Interesting Alternatives to the 32 Ford!

Let’s say you’ve been saving for a few years, and really have your heart set on building an original Henry Ford steel ’32 Coupe or Roadster… Nice choice. But then you hit the classifieds and get some serious sticker shock at what a rotted-out body sitting on some bent rails with a frozen Flattie will cost you. Hmmm. So what cool coupe or open car from the late 20s/ early 30s can you get for about the same money as a Deuce? Leaving aside the more common Chevy or Plymouth alternatives, here’s some very unique offerings from the era that are about the same size as a Ford, wouldn’t be a bad start for a hot rod, and probably wouldn’t break the bank either! Unlike the big luxury cars from Packard, Duesenberg, or Auburn, these were all entry-level cars made in reasonable numbers, and if you look around long enough you might find some bargains out there.

1930-32 Buick Series 40 & 50: The smallest Buick of the line was also the most dashing. A little behind the times with wooden wheels, the Buick was still a dashing looking car build with GM quality and an OHV Six.

1929-31 DeSoto: Introduced for ’29 as the middle child between Plymouth and Chrysler, the DeSotos were nicely equipped and a good seller in the early years too.

1929-31 Durant: One of the many Detroit car companies killed by the Great Depression, Durant got too big, too fast. These are a little hard to find now, especially the later models, but they don’t

1930-32 Essex: Introduced by Hudson to compete with Ford and Chevrolet models, the Essex featured all steel bodies and very straightforward designs.

1928-31 Graham-Paige: Another storied Detroit brand that was mortally wounded by the Great Depression and killed off by the start of WWII, these well-built cars were offered in both 6 and 8 cylinder engines and five wheelbases! The shortest 612 (6 cly + 112′ wb) and 615 models were the most compact of the bunch.

1928-32 Hupmobile: The Century Six and Century Eight models were fast and sharp looking for the period. Later, Hup’s ship actually went down with Graham-Paige, but their swan song was the very futuristic Skylark.

My one caveat: Most if not all of these manufacturers used parallel leaf suspension front and rear. Thrifty Mr. Ford went for a  transverse spring set up front and rear, which is what makes them so easy for us to lower and keeps the front ends clean with no springs hanging out beyond the grille!