Projects My '32 ford coupe found it's way back home after 56 years

I'll be waiting to find out where my 5 window is

 

Very sorry to report that Bunny was a no-show... No idea where this will go.....????

 

That's too bad.

 

Well, after giving this some thought, I guess I had better try again, don't you think ?

 

I just read throuigh the whole thread and now I can't wait to see what Bunny has to say either!

 

Another one of my target Fivers

 

I would

 

I took the bull by the horns yesterday and I called Bunny. He told me that on the morning of our meeting at the coffee shop, he took a tumble at home and cut his head. I guess we can forgive him for standing me up then can't we ? Anyway we chatted for some time and it was very enjoyable ! The meeting will take place next week as he is not up to snuff health wise to meet with me before then. I hope that I will have a report for you soon......Ron
p.s. I started detailing the engine a bit today. I sure am glad to have a heated shop ! Burrrrrrr, it has been cold in Thunder Bay, the last few days.......

 

I just found this thread tonight and read every word of it. Yours is a truly great story, there is something really special about a Deuce that makes us love them so much. It is amazing that you were able to be reunited with your old coupe. Its going to be an amazing feeling when you for that first drive!

There are some amazing stories of guys who have kept their first car, especially when its a Deuce. One of the best is my 91 year old friend Bernie Couch, who has owned his Deuce roadster since 1941! Say prayer for him, he has had some health issues lately.


Bernie received our Mid-West Deuce "Best Deuce" award at the 50th LARS.

Bernie raced his roadster extensively on the dry lakes from 1947 to 1951. Here
he is waiting in line to make a run.

 

I LOVE THE STORY ITS THE BEST -- YOU ARE A - LUCKY - MAN - DO YOU STILL HAVE THE CAR & are you working on it ???? or is it 4/sale

 

Yes Jimmy, I still have the car and can't imagine ever selling it again. As my small shop has been tied up for some time with the exterior refurbishing of the '39, the only thing on the '32 I have been working on is the engine. My friend and painter, Shuan has had some major surgery so the '39 sits idle until he recouperates. I picked up a few years ago , a 350 Vortec that was a factory rebuilt with low miles. I think he used his truck for fishing streams as it looked terrible when I got it. I have this same engine in my '39 and it has been perfect for the way I drive. Thanks !

 

Who doesn't enjoy a good love story with a happy ending.
Congrats, the photo is too cool!

 

Regarding the trail of the 32 Ford Coupe, I think this is what is known to be almost true....
Ron Limbrick bought it from Dominion Motors in May of 1955 for $75.00... (I believe the salesman, Mr. Winters, told me that a fellow who had a small contracting firm....Massaro (maybe) traded it in on a truck....Soon after it came home, I can remember giving it a first class paint job....with a brush LOL. I also rewired it from a wiring dia. that I found in the Dykes Automobile Encyclopaedia at our local library. I think there was one wire running to all of the lights. I didn’t drive it that winter for obvious reasons but when spring of ‘56 came, I dreamed of having more power , better brakes and a heater.
1956
I traded it in on Don Colosimo’s ‘40 Ford Coupe in 1956 at Gibson Ford on Syndicate Ave.
Don said in a phone conversation last evening that he couldn't remember the salesman’s name but from his description I think it would be safe to say it was Len Dickson. 1956
J.U. Calonego bought it from Gibson Ford a short time later in 1956 and stored it in his Quonset Hut on Neebing Ave until.......
1958 J.U. sold it to Murray Robinson in August of 1958 (maybe 1959) for $200. (Murray gave the front axle to Louie Tocheri for his stock car.....unfortunately Louie could not recall this. ) From what I understand, Murray took most of it apart including the B engine which I can vaguely remember it sitting beside his Dads garage 1961
Murray Robinson traded the ‘32 coupe to Lyn MacIntosh for a 1940 Tudor in 1961. Lyn needed the money to fund his first sprint car so.....
1964
Lyn sold the ‘32 to Al Smith and John Laikams in 1964 for $150.00.......Lyn was a professional stock car driver then and had recently crashed his stock car and had no cash to fix it for a race coming up in 3 or 4 days time. Al said“John and I were just “johnny-on-the-spot” when we knocked on his door (on Cuthbertson Street) and asked him if he wanted to sell the Ford sitting in his back yard.”

“John and I brought it to my Aunt’s old garage on Sprague Street and proceeded to work on it over the next few of years. “ 1967
Ian Robinson bought the left front fender from Al Smith in August of 1967 for his coupe project.
2013
John’s son David, passed away tragically in March of 2013 of a lengthy illness. His mother Cheryl Laikams sold the ‘32 back to me in 2013.....


It would be nice to know who traded the ‘32 in at Dominion Motors to buy a truck , as I mentioned in an earlier posting it was Bunny Massaro but I have not talked to him face to face. I hope we can get to do this soon.
Ron

 

How great is it to have the (almost) complete history of your coupe!
I've had mine almost as long (1960) and let it get away (but not very far--to my bro.) in '68 when I went
overseas, then bought it back from him in '76 (a bit worse for wear) when the hobby was on the decline
and the Arabs had us by the short hairs.
I can trace mine back to '49, but beyond that tis a mystery. Hasn't been tagged since '58, and like yours, at
least has been stored properly. The bright side is we have good sheetmetal to work with; unlike most guys
these days......
Race ya to the finish!

 

The Race is on Robb;-)

 

I was out in the shop today poking around the '32 just to see what has to be attended to. The engine and tranny that was installed way back when, needed a bunch of mods that will have to be cleaned up and made to suit the Chevy auto tranny that will be hooked to the Vortec 350. Really looking forward making it right !

 

After thinking about what I saw when I was poking around the frame of the '32, I have decided that to do the job right, the frame will have to go into a jig to be restored. I have the drawings with all dimensions for the frame so that I can build a jig to do the job. I didn't want to build a steel jig table as I will be doing only one frame so I checked with my good friend google and found this image on the Jalopy Journal, made mostly with wood. Since I have the material, I will give this one a try......[ATTACH=full]3132621[/ATTACH]

 

Looks like we are both starting over; wanting to get it right this time! (for the LAST time)
But you are really starting from scratch. Keep us posted re your jig.

 

If you're going to go that deep, I'd call Cornhusker first... might save money and great deal of time in the long run and very little chance of any flaws in the final product... AND you'd likely be back on the road much sooner.
Build it your way but you might consider checking on all viable alternatives.
Good luck no matter what course you follow,
Al

 

Thanks for your input Al ! I really love the challange regarding saving as much of the car as I can but IF it can't be done by me , I will certainly outsource it one way or the other. Oh, by the way, it just might have something to do with the difference between the Canadian and American currency...

 

Such a cool story and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

Ron, id recomend you just remove whats left of the original K member and go with the chassis engineering X member set up, they work really good and are very affordable, then you can just box the front and rear of the frame

 

Thanks for the great pictures and thoughts Jeff !!! I will certainly check it out !

 

"Murray Robinson traded the ‘32 coupe to Lyn MacIntosh for a 1940 Tudor in 1961. Lyn needed the money to fund his first sprint car so.....
1964
Lyn sold the ‘32 to Al Smith and John Laikams in 1964 for $150.00.......Lyn was a professional stock car driver then and had recently crashed his stock car and had no cash to fix it for a race coming up in 3 or 4 days time. Al said“John and I were just “johnny-on-the-spot” when we knocked on his door (on Cuthbertson Street) and asked him if he wanted to sell the Ford sitting in his back yard.”
I received some sad news today....Lyn passed away today after a long bout of the cursed "C". I was hoping to make contact with him but never could get an email address.

 

While my good friend Shaun, the master painter, is off recouperating, away from the '39 project, I have been trying to get the Vortec ready for the day it will find it's new home in the '32 Fiver.... Ron
p.s. still haven't hooked up with Bunny....yet.

 

RON, you are man good luck with her -

 

I recently attended the Detroit Autorama where I was hoping to pick up a distributor for the Vortec but I couldn't find a vendor that had one. Who would have guessed ? On returning back to Canada I found this one on good old eBay.....Another step closer.....

 

Since I mentioned the Detroit Autorama in the above post, I thought I would share with you , my favorite of the show. Nothing to do with the '32 but I just wanted to share.....Ron

 

Great story and a great car!

 

I removed the flat home made firewall from the '32 today and noticed the cowl feet. I have no idea what the shims were that were between the frame and the bottom of the feet , and from what I understand , were used to adjust the doors. Anyone have any knowledge as to what these shims were ? Thanks, Ron
p.s. After some checking, the HAMB has a bunch of good info regarding shiming the '32 body... I should have known.......