Hot Rods Old 32 Ford Hot Rod gets "Updated"...

Some of you may remember the 32 Fordor I drug home a few years ago. It was raced back in the late 50's with a Desoto Hemi w/ 6-2's. Here it is at Famoso in 1959.





It had been buried in the back corner of my shop for the last several years. A friend moved his RPU project that had been in front of it, so I was finally able to roll it outside for a few pics.







While it was out, I figured it was a good time to undo some of the 1950's hot rod history...

So, out with the old...



How about those split bones?





and in with...some different old...









It will now get shoved back in it's corner...but atleast it's a little better car now. I said I wansn't gonna work on the Fordor until the RPU was done, but it was a fun diversion...

Neal

 

Neal I forgot all about the fourdoor. Glad to see you still have it....JOHN

 

Nice Fordor Neal.

 

Looks like the Makings of another cool '32.

 

Looks great, what sort of steering box is that?

 

37 Hudson/Gemmer III type, converted to fit a 32.

Neal

 

Looks good Neal!

Does it sit lower??

Got pics?

Thanks for the update!

Sam

 

Loving it.

Mart.

 

totally cool old snaps

 

From the looks of the former front end setup it seems the changes you made were much needed and done right this time. Front end looks good now. Man, that thing has a nice body on it.

Don

 

What a lovely old bus, first I've seen of it, it sits real nice!

OB

 

given the cool stance it had, with that dropped axle it would be looking pretty awesome about now with some 4.75/16's on the front....

great distraction, great car..

Cheers,

Drewfus

 

How cool another cool thread that I can look forward to every update. I'll be waiting.

 

Very Cool. Boy I bet the motorcylce guys didn't like getting beat by a Fordor. Check out those split bone mounts.

 

Very nice 32, I don't know if I could roll that sweetie back into the corner. I'd be all over it like a bad suit. Love it!

 

I LOVE Deuce cee - dans !!

Very kool !!

Rat

 

Not often do you get to say "Awesome sedan" but that is an awesome sedan. Stance was sweet before, how much lower do you think the front will be now?

 

Here it is with a front fender on. It is about an inch lower...but it has a real front spring in it now. The old spring had been heated and bent up at each end...so it was pretty flat.







The dropped axle did bring the tire in closer to the center of the fender...which I think looks just right.

Neal

 

I say that's a good spot to store the front end out of the way. I little diversion every now and then doesn't hurt.

 

i love this shot.

 

We know this is gonna be a good one. Heck, it already looks good.

 

ALL of Neals threads should be required reading!

 

Please dont paint it, real patina not fake, what a concept !

 

I love this car!

 

Whats not to like about this car ........ nothing.

I'd say - its done

 

where'd he go?...don't leave us hangin' for another year Neal...

 

cool hot rod

 

Yes, they are stills from a film, and here's some of the back ground that lead to the connection.

I bought the 32 Fordor from Willard Kendig's daughter in 2007, as he was in a rest home and the family had begun to sell off some of his cars to pay medical expenses. Willie was a local legend of sorts, inventor of the Kendig carburetor, which later became the Predator. Here's a little history on Mr Kendig...

http://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2011/19/creator-of-the-kendig-carbuertor-willard-kendig-passes-away

When I got the car, it had slicks on the back, and there were holes torched in the front fenders for headers, so we figured it had been raced. It was last licenced in the early 60's at it still had yellow CA plates...which were replaced by black in 63.

Fast forward to December 2010. My dad got a copy of a DVD that a friend of his put together of local (California Central Valley) drag racing from the 50's through the 70's. It is several hours of footage. That Christmas, my brothers and I sat down to watch it at my dad's place. We were watching and talking about all of the neat cars...then we see a 32 Fordor make a pass. We stopped it and watched it over and over...knowing that 1959 at Famoso was the right time and place for my car to have ran. We could see the fender exit headers, the goofy angled up split wishbones and the bobbed rear frame, so we were pretty sure it was my car.

I took the disc home and watched it frame by frame and snapped the images I posted above. I printed several of the pics and my dad sent them to an old hot rodder that knew Willard. The friend showed the pictures to one of the Boudakian brothers who positively ID's the car as their old race car that had been sold to Willard around 1960. They said that they had run a Desoto hemi with 6-2's. They also said that the car had got rear ended in Fresno sometime before they sold it, thus the bobbed rear frame horns and rear body panel damage. Boudakains went on to race numerous cars after the Fordor, including a Desoto powered Fiat up to BBC Fuel Altered.

Ironically, I had seen the footage 10 years prior, but we were focused on the next car to make a pass, as we believe it to be a friends 41 Merc coupe. I didn't own a 32 Fordor at the time, so I paid no attention to it.

I do plan to put the car on the road pretty much as you see it...just tidying it up like I did the front suspension.

Neal

 

Neal, you gonna leave the holes in the fenders??

Mart.