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Old 09-24-2019, 12:49 AM   #21
Mart
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

The overwhelming probability is that it is a 30 or 31 body put onto 32 rails by a previous owner or a shop employed by a previous owner. Whoever did it did a very tidy job and took care to make it look well finished. It is more street rod than hot rod or resto so it probably has a high percentage of non original parts. It might be a Brookville body. It's hard to tell from the photos.

Henry was not making cars in ones and twos but by the thousands. The car in question would not have left the Ford factory with that body/chassis combo.

My educated appraisal. (Ok, guess!)

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Old 09-24-2019, 01:14 AM   #22
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

Who can say what any car could have been as new after 90 years? This is a well worked over hot rod which do not respect originality.
In late '31 & early '32, Ford had the B4 all ready to go [with the all new bodies] but would not release them until the V8 engine was ready for production, hence the April release of the 1932 Fords. So extremely unlikely a Model A roadster was put on a '32 chassis. Cheers.
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Old 09-24-2019, 01:50 AM   #23
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Old 09-24-2019, 01:55 AM   #24
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car


Larger picture of the Ford Roadster in question.
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Old 09-24-2019, 05:59 AM   #25
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

Were does the door overlap?
The quarters look short like a model A. I think brookville did offer a 32 cowl vent on a 30 31 body.

But it is just a streetrod
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Old 09-24-2019, 07:22 AM   #26
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I think you need to shift gears in your thinking that the car 'may' have been one of the first '32 roadsters built. Assuming that the 5000060 number that you cite was that of its original four-cylinder engine, all that tells us is that it was an early '32 four-cylinder engine. (The prefix would have been AB stamped into the frame ahead of the 5000060 and almost certainly on the original title or registration.) The well documented facts are that all of the earliest '32 passenger cars were built with V8 engines with numbers starting with 18-1 and that no four-cylinder passenger cars were produced until April, 1932, the second month of '32 model production.

Further, it is also a well-documented fact that over 40,000 four-cylinder engines had been produced prior to any of them being installed in production vehicles, given the decision taken to await the availability of production versions of V8 engines, and that based on surviving unmodified examples of low-number four-cylinder passenger cars, there is no strong correlation between a low engine number and the rest of the vehicle's chassis and body components. In other words, those 40,000 plus engine/transmission assemblies did not come out of inventory on a first-in, first out basis.

In summary, if that engine number is the car's original, it was a four when built at the very earliest a month after '32 model Job#1, long after many hundreds of V8-powered roadsters had been produced.

Why not just enjoy it for what it is and not try and solve a mystery where judging from the photos, nearly all of the clues have been obliterated.
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Old 09-24-2019, 11:48 AM   #27
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

I like that we're debating the originality of a hot rod haha. It looks like a nicely done A roadster on a deuce frame. I don't care what the title says that's what it is. They really wanted it to look like a deuce with that windshield frame and stanchion setup.

Last edited by Automotive Stud; 09-24-2019 at 12:01 PM.
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Old 09-26-2019, 04:50 PM   #28
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

This is to shed a little more light on the subject. I'm not trying to do anything other than get to the bottom of What is this Car? What I do know is the owner, who has passed away a few months ago was from Stockton, CA and i knew him as a teenager and we all ran around together. I was a flathead guy and he was a four banger guy. That means we didn't agree on too many things, but we were still friends. He bought the car from a local wrecking yard here in town for $25 in 1951 and raced it in 1952 at El Mirage Dry Lakes. The car to this day has a plaque on the dash from the SCTA stating that on May of 1952 at El Mirage he was clocked at 123.52 MPH. The hand pump for pressurizing the fuel tank and a Fire Extingusher are still mounted in the car.
I was disapointed when i discovered that it wasn't a '32 full fendeed roadster as it was predented to me. It is a '32 frame, fenders, fuel tank, grill, dash, cowl vent, windshield and pretty much everything but the body from the back of the body to the front of the cowl. Neverless, it is a beautiful car and one to be proud of, even though it isn't a complete '32.
At least it's all Henry except for the engine, transmillion, rear end wheels and a few other things, but it is a Henry body.
I went up there thinking I was going to get a flathead with Ardun heads and wound up with a 383 Stroker, 350 and an Olds rearend.
It's a nice Hot Rod and nothing to be ashamed to drive anywhere.
By the way, the Vin# is 18500055 so it started out as a V8 and not a four banger as someone stated.
I have some pictures but before i loose this post i'm sending it and the pictures are coming.
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Old 09-26-2019, 05:36 PM   #29
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

You previously did not mention the prefix. Now that we know that it is '18", that's one more flaw in the story as 18-500055 is the number of an engine produced in September, 1933.

Last edited by DavidG; 09-26-2019 at 08:10 PM.
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Old 09-26-2019, 05:40 PM   #30
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

The 32 chassis could have been out from under any body style not necessarily a roadster.

My first guess before pictures were post was correct a Model A on a 32 frame.

Seen plenty of timing tags attached to cars too
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Old 09-26-2019, 06:52 PM   #31
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

Time can be hard to understand, but please remember that 1951 was 19 years after 1932. A lot could have happened in those intervening 19 years. Face it; you're chasing rainbows.
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Old 09-26-2019, 06:55 PM   #32
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

You guys are a hard bunch to convince that there isn't any hanky panky going on. The guy that bought and owned the car since 1951 has passed away and his present wife doesn't know anything about cars. The people that really know anything about this car are all dead. What happened between 1951 and 2019 is anyones guess other than he drove this car a lot. As i stated before he had a shop in Sparks,NV, Adams Custom Engine and he did a lot of frame off restorations plus he was the mechanic for The Tahoe Miss hydroplane boat back in the '60's or 1970's. He also was licensed to work in the pits at Indy and had the papers to prove it. I sure would like to have the opertuinity to question him and get to the bottom of it but not going to happen so case closed.
It's been nice chating with you all.
Later,


Jim
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Old 09-27-2019, 04:02 AM   #33
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

If the bodywork is near perfect inside and out then it might be a Brookville body. The previous owner sounds like a highly talented guy and perfectly capable of building a very nice A on 32 rails. Nothing wrong with an a on 32 rails, I have one myself.

If it was presented to you as a 32 roadster and you didn't realise until after you bought it that it was not a 32 then you must be disappointed.

The one little glimmer of hope that it may have left Ford's factory like that is, unfortunately unfounded. It would have been nice if there was a batch of 10 roadsters built like that and you had one, but unfortunately that never happened.

It is, however a very nice A on 32 rails and a car you can be proud of. Enjoy it for what it is. you can take reassurance in the fact that the fella that built it knew what he was doing. That isn't always the case.

Mart.
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Old 09-27-2019, 07:15 AM   #34
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmerson View Post
You guys are a hard bunch to convince that there isn't any hanky panky going on. The guy that bought and owned the car since 1951 has passed away and his present wife doesn't know anything about cars. The people that really know anything about this car are all dead. What happened between 1951 and 2019 is anyones guess other than he drove this car a lot. As i stated before he had a shop in Sparks,NV, Adams Custom Engine and he did a lot of frame off restorations plus he was the mechanic for The Tahoe Miss hydroplane boat back in the '60's or 1970's. He also was licensed to work in the pits at Indy and had the papers to prove it. I sure would like to have the opertuinity to question him and get to the bottom of it but not going to happen so case closed.
It's been nice chating with you all.
Later,




Jim

Jmerson
It's funny how you come to a public forum AND ASK for opinions AND when you don't get the answers you "supposedly" are seeking, snatch your toys up and pout your way out!!! You have gotten answers from arguably "THE MOST" knowledgeable on 32 Fords and you still don't want to accept the "fact" that at face value, it appears you bought a story......and a 32 Roadster Hot Rod. You remind me of the story of George Washington's axe......Its had two new heads and three new handles put on it BUT its George Washington's Axe!" This on top of the fact you come to a site who's "main" focus is "originality
" asking questions about a car that has been altered, messaged, cut, replaced and changed from "original"!!!! IF you are truly mad and have left.....good riddance!!! IF you are still following your post......let it go.....lighten up and just enjoy the car you bought!!!!
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Old 09-27-2019, 03:51 PM   #35
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

Oh! rockfla has a bad attitude. I liked Mart's answer a lot better.
I started this thread to see if anyone had ever seen different years bodies on current years cars? If you look at the original post it reads, My question, Has anyone ever seen or heard of a '32 roadster having a '31 body?? Now i'm not asking for an OPINION, i'm asking for a fact, had anyone ever seen an earllier years body on a later years car. Simple a yes or no question. I don't mind all of the remarks but don't accuse me of pouting or running away because i don't like the answers. I'm accountable for what i say but not for what others say or think about me. I'm not going anwhere and i have a nice shop and live in Stockton,CA and you all are welcome to come bye and check me out anytime you want.
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Old 09-27-2019, 04:13 PM   #36
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

I can't tell because of the pictures, but the '32 roadster quarters have, for the lack of better words, "flares" around the rear fenders. Coupes don't have them and your car doesn't have them. I'm thinking that the rear quarters are Model A. Can you post some interior shots of the trunk area and the fender well behind the tire. Even the proportions of the slope of the trunk area looks different than '32.
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Old 09-27-2019, 04:25 PM   #37
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

Yes. I have seen tons of 32 ford frames with Model A bodys.
Brooksville has a roller package you can buy this way.


Quote:
Originally Posted by jmerson View Post
Oh! rockfla has a bad attitude. I liked Mart's answer a lot better.
I started this thread to see if anyone had ever seen different years bodies on current years cars? If you look at the original post it reads, My question, Has anyone ever seen or heard of a '32 roadster having a '31 body?? Now i'm not asking for an OPINION, i'm asking for a fact, had anyone ever seen an earllier years body on a later years car. Simple a yes or no question. I don't mind all of the remarks but don't accuse me of pouting or running away because i don't like the answers. I'm accountable for what i say but not for what others say or think about me. I'm not going anwhere and i have a nice shop and live in Stockton,CA and you all are welcome to come bye and check me out anytime you want.
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Old 09-27-2019, 04:30 PM   #38
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

jmerson, you came to the right place for your question. Several folks that frequent this site literally wrote the book(s) on these years of Ford vehicles. They have years of hands on experience and have spent many hours researching original Ford documentation, engineering releases, etc. So you can be sure you are getting the best inputs there are to be had. Now, this is an open forum and anyone can post on it, so you do need to sort the facts from the opinions. It's just the nature of these type of formats.
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Old 09-27-2019, 07:23 PM   #39
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

There is also something going on with the front end of the frame. It looks like the frame horns are cut off and the bumper brackets are too far back, with the bumper touching the tips of the fenders.
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Old 10-02-2019, 09:33 AM   #40
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Default Re: Last years body on this years car

WOW...that is a beautiful car...nice rod!!
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