From The Classifieds: '32 Ford Coupe

American hot rods have infiltrated most, if not all, countries with a decent-size car population.

The business that began in the US around the end of World War II – with roots that can be traced back even further, to the days of modified Model T Fords – brought a remarkable surge of creativity that not only influenced generations of car stylists, but continues to attract a widely varying owner demographic today.

So broad is the range of cars chosen for significant personalisation by custom designers that it is difficult to pin down what could be categorised as a typical hot rod (although 1930s Ford coupes seem to have attracted an almost disproportionate amount of attention).

One of the chief purveyors of stunningly re-shaped and re-engineered cars was California’s Boyd Coddington who, before he died in 2008, was a serious influence on the car industry in general, and hot rods in particular (One of his creations, the 1948 Cadillac-based CadZZilla built in the late 1980s for the down-and-dirty boogie rock band ZZ Top, is still regarded as one of the most significant custom cars of all time).

CadZZilla was a GM car, but Coddington didn’t favour just the General - it appears he particularly loved 1930s Ford coupes, and his designs on models from this era have influenced many past and present hot-rodders.

And what better example of a classic 1932 Ford coupe than this brilliant blue “multiple trophy-winning” car from the south-coast town of Broulee in NSW.

As you would expect from a car that has seen every one of its stainless steel bolts treated with loving care, the 1932 coupe has been built with more care and attention than the originals leaving the factory floor 80 years ago.

A brief excerpt from the carsales entry shows just some of the attention that goes into award-winning hot rods such as this.

The 1932 Ford comes with full NSW registration, an engineer’s report (it has a roadworthy certificate), and a three pages long spec sheet for the stroked 383 Chev engine. In a who’s who of hot rod savvy components, the list includes King Demon polished carburettor, Victor Junior performance manifold, Isky camshaft, roller rockers with solid valve lifters and a polished alloy radiator. It drives via a manual GM Turbo 350 transmission to a Ford nine-inch differential and, according to the owner, it “sounds awesome.”

With full mudguards and running boards, a steel bonnet, American Racing Torq Thrust alloy wheels and original 1932 chassis rails, plus a beautiful leather-trimmed interior with white-faced Stewart Warner gauges and an art nouveau steering wheel, the suicide-door Ford coupe is breathtaking.

The bottom line is how much. There’s no quibble the owner has spared virtually nothing bringing this ‘32 coupe together, and the asking price of $95,000 reflects this.

No argument from us. This is one beautiful American hot rod.

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