1932 Ford 3 Window Coupe Street Rod / Chevy 350
The automobile featured in this article is a 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe Street Rod. Ford models from the 1932's have long been popular as street rods and dragsters. Don't be surprised to see a modified 1932 Ford Coupe power packed with a 510 HP Supercharged 355 cubic inch SB Chevy engine. Our featured car in this article has a 350 cubic inch Chevy V-8 engine.
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| 32 Ford Coupe with 350 Chevy V-8 |
Chevrolet's small block V-8 made a name for itself in automotive engine history. The engine was considered technologically advanced when it was introduced in 1955.
There have been several variations of the Chevy small block V-8 . These highly popular engines have been put into a large variety of vehicles, including race cars, off-road trucks, boats, and custom motorcycles. Today, you'll find many of these in classic Ford hot rods like the one featured here.
A real interesting bit of automotive history is that this small block Chevy V-8 of 1955 was not the first of it's kind. There were several thousand automobiles built with the little known Chevy Series D V-8 between the years 1917-1919. These were 288 cubic inch V-8's that delivered 55 horsepower. The Series D V-8 was also the first overhead valve V-8. It took some 35 years after this initial small scale introduction that the small block Chevy was born. Without a doubt this was the best engine series ever created.
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| A good look at the small block 350 Chevy engine |
The year 1932 found the country entering the Great Depression. Prices were down. The 1932 Ford automobiles were selling new at a price range of about $500 to $650.
Ford’s were mass produced for volume and as such they were essentially targeted to the middle and/or working classes. The high end cars during the early 1930′s either sold at high prices to those who could afford them or they didn’t sell at all. This is why the 1930′s represented the end for many of the higher priced automakers and caused a several key mergers between them.
result.
Every 1932 Ford whether it was a Model B or a Model 18 came with black fenders and wire wheels. The difference between the Model B and the Model 18 was in the engine. The Model 18's had V-8's and the Model B's had four cylinder engines.
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| Dashboard on customized 32 Ford Coupe |
The 1932 Ford Model 18, also known as the Ford V-8, was the world's first low priced V-8 and was the result of a secret project between Henry Ford and a team of his engineers.
This project was spurred by two things. One was the onset of the Great Depression where something new was needed to sell cars but also at a low price. The second reason was simply heavy competition from Chevrolet for the lower priced market. The hope was that a higher powered V-8 at a low price would help sell cars.
The Model 18′s in 1932 were offered to the pubic in some eighteen different body styles. These styles included the 2 door cabriolet, the 2 door roadster, 4 door phaeton, two and four door sedans, four door ‘Woodie’ station wagon, two door Convertible Sedan, two door Victoria, Panel and Sedan Deliveries, 5-window coupe, and the 3-window Deluxe Coupe.
1932 Ford Coupe as Street Rods
As mentioned above, 1932 Ford Coupes make very popular street rods. The frame was light and putting a V-8 into it made for a powerful hot rod or street rod. The most popular Ford hot rod is probably the 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe. These were relatively plentiful and cheap to buy during the 1940's. These were many of the cars that were raced on dirt tracks along the west coast and on the dry lake beds outside Los Angeles.
Most people accept the difference between a street rod and a hot rod depends on the car's parts. If the car has mostly original parts it's referred to as a hot rods. Hot rods are those going back all the way to the 1930's. Street rods are considered those cars built with mostly new and reproduction parts. The car featured in this article is a street rod.
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| Rear view of the customized 32 Ford |
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1937 Buick Coupe / Turbo 455
1937 Chevy Master Deluxe Street Rod
1932 Ford Coupe Kit Cars
The 1932 Ford 3 Window Coupe over the years has been modified into many type street rods. Modifications are all over the place. You'll see many fiberglass kit cars as well. In fact, several companies sell 1932 Ford street rod bodies.
Just to give you an idea of how large the industry is for 1932 Ford Coupe kits, including bodies and body parts, below is a partial list of suppliers as of this writing...
American Street Rods / Maryville, TN
Bear Fiberglass / Prescott, AZ
Brookville Roadster Company / Brookville, OH
Rod Action / Lincoln, NE
(Article and photos copyright Muscle Car Journal)
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