1932 Ford Roadster #4773 For as long as there have been cars, there have been people modifying them to make them go faster and look better. Auto racing goes way back to the 19th century. Hot rods-as we know them-came along sometime in the 1930s, when a bunch of amateur car enthusiasts in Southern California started stripping down cheap roadsters, mostly Ford Model As and Deuces, to race them on the dry lake beds in the Mojave Desert. Those young gearheads werent thinking about starting a movement or launching a worldwide hobby and a gigantic aftermarket industry, but they did. For consignment, the quintessential hot rod format with open engine compartment with extra gleam factor added on, big power, no top, no fenders, no running board, just a wide zoom pipe in dual form peeking out the back pipe on either side now. A simple front windshield, hopped up suspension and California here we come. Drop the hanky baby... Exterior We have nicely preserved simple small panels all draped in Root Beer brown over a fiberglass body. A fiberglass radiator cowl in root beer, with enclosed radiator and a simple vertical bar stainless grille is flanked by stalk mounted headlights on either side and some small turn signals below are noted. The blinged out engine is totally uncovered and is looking fab for all the world to see. The rounded firewall cowl frames the simple straight low profile windshield. As we move downward, small shaved handles and rear hinged doors lead us rearward to the rounded off rear deck. Here we see no bumpers, no fenders, and just pointed oval teardrop style taillights and the trunk hold down. Chromed zoomie pipes peek out of the rear central roll pan. Very stripped down, very lightweight, and very cool. 15- inch red painted steel wheels with some edge dish trimmings and a central moon cap are now wrapped with black-wall tires. KISS. Interior A swing of the front edge hinged doors and the ultimate in simplicity and weight loss is present with an ivory ultra leather and ivory piping bench. Door panels are matching and have vertical panels with some stitching in them. The dash is new, all digital with red readouts and all enclosed in a horizontal bar stretching across the center. A few lights are on the bottom of this dash. We see a chromed adjustable steering wheel with a surfers cross-esque chromed triple bar center and an ivory wrapped padded wheel. Deep red carpeting floods the floors and a Hurst shifter with a skull topper is in the center within reach of the driver. Drivetrain Wide open for inspection is the metal, cast chrome and machined 350ci V8. This has dual Edelbrock 4 barrel carbs on top, and it is protected and aided in airflow by open sided small air cleaner coverings. Strapped to the rear of this mill, is a TH350 3-speed automatic transmission. Headers, supple wiring, and hoses abound. An black radiator and electric fan is now cooling this engine, and for the rear axle its a Ford 8 inch. The mufflers are off Borla descent. Undercarriage This fiberglass body sits on a square tube frame which is painted in black. All the rest is with a coating of matte black on it, and looking clean and of course rust free. The suspension is front independent with coil overs, and on back a 4 bar setup with coil overs. Disc brakes are on front, and drums for the back. A very nice undercarriage presentation. Drive-Ability This old skool rodder fired right up and on the test track it wants to keep going in a straight line. I wrestled it though to take some turns and it did so effortlessly, it came to a quick stop, and did so bias free. The interior is comfy, and all functions were working at the time of my drive. The digital dash is unique and easy to read. A roddy and racy fiberglass hot rod body all stripped down for less weight, which translates to more speed. Simple to wrench on with the open engine, and a quaint, but comfy and all encompassing interior. A souped up, rodded, shaved handle door, fender-less racer, yearning for the next run on the flats. Will this be coming soon to a neighborhood near you?!
