The Ford Barn

Entlebucher · 02-13-2016, 02:28 PM

Hello
At first: please pardon my rusty english...
I am a Model-A-Guy from Switzerland and i just have bought a 1932 Model B. I am not very experienced with the 32s and would be very thankful for some help of you guys!

I just dragged a 1932 Ford Model B home, the last owner tried to restore it for the last 25 years, and it seems that he failed...

We have very little information on the car and i try to find out more about it:
It seems to be some kind of "convertible sedan" with a 4-Banger, Model B-head but Model A block.

Frame, firewall, grill is model B (1932) but the body is some kind of mystery...
The frame has stamps on it "made in germany" and the body was build by "Drauz Karosseriewerke" in Heilbronn, Germany. It is complete and has minor rust. All the electric parts are stamped "made in "Czechoslovakia". Under the roof we also found some jute bag from czechoslovakia.

It looks a lot like the B-400 body-style that i found after a google-research, but the windscreen and the rear is a lot different, it seemed to have a kind of box in the back.

The original color seemed to be bright blue and was painted some day in brown. So we think that this car was used during Word War II in eastern europe.

I would be very thankful if somebody has further information about this car or body style!

Here are some pictures:

Mart · 02-13-2016, 02:32 PM

An interesting find. Do you have the doors?

I googled "Drauz bodied ford" and found this.

http://www.rmsothebys.com/hf12/hersh...sserie/1054684

Good luck with it.

Mart.

Edit:

I just started reading the linked page.
"Spectacular one-off custom body by Drauz Karosserie of Germany"

Oh well not quite a one off. The other one did sell for big bucks though.

M.

CA Victoria · 02-13-2016, 02:48 PM

Interesting difference, the Concourse car has front hinge doors, opposite of the 32 barnfind. Will be interesting to see if more info pops up.

Charlie Stephens · 02-13-2016, 02:58 PM

This is probably about what it will look like after you wash and wax it. Then you would be afraid to leave in the the supermarket parking lot.

DavidG · 02-13-2016, 03:11 PM

The photos below are from a Ford Werke '32 catalogue and of a restored example I encountered years ago in the Netherlands.

Mart · 02-13-2016, 03:33 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Great pics, David. I can see from the catalog pages the one with the fixed rear window had the doors hinged the other way compared to the auction car. (And the car in Holland). Henry Norberhuis in Tiel, Holland has or had a coachbuilt 32. I can't remember if he had one or two of them. I kinda remember one having a British body, though, so may be barking up the wrong tree in associating Henry possibly with the Dutch cabrio pictured. (Might be a bum steer).

Mart.

Bob C · 02-13-2016, 03:37 PM

Looks like the one in the bottom right corner of the catalog.

Bob

Entlebucher · 02-13-2016, 05:38 PM

Thank you very much! Great Info!
Yes, the car is mostly complete, all parts are there, doors, trim, canopy (or what's left of it), rear box... as far as i can see, i only miss the seats.

It has suicide doors, 3 hinges just like the one in the catalogue DavidG posted, thank you very much!

Hm, but it seems like i found a rare piece... boon and bane?
I hoped that i might find some parts (cloth, wood etc.) in the US. But this might need some (expensive) handcraft.

I trie to get you some better pictures of the car in the next days, if you are interested

Entlebucher · 02-13-2016, 05:45 PM

Interesting Info on the web about Drauz. They built this body style for a few years:

Vanspeed · 02-13-2016, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob C

Looks like the one in the bottom right corner of the catalog.

Bob

It sure does, excellent find!

39topless · 02-13-2016, 09:07 PM

That piece of trim (ornament) on the rear section of the roof will be a wonderful problem.

DavidG · 02-13-2016, 09:39 PM

The external landau irons are functional rather than ornamental.

JWL · 02-14-2016, 06:20 AM

I have no information to offer but I would love to see that car. A wonderful find!! Good luck with your re-construction.

JWL

47Merc · 02-14-2016, 08:02 AM

A neat find.

There is a listing on Drauz coachbuilders in the COACHBUILD.COM web site and it has a section on Fords and quite a few other makes.

http://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=266

rotorwrench · 02-14-2016, 10:11 AM

You are quite fortunate to have the hard to find pieces. This limits the amount of parts that would have to be fabricated from scratch. This is the way the coach builders made them back in the day. They were low production and likely hand fit for each part. Finding or reverse engineering stuff like seat spring boxes is a big job but not impossible to accomplish. Those Fords are among the rarest out there due to the rough times they were built under and the ravages of the war years.

Capn John · 02-14-2016, 12:38 PM

Just yesterday we visited Chris Koch car display in Palm Coast, FL, where he has a 1935 model V8 just like this. Beautiful car to say the least. Best wishes on your project!!!

some additional photos

https://www.google.com/search?q=1932...dWEQAVhwaQM%3A
http://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc...c/1281295.html

Entlebucher · 02-14-2016, 05:16 PM

Thank you again guys!
I did some more research on the internet with your info. Found a hand full of 1932 Drauz-bodys still existing, but none of it had them had suicide doors. Or has somebody other information?

Today we put it to together to find out if there are any parts missing. But it seems like all the parts and most of the wood is still there, i only miss the seats, as far as i can see. The landau irons are still there.

But now i wll have to decide, what to do with it!?
I wanted to use the 1932-chassis for a prewar-hot rod with a 1931 roadster body. But now i have to admit, that the car is a rare piece of history, that i would like to save as a complete car. But i think that the restoration might exceed my budget and my skills

I will try to post better pictures, if you are interested

Mart · 02-14-2016, 06:14 PM

That's quite a dilemma. I can't offer advice one way or the other but good luck with it.

Mart.

HotRodmicky · 02-15-2016, 04:07 AM

Sell it to someone who will restore it and , get another chassis
That is what i would do ...

tinman080 · 02-15-2016, 05:11 AM

It should bring enough money to build several street rods. Is there a european venue such as the large American vehicle auctions?

02-13-2016, 02:28 PM	#1
Entlebucher Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Switzerland Posts: 12	Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Hello At first: please pardon my rusty english... I am a Model-A-Guy from Switzerland and i just have bought a 1932 Model B. I am not very experienced with the 32s and would be very thankful for some help of you guys! I just dragged a 1932 Ford Model B home, the last owner tried to restore it for the last 25 years, and it seems that he failed... We have very little information on the car and i try to find out more about it: It seems to be some kind of "convertible sedan" with a 4-Banger, Model B-head but Model A block. Frame, firewall, grill is model B (1932) but the body is some kind of mystery... The frame has stamps on it "made in germany" and the body was build by "Drauz Karosseriewerke" in Heilbronn, Germany. It is complete and has minor rust. All the electric parts are stamped "made in "Czechoslovakia". Under the roof we also found some jute bag from czechoslovakia. It looks a lot like the B-400 body-style that i found after a google-research, but the windscreen and the rear is a lot different, it seemed to have a kind of box in the back. The original color seemed to be bright blue and was painted some day in brown. So we think that this car was used during Word War II in eastern europe. I would be very thankful if somebody has further information about this car or body style! Here are some pictures:

02-13-2016, 02:32 PM	#2
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 8,795	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? An interesting find. Do you have the doors? I googled "Drauz bodied ford" and found this. http://www.rmsothebys.com/hf12/hersh...sserie/1054684 Good luck with it. Mart. Edit: I just started reading the linked page. "Spectacular one-off custom body by Drauz Karosserie of Germany" Oh well not quite a one off. The other one did sell for big bucks though. M.

02-13-2016, 02:48 PM	#3
CA Victoria Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 2,127	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Interesting difference, the Concourse car has front hinge doors, opposite of the 32 barnfind. Will be interesting to see if more info pops up. __________________ Tim Downtown, Ca

02-13-2016, 03:33 PM	#6
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 8,795	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Great pics, David. I can see from the catalog pages the one with the fixed rear window had the doors hinged the other way compared to the auction car. (And the car in Holland). Henry Norberhuis in Tiel, Holland has or had a coachbuilt 32. I can't remember if he had one or two of them. I kinda remember one having a British body, though, so may be barking up the wrong tree in associating Henry possibly with the Dutch cabrio pictured. (Might be a bum steer). Mart.

02-13-2016, 03:37 PM	#7
Bob C Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: So Cal Posts: 8,807	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Looks like the one in the bottom right corner of the catalog. Bob

02-13-2016, 05:38 PM	#8
Entlebucher Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Switzerland Posts: 12	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Thank you very much! Great Info! Yes, the car is mostly complete, all parts are there, doors, trim, canopy (or what's left of it), rear box... as far as i can see, i only miss the seats. It has suicide doors, 3 hinges just like the one in the catalogue DavidG posted, thank you very much! Hm, but it seems like i found a rare piece... boon and bane? I hoped that i might find some parts (cloth, wood etc.) in the US. But this might need some (expensive) handcraft. I trie to get you some better pictures of the car in the next days, if you are interested

02-13-2016, 05:45 PM	#9
Entlebucher Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Switzerland Posts: 12	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Interesting Info on the web about Drauz. They built this body style for a few years:

02-13-2016, 09:07 PM	#11
39topless Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 1,027	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? That piece of trim (ornament) on the rear section of the roof will be a wonderful problem.

02-13-2016, 09:39 PM	#12
DavidG Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: southeastern Michigan Posts: 10,132	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? The external landau irons are functional rather than ornamental.

02-14-2016, 06:20 AM	#13
JWL Member Emeritus Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fitzgerald, Georgia Posts: 2,204	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? I have no information to offer but I would love to see that car. A wonderful find!! Good luck with your re-construction. JWL

02-14-2016, 08:02 AM	#14
47Merc Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Australia Posts: 362	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? A neat find. There is a listing on Drauz coachbuilders in the COACHBUILD.COM web site and it has a section on Fords and quite a few other makes. http://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=266

02-14-2016, 10:11 AM	#15
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,511	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? You are quite fortunate to have the hard to find pieces. This limits the amount of parts that would have to be fabricated from scratch. This is the way the coach builders made them back in the day. They were low production and likely hand fit for each part. Finding or reverse engineering stuff like seat spring boxes is a big job but not impossible to accomplish. Those Fords are among the rarest out there due to the rough times they were built under and the ravages of the war years.

02-14-2016, 12:38 PM	#16
Capn John Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: BIRTHPLACE OF SPEED, FLORIDA Posts: 531	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Just yesterday we visited Chris Koch car display in Palm Coast, FL, where he has a 1935 model V8 just like this. Beautiful car to say the least. Best wishes on your project!!! some additional photos https://www.google.com/search?q=1932...dWEQAVhwaQM%3A http://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc...c/1281295.html Last edited by Capn John; 02-14-2016 at 01:00 PM.

02-14-2016, 05:16 PM	#17
Entlebucher Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Switzerland Posts: 12	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Thank you again guys! I did some more research on the internet with your info. Found a hand full of 1932 Drauz-bodys still existing, but none of it had them had suicide doors. Or has somebody other information? Today we put it to together to find out if there are any parts missing. But it seems like all the parts and most of the wood is still there, i only miss the seats, as far as i can see. The landau irons are still there. But now i wll have to decide, what to do with it!? I wanted to use the 1932-chassis for a prewar-hot rod with a 1931 roadster body. But now i have to admit, that the car is a rare piece of history, that i would like to save as a complete car. But i think that the restoration might exceed my budget and my skills I will try to post better pictures, if you are interested

02-14-2016, 06:14 PM	#18
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 8,795	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? That's quite a dilemma. I can't offer advice one way or the other but good luck with it. Mart.

02-15-2016, 04:07 AM	#19
HotRodmicky Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Germany Posts: 249	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? Sell it to someone who will restore it and , get another chassis That is what i would do ...

02-15-2016, 05:11 AM	#20
tinman080 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Forest, Virginia Posts: 250	Re: Barnfind: German 1932 Convertible? It should bring enough money to build several street rods. Is there a european venue such as the large American vehicle auctions? __________________ Just Passin' Thru.....Slowly!