I have a feeling that the phrase “Well, this is the last thing I figured I’d see in Tokyo” is wearing thin by now, but I really can’t think of a better one, in this instance. It was doubtless justified in all the other cases it’s been written on CC (be it in one of my posts, or one of Jim Brophy’s), but you have to admit, given how uniquely American this Ford is, you have to wonder why it’s . Who’s down for a coupe of Deuce?
The famous Deuce. It’s like meeting a legend. Impossible not to try and sing “You don’t know what I got” in a Brian Wilson-esque falsetto. Of course, the Beach Boys were very right. I have no idea what this has… er…”got.” Certainly not a 1932 Ford 221ci 65hp flathead V8, that’s for sure. I understand a lot of these were given SBCs, even back in the ‘60s. Well, why not. Originality has no place in this car, so GM engines are fair game.
Officially known as the Ford Model 18, the 1932 Ford V8 range hit the showrooms very late in the model year – in early April. Strictly speaking, there were 10 body variants available from Ford, but the advert above stretches those to 14, because some are show both in “Standard” and “Deluxe” guise. It’s a pretty full range, with roadsters, sedans and phaetons (but no station wagon, no limousine and no sedanca de ville), as was the style at the time.
Winning with a pair of Deuces – the 1932 Ford coupes
Ford seemed to like to have two of everything on the range – two 4-doors, two 2-door sedans, two sporty drop-tops, two 2-door convertibles – and two coupes (and yes, as these are American cars, I will forego the accented “é” on that word, just to emphasize that in this case, the correct pronunciation is “coop” as opposed to “coo-pei.”) Those are the ones we’re interested in – the three-window and the five-window.
If I had to pick one, it would probably be the three-window. I think it looks slightly racier and has the suicide doors, and those little details kill me (har har har). But it so happens that the Deuce that I encountered was of the five-window persuasion, so we’ll have to make do with that.
There is no way to overstate the impact of the ’32 Ford on American automotive history. Ford pre-sold 50,000 of the V8s even before launch, which was taking place at the tail end of the Hoover administration, otherwise known as the depths of the Great Depression. Detroit was bleeding red ink and great marques were going bust left and right. Things looked bleak indeed – except over at Ford, where old Henry had just pulled on of the greatest moves of his career and relegated Chevrolet, Plymouth and all the others to eating V8 fumes.
It could be argued that, styling-wise, the ‘34s were far more eye-catching than the rather staid ‘32s, but they were also a tad heavier. And when young folks started getting their hands on them in the second-hand market, ’32 coupes and roadsters began to be highly prized items.
Apparently though, they were not the object of “mods” initially. The cheaper (and also pretty easy to come by) Model As and Bs of the early ‘30s were the first to undergo thorough weight-saving fender-ectomies and given souped up engines. But by the early ‘50s, 20-year-old Fords were dirt cheap no matter what the motor, so the V8 models also started to be reassigned to Highboy duties.
For that is apparently what these hot rods were called – the “fender-less / big rear wheels” type of classic hot rod, with the body sitting on top of the frame, was known as the Highboy. Typically, the base car was a Ford (a Deuce, a Model B or a Model A), but could also be a Chevy, a Willys, a Studebaker or whatever. If it was anything other than a Ford, it was usually a later model, as most cars in 1932 had wood-framed bodies, which do not age all that well. Fords (and Chryslers, if memory serves) had all-steel bodies, so they were also favoured for that reason.
But the supply of Ford coupes and roadsters was not inexhaustible – they made over 200,000 Model 18s, but only a fraction of those were of the sexy two-door type. It seems that there are none left to turn into a hot rod, and that has been the case for a few decades now. There are precious few that have escaped this fate to begin with and still look like something Ford made in 1932.
These days, the only genuine ’32 Ford bits one might encounter in one of these might be the chassis – but even that is not a certainty. Everything else, especially the body, can and will be made new, sometimes in fiberglass. Costs a pretty penny, too.
Is this what we have here? I have absolutely no idea. I did not know that about these cars when I shot the photos, so I didn’t try knocking on a panel to gauge what is was under that fancy gray paintwork. For what it’s worth, there is a date (and a signature) on the car for the custom pin striping, so this particular Deuce coupe’s last coat of paint dates back to 2014.
The interior is mercifully restrained. I’ve had a look at the dashes of a bunch of Deuce hot rods online, and this is one of the more respectful ones – extra gauges are tucked under the dash, which is itself just soberly painted. The upholstery is nicely understated, too.
Substantial additional bonus points for that huge steering wheel, which looks like a genuine vintage part. Nothing like a ’32 Ford’s wheel, but at least it has that classic Art Deco look and is not a puny wood-rimmed Momo.
Looking at that front end, we find a good old beam axle – a perfectly normal piece of technology for this car. Ninety-nine percent chance that the rear end has a live one, because that makes a whole lot of sense. The springs are a bit more difficult to identify – for me, anyway. But we have a lot of experts on this site, so someone will doubtless point out what I cannot see. Likewise, I’m no expert on brakes, but those look much better than the cable-operated drums Ford put on their products for a (very) long time.
That’ the idea behind these hot rods in any case – improve performance and make it look “individual”, even to the detriment of usability. Straight-line speed was the usual way to measure who’s pecker was the biggest. That scene in American Grafitti comes to mind. Well, lookey here! A Deuce five-window coupe… In a 1973 movie depicting a scene taking place circa 1962, just before the Beach Boys came out with that song…
What a peerless piece of American Pie à la mod this Ford is. I do wonder how in the world it could be considered as street legal in Japan, though. They do have odd rules here and I don’t know a tenth of them, but shouldn’t there be one about the gas tank doubling up as the rear bumper? If you get rear-ended (through no fault of your own) by anything bigger than a bicycle in this Deuce, the road’s going to get doused in dinosaur juice.
Mind you, it doesn’t have much of a front bumper, either. In fact, the more I look at it, the less legal this Deuce coupe seems. Yet it was on the street, so either it belongs to someone who has a heck of a lot of influence, or the laws are looser here than I thought. Alternatively, perhaps they have something akin to the 25-year rule here, or make special exemptions for iconic cars featured in ‘60s hit songs. I guess when it comes to what laws are on the books in this country, (Wilson falsetto back on) “You don’t know what they got.”
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1932 Ford V8 – America’s V8 Love Affair Starts Here, by PN
1932 Ford V8: The Greatest Car Of All Time?, by PN
Judging by the V8 emblem on the front and the cobra, I’d venture that this has a Ford V-8 in there.
It looks like a column-shifter which suggests a modern automatic transmission. Alas, it appears that there will be no Ford flathead music emanating from the tailpipes.
The 32 became so iconic as a hot rod, I cannot remember the last time I saw a 32 even close to stock. And the short model year is a factor too, with so many fewer of them around than either Model As or the 33-34 Fords that followed.
The original musclecar, although you had to roll your own. Steel bodies have been available from Brookville for awhile now so the fiberglass bodies are not as popular as once was. The steering wheel is a later Ford “banjo” unit and quite popular. While the gas tank “bumper” may appear a hazard, it was preferable to the Model A location in front of the dashboard.
I just completed a lockdown build of a 3 window, but I had to have a flathead. 1/25 scale of course.
and hard to believe this car could be registered in Japan. Certain states here required cycle fenders as a minimum but that seems to have faded away over the years and cars get “grandfathered” in and\or sympathetic inspectors look the other way.
CC Effect … I saw a convoy of three ‘32’s on the freeway just yesterday, though all were roadsters.
For something this obviously custom but tastefully restrained (@iowahawkblog would approve), it most certainly has an actual V8, or else the badge wouldn’t have been there. The front spring is a transverse leaf, as almost certainly the rear is as well – it was Henry Ford’s go-to suspension design. The front bean has been “dagoed” (short for San Diego, where that originated). The gas tank is an aftermarket item, since the ’32 originally came with it’s gas tank behind the dashboard.
This being a car from the Shinagawa Prefecture, It’s almost certain that car has been at the Mooneyes Yohohama Custom Hot Rod Show at least once, maybe soon after that last paint job.
More information about the car show and Mooneyes in particular (bought by a Japanese businessman in the early 90s from Dean Moon’s widow and has treated the brand and the culture with the utmost respect) is here at a 2019 Hemmings article: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2019/12/05/american-style-customs-in-japan-highlights-from-the-2019-mooneyes-custom-hot-rod-and-custom-show
Those Cobra badges look the the modern (’93+) version, so I suspect a 351 Windsor under the hood.
And those front brakes are almost certainly disk brakes hiding behind a fake finned (Buick or Lincoln) drum cover. That’s a cooling air scoop and not something you would want open into the inside of a drum.
Actually air scoops were not uncommon at all on high performance drum brakes. Triumph front drums had prominent air scoops.
I figure they’re a version of this: https://www.obrientruckers.com/buick-finned-disc-brake-covers.html although the shape isn’t quite the same.
’31 Model A was the last Ford with a gas tank behind the firewall. The ’32 indeed had the tank in the rear.
Thank you. I stand corrected.
cool link to the show. In the 80s a Greek friend of mine would go back with loads of Levi’s and Timberland shoes. That’s when I first discovered that American cultural icons were in demand in other parts of the world. The grass is always greener as they say.
and I can vouch for your story about dropped axles being called “dagoed”.
I learned that from Dave Burge (@iowahawblog).
Very nice, although I prefer an un-chopped 32 coupe with fenders to lower the visual center of gravity.
An unrestored stock 32 Ford actually popped up in the classifieds near me last month. I was so shocked I sent it to my friend Don (who actually owns a 32 five window much like our subject car)
Not too terrible a price at $19k, the ad disappeared rather quickly.
Japanese customizers clearly love long-throw column shifts. It’s a little out of phase with US customizers in the ’50s and ’60s. The first step in modifying a car, even if you did nothing to the body except Bondo, was to install a floor shift. Many of those floor shifts had almost as much linkage as a column, so they weren’t really an ergonomic or mechanical improvement. Still, they were esthetically necessary.
I’m happy that it’s a manual. Fully 99% of the hot rods I’ve seen built in the last twenty years are Turbo Hydra-Matic. Which, to me, ruins the car.you want the vintage experience, drive the vintage experience.
Dude, it’s an automatic shifter! And these Fords never had column shifters. They all had floor shifters.
That’s a great find – and a real beauty. Like you, I’m amazed it passed Shaken. There must be some type of cutoff, maybe for pre-war cars. I need to ask my Japanese Police buddy next time I see him.
I always love the fiction that, when it came out in 1932, the Ford V-8 immediately blew the doors off anything else in it’s price class. Kind of ignoring that the ’32 Chevy Stovebolt was lumbering on with only five less horsepower. And the ’32 Terraplane (straight-8) would shut the Ford down rather badly.
Then there’s the little matter that the first year V-8’s were definitely using the customer as the beta tester. Yes, the Ford became the go-to engine for hotrodding until 1955, but that was due to the aftermarket. I tend to give a lot of that to the three and five window coupes being perfect (in looks) for that usage, and once you’ve decided on the body, it always easier to just keep the engine.
I have a 32 5 window Ford hot rod, and can point a few additional features on this one: 50 Pontiac taillights w/ blue dot insert, Guide/BLC 682 headlights, and hydraulic brakes with (probably repro) Buick finned aluminum drums -all of which are period correct for a mid-late 50s hot rod. Steering wheel is aftermarket, but styled like original 30s Ford “banjo”. Drip rails and cowl vent indicate body is very likely steel (fiberglass replicas do not have them), but could be a Brookville or other steel replica. V8 emblem on headlight bar doesn’t really indicate anything. While aesthetically a Ford flathead is the prestige motor for a traditional style Deuce hot rod, most run a non original OHV motor, typically a small block Chevy (mine has a ’65 327). As far as the frame goes, there are several companies that make reproduction steel frame rails and cross members, so hard to tell if it’s orginal.
Couple of gentle corrections: 32 Ford bodies actually have a lot of structural wood in them; not as much as Model As, or 32 GMs, but still there. Also the rear mounted gas tank is stock 32 style; prior to that Model As had cowl tank.
Detroit was bleeding red ink and great marques were going bust left and right. Things looked bleak indeed – except over at Ford, where old Henry had just pulled on of the greatest moves of his career and relegated Chevrolet, Plymouth and all the others to eating V8 fumes.
That’s a rather incomplete and somewhat inaccurate history of the times. First off, GM never once had a loss during the whole Depression. And the V8 did not have anywhere near the sales impact you suggest. The ’32 Ford was trounced by Chevrolet 3:2, and the gap widened even further in 1933. It wasn’t until ’34 that Ford got close again.
And Plymouth sales grow dramatically in ’32, the best ever, only slightly behind Ford. That continued through 1933 too.
Ford didn’t really recover until 1935 or so, mostly on the strength of its superb styling. And the V8 had gotten over its teething issues, mostly.
Ford was hurt by far the most financially during the Depression, because of its inflexibility, high fixed overhead and vertical integration. GM and Chrysler came through much better, and both gained substantial market share. It took several years for Ford to get back on a solid footing.
Part of the reason for low sales of 32 Fords was the late introduction date – March 31 1932, with production until Feb 8 1933. Total production of 32 Fords was only ~270k, about half of them Model 18 V8s, half Model B 4 bangers. The rarity contributes to the mystique / collectability.
I know. My point was that it wasn’t the roaring success that he implied. And the ’33 sold even worse in relation to the Chevy.
Wonderful stuff, guys. I’m left with only two questions: How come only the 3-window coupe had rear-hinged doors ? Didn’t the 34’s have them throughout the model line ?
And, steering-column angle: the factory photo of the five-window (Tatra’s fifth image) shows the wheel at about a 45-degree angle; the subject car’s wheel appears to be even “flatter” than that. Can you enlighten me ?
The ’33 – ’34 Fords all had rear hinged front doors. It would seem that the ’32 three-window coupe was a preview of that new direction.
As to the steering column, there’s a very good chance that not one single part in the car is original. These are commonly assembled from all new and reproduction parts, starting with the frame. My bet is that’s how this one is. In any case, the steering column and wheel are certainly modern pieces, as well as the weird column shifter for the automatic. And probably everything else.
Probably due to my advancing age, but the factory ’32 Ford three-window looks sublime, right off the showroom floor. The modifications on the car in Japan take a lot of things in the wrong visual direction for me. Now you kids get off my lawn…
I love how “Little Deuce Coupe” opens by stating “I’m not braggin’ now, so don’t put me down” when the entire rest of the song is the narrator bragging about how awesome his car is…
That Ford V8 logo is one of the greatest things ever.
Wasn’t this Ford V8 model a favorite of Bonnie and Clyde back in the day?