the exception of Jaguar, Bentley, and RR. Others have said it over and over, but where did beauty go? It would be so nice to see it return in at least one modern car, somewhere, that was not a barn find.
To suggest hotrodding this car is almost “comment bait.” Did you think anyone would say “put a small block Chevy in it”?
There is not much I like more than setting up Avery nice powerful Rod, I am very partial to forced induction and lots of CI. I see a car as beautiful as this virtually original vehicle and there is no way I would change a thing, truthfully it’s never going to be a whole lot better than it is right now!!
There’s plenty other old Ford’s already chopped up and hot rodded. Leave this beauty alone. For someone to hot rod this is like putting cragars on a Tucker.
LOL
I think Josh knew he’d throw gas on a fire by suggesting someone might want to cut up this nice car🤣😂
If Josh were on BAT instead of BarnFinds, his suggestion would have been flagged as “non-constructive, blasphemous, and obviously offensive to many BarnFinders.
What a beautiful auto/art. Makes one yearn when creative folks were allowed to create.