Up for sale is an all steel original Henry 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe. This example is one of the finest traditional 5 Window Highboys ever built.
I had this car built for me at Roy Brizio's shop in South San Francisco. Roy has built several cars for me over the years and this one is absolutely stunning.
I have been building and collecting Hot Rod Ford's for many years [especially 32's] and had long wanted to build a 5 Window Highboy to compliment a full fendered 5 Window I had built a few years before. The car had to be an originalunchopped, nfilled stock all steel body in excellent condition to start with. As we all know in todays world these are very difficult to find. As luck would have it one day I was on the phone with Roy talking cars [surprise] and he casually mentioned he had received a call that morning from someone looking to sell an original 5 Window body. That someone turned out to be Neal East. Neal was a longtime member of the L.A. Roadsters club and a well known hot rodaficionado. He was also the onetime owner of what is arguably the most famous 32 Roadster ever built, he Doane Spencer Roadster. Needless to say he knows 32's. Neal had owned the body for many years and was planning to build the car eventually but finally had decided to sell it. Roy put us in touch and we struck a deal for me to purchase the body. A few days later the body was picked up in Colorado and delivered to Roy's shop.
After inspecting the body we realized we had an amazing car to work on. This body was worth every penny I paid for it and warranted a truly high endbuild. A long discussion followed and a theme and time period for the car was decided upon. This coupe would be an early sixties style Hot Rod equally at home both at a car show and at the drag strip. Mean and nasty but built to the highest level possible.
The chassis was built using Brizio's much proven drive across country reliable method. We added a quick change to the leaf spring rear end and restored vintage Buick drum brakes for stopping power. A Tremec 5 speed transmission was employed for ultra smooth and reliable shifting. For the motor I turned to master builder Ray Zeller. Ray has built many motors for me including a Nailhead Buick and a vintage Chrysler Hilborn Injected Hemi. His work is nothing short of superb. For this car we decided a Chevy was the right choice. Ray located a pristine proper date coded block and built up a 383 stroker motor. We used a very hot, umpy idle cam, olid lifters and 3 Holly 2 barrel carbs. When put on the dyno the motor made 410 horsepower and nearly 450 torque at a very usable 4300 rpm's. The motor sounds incredible and after the 3 two's weredialled in by Steve Spelgio in Whittier it runsperfect. From stoplight to stoplight as docile as you want but stand on the throttle and the car is a bat out of hell.
For the body we decided even though the car was bone stock it had to be chopped. And a perfect chop for a highboy was what we got. We took 3 and a half inches out of the top. The body was in such good shape very little bodywork was needed but I knew it needed to be perfect to get the quality paintwork I wanted. Allnecessary bodywork was completed and the body was fitted to the chassis. Even in bare steel this thing was beautiful.
For the paint work I thought long and hard about who to use. My other 5 window has one of the finest paint job's I have ever seen and this car needed to be it's equal. I talked to Darryl Hollenbeck of Vintage Color Studio about taking on the job. Darryl is known as one the best hot rod and custom car painters in the business. I explained to him I wanted only the bestquality work possible, oexpense spared. Every reveal had to be razor sharp, he door jamb's had to be perfect, he underside of the deck lid as perfect as the rest of the body. He said it would be very expensive and time consuming but he could do it. Darryl was hired. Months were spent sanding and getting the body just right. Over a dozen custom colors were created and sprayed on convex sheets of steel before a final decision was made. The color had to glow, hange hues depending on the sunlight. As their are no straight lines and very subtle curves on a 32 Ford this was very important to the character of the car. Finally a decision was made and with mywifes assistance a color chosen. The result is a spectacular paint job. Darryl outdid himself and has gone on to paint some of thefinest custom show cars ever done.
The devil is in the details as they say. In order toachieve a period correct hot rod the finishing touches must be well thought out. Growing up around hot rods in the Bay Area and seeing first hand what the 60's cars looked like Roy was the perfect guy for advice. Every detail from the full engine turned dash insert to the original restored Stewart Warner gauges were agonized over. The style of the shifter had to be period correct, he steering wheel, ven the placement of where the starter key went was thought out. No detail overlooked. Check. A home run and just right.
For the interior the car was sent to Sid Chavers. Sid does beautiful work and a supple black leather was stitched in a very traditional hot rod interior. A radio and cd player were discreetly installed and hidden in thetrunk. When Sid asked me about the fabric for the roof insert and how I wanted it stitched to the roof I told him I didn't want it stitched. I only wanted an original tack strip to attach the insert to the roof. The tack strip is most often overlooked and can be the single hardest part to find in good condition. Most were thrown in the garbage as trash 50 or 60 years ago. We searched and searched and finally found one. It was installed correctly and the unfilled roof was covered in fabric and completed. Again, astidious attention to detail is what differentiates a great car from very good car.
It took about two years but the car was finally completed. An absolutelystunning example of a period correct 5 window coupe was the result. The chop of the top, he highboy stance on 15 and 16 inch steelies with bias ply tires just screams Hot Rod. The level of quality and detail of this car is simply fantastic. Discerning caraficionado's just fell all over this car when they saw it. Shortly after completion the car was entered in it's proper 1932 class at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. As most of you know the GNRS is no backyard local car show. It is the Grandaddy of all hot rod and custom car shows. Extremely competitive and not unusual to see million dollar cars competing for bragging rights and a place in history by winningtheir class. 1932 is a very difficult class and the awards are given out on Sunday evening at the end of the show. I left the show early that day and told Dave Catallini, ne of Roy's employee's to collect my award if I won anything. I laughed and walked away. Imagine my surprise the next morning when Roy called me and told me I won. First place no less at the Grand National Roadster Show. The car was now making history. The following summer the car was taken the GoodGuys Pleasanton car show. A reunion of dozens of Brizio cars was the main attraction in addition to 500-600 other cars were in attendance.Again, hen the awards were given out this coupe won best hot rod. More history. The following winter the car was featured in both still and video driving shots on a documentary about the history of the American Hot Rod. The car was now memorialized in film.
The car has about 600 miles on it. 300 by the Brizio crew as shakedown miles and about 300 by me. This car does everything right and should be considered pristine in condition. It needs nothing and is ready to show at the highest level or be driven across the country. The build cost was about $300,000 and the selling price is reasonable. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a nearly new hot rod with interesting history, ocumented provenance and built by some of the best in the business.
Do not press the buy it now if you cannot follow through with the transaction. No trades will be considered.Car will be delivered with clear title. Buyer to pay all shipping costs.Reserve the right to end auction early.Good luck.