Thread: 1550 some Henry Ford 32 roadsters (and counting....)

Tweet

I was also reading a Rod history book and according to it, an original serial number would start with 1 (4 cylinder) or 18 (8 cylinder). I do not think there is a way, except MV or Ford records to tell which body was on frame. My title states it was a roadster, but that may not be common.
Jim

Originally Posted by Old Hippie

I was also reading a Rod history book and according to it, an original serial number would start with 1 (4 cylinder) or 18 (8 cylinder). I do not think there is a way, except MV or Ford records to tell which body was on frame. My title states it was a roadster, but that may not be common.
Jim

OK, the title also read 1932 roadster and serial number starts with 18. Eric said that when he got the car it still had its minnesota title which read 1932 Ford Roadster, and he checked the vin nb and it matched the title. Could that mean the frame did come from a roadster? Since the front is all from the original car (grill shel, insert, radiator and possibly axle) and so is the gas tank, seems that what was replaced was the body. there is a slight chance I might be looking at a real 32 roadster that was restored with a body replaced... but then again, hard to know for sure... GRRRR if only I could go back far enough to find the first owner!!!!

If you are wondering why i want to know, it is because it fascinates me. I wonder what secrets untold hide behing my roadster - it adds a certain "romance" to the car.

Originally Posted by HiboyGal

Since the front is all from the original car (grill shel, insert, radiator and possibly axle) and so is the gas tank, seems that what was replaced was the body. there is a slight chance I might be looking at a real 32 roadster that was restored with a body replaced.

Your shell looks to be a original 32 Ford piece ... but the insert does NOT have the crank hole ... as it should.



This is a photo of a repro ... but you get the idea.

If your chassis has the original transverse springs ... the number of leaves is a clue as to what it came under ... but as it is a Hot Rod ... it does not really matter ...

18 in the number means it was a V8 car ...

Deuce is right, V8. Just a thought to confuse the issue, if it is really a Wescott body, why not buy new doors from them if yours are really bad? That might solve your prob. less expensively and allow you to continue to drive your car. I like the history you have found, and maybe you could find out how old your (roadster) body is and have a kool historical ride. Wescott advertises their first body as still being on the road.
Jim

Originally Posted by Deuce

Your shell looks to be a original 32 Ford piece ... but the insert does NOT have the crank hole ... as it should.

Hi deuce, I was wondering about that too, but yesterday I closely looked at the grill insert with a couple other hotrodders. I noticed the bottom part of each insert is lodged inside the insert metal 'frame' However I also counted 5 inserts that are not "inserted" but rather welded at the botton. We then compared with another 32 grill, and found that these 5 inserts would be the exact ones that would hold the crank hole. Inshort, if I had removed the crank hole, replaced the inserts and welded them back in the grill, this is exactely what I would have ended up with. In light of this latest 'discovery', I am concluding that this may very well be the original insert, minus the crank hole. As a matter of fact if you take notice of the grill insert frame, at the bottom, where the crank hoel would be, you can see that it does not connect. A crank hole would have covered this, but since it has been removed you now can see it not connecting at the bottom (look at photo and it looks like a red spot instead of a metal color). A new grill insert manufactured without a crank hole would go all te way around the grill and connect, wouldn't it?

PS: I forgot to mention that I closely looked at several original 32 grill inserts at a car cruise night and found them to be consistent in craftsmenship to my grill. however comparing new inserts I found they were not 'built" exactely in the same manner. The metal inserts are also very old, showing rust and have many layers of different paint on them.

It was a common practice to eliminate the crank hole, so your insert probably is a modified original. Just like they used to fill the radiator neck hole. I have articles in some of my old magazines somewhere of doing both modifications.

Don

HiboyGal,
Just some more info, all original '32 grille inserts were painted gray, not chrome.
Jim