Hot Rods Brookville -vs.- Wescott 1932 roadster body

Hi, a little back story, I have a 32 roadster I built with a no name body, works fine but I want a nicer car. When I built my roadster, I was on a tight budget and I used a 302 & C4 that I already had, a painted superbell front end, the body has hidden hinges and smooth cowl, etc. not stuff I really wanted, but got a good deal on. I'm older, wiser, and a little more stable financially now, and I want a roadster exactly how I want it. Stock hinges, latches, cowl vent, top brackets, etc., full hood, highboy with a chrome dropped axle, hairpins, polished Wilwood discs on all 4 corners, healthy Small block and Tremec TKO, etc. I have tried to find a done car for over a year that's close enough, but everything in my price range isn't what I want, and if it's close, it's still an automatic. So, I talked myself into Selling my car for about what I have in the parts, and buying a new Brookville body and building another car just how I want it. Then, two days ago, I was offered a non-running Wescott bodied roadster from a friends estate for a price I could not turn down. The car is close to running, and was before, but it's nothing like I want chassis wise: flathead& stock trans, banjo rear, mechanical brakes, etc. Cool stuff, but not what I want for my keeper roadster. The body is as stock as a glass one can look, just like I want, and I have always thought that Wescotts were the best of the glass cars.

Should I abandon my Brookville Idea and use the one I now own after I sell the chassis out from under it ? It seems like the Brookville bodies need some bracing and the Wescotts don't ? I know Steel is "better", but there both fakes when it comes down to it! , so ? I have been saving up parts and I will use an original hood & grill on either car. Help me out with some pluses & minuses ! The plus of the glass car, is that I already own it and have sentimental ties to it, doesn't need any extra bracing or support. But, with a new Brookville I can use the stock firewall I have, and it's steel.

I have a Learon Bonney interior and top that would fit either body(already fit to the Wescott body, partially) and either would get painted.

I'm not overly concerned with a small difference in money, I think I could sell the Wescott body used and be within $4000 difference of buying the new Brookville, but the finnished car would for sure be worth the extra $4000 when done, if it had a steel body (not that it would ever be sold) so it's a wash financially.

any ideas ?

 

At the end of the day I'd prefer steel.

 

You know what they say; "Steel is real" or "It could have been a bath tub" .. I'd go for the steel body even though it also is a reproduction.. Personally, I'd go for the original steel Model A....

 

If the frame is wrong, engine,transmission rear axle just sell the car and start from scratch.

I had a Westcott '32 roadster and everyone thought it was steel, and the only way to tell was a magnet. HRP

 

I think you will build a 3rd car eventually if you settle for fiberglass now....because you said "abandon my idea of Brookville". That hints that you are once again, settling for less than what you really want? IDK, it's really your call, it's not our preferences that matter.

.

 

I might add, if I ever build another roadster and can't afford a genuine Henry body I woild opt for a Brookville body, the Westcott body is in my opinion the best & most accurate reproduction fiberglass body but at the end of the day it is fiberglass.

You are the one that has to be content with your decision. HRP

 

Do you have a stock frame and title matching the frame numbers or are you going with an after market frame. The glass body could get you in trouble if you try to use a original title or claim it's a 32 Ford for insurance purposes. A glass body with a after market frame with a assembled vehicle title would probably clear this problem. I've been on E bay and seen some beautiful cars and wondered why the asking price is about 1/3 of what it should be selling for. I almost always find it has a glass body.

 

Of course I'm biased as mine is a Wescott and in my mind that's a plus.
I never got caught up in the whole fiberglass negativity and I'm betting a lot of others didn't either prior to the HAMB and/or the current traditional trend. Although there is a segment that refers to the Brookville bodies in the same light as fiberglass bodies and that is; they are "fakes".
Honestly, in the world of hot rods, I don't think the word fake even fits in, at least not the way it it is applied to cars by the gennie/restoration crowd.
I guess I will admit to some participation in the traditional trend because if I had to do it over I would buy the stock appearing Wescott body as you mentioned with external hinges, working cowl, etc. Mine is what Wescott calls the "California Hiboy Special".
Nowadays I find that the name Wescott rolls off MY tongue smoother than it would if I had to answer the question everytime someone asks "whose body is that" with Brookville.
Maybe I'm alone but to me it just seems like Brookville has become such a buzzword in this whole deal we call hot rodding.
I'm proud of my Wescott body, not just because they are a local builder with a top notch reputation but also because Dee Wescott actually had a hand in a couple custom items on it and he also loaded it with his forklift when I picked it up.

 

Here is great article on the subject from fellow HAMB member Lynn Pew.

https://www.pewsplace.com/fridays-fiberglass/

 

I have a FG bodied '29 A that is a faithful reproduction made by the now defunct company. Folks seldom ask and if & when they do, my answer is "I can guarantee that this body is 100% rust free" ....and always will be
I'm not the one that has to be satisfied though, you are. Sounds like what you just acquired needs to be turned for a buck along with what you have to fund what you think you really want.
You ask....

 

Good article. If i'm not mistaken a few of the "75 most influential 32 Fords" were fiberglass. I really like both bodies for different reasons, hence the thread. If I were spending 10 grand and both were new in front of me, I would buy steel. BUT This glass car belonged to a friend, has been to Bonneville, driven a bunch, drag raced, and was even the subject of a painting by a pretty well known artist. No matter what, I will use the interior out of the car, plus the top, the grill, and hood so it will live on either way. I knew Dee Wescott and thought very highly of him, a pioneer in the industry and was able to give thousands of people their dream, that might have been out of reach otherwise.

But, "Steel is real"..........But a Brookville car isn't really any more "1932" than a Wescott...? They are both replicas in the end. and thats OK. my biggest hangup with the glass body is the stigma other people have, which I guess shouln't bother me. I never talk down to somebody with a glass car, but some people do.

 

Fake is not really even the right word. They are reproductions, in either metal (Brookville) or composite (Wescott.) Accuracy to factory original can be debated, but so can aftermarket engine mounts and trim kits. But they are real bodies, not fake.

Fake is something that is not real, like a fake blower or fake QC on the back of a 9." Totally without function.

To the OP, as others have said, it's really up to you, but if it's a keeper and possibly your last, do what you want to do in your heart of hearts.

 

I totally agree, it wasn't my use of the word but others, many others.

 

I understand that, I was furthering your point.

 

And to further this statement; back in the day the list of Wescott buyers included the "who's who" of professional car builders.

Two things that seperate the Brookville builders and the guys that salvage those Henry bodies they drag out of a river bed are mad skills and balls big enough to require a wheelbarrow.

 

It’s terrible to say because there are 1000s of nicer glass cars , than my car will ever be . But I always say “ One day there will one more glass car than there will be a buyer for it , and that means it’s worth nothing .” What fires me up is when you see a glass car For Sale , with OEM title , and the owner advertises it as a real car . Well it’s not a real car ! It’s a glorified kit car . As I said many are centuries ahead of my car’s quality , but this one is mine and it’s real Henry Steel , good or bad it’s 87 years old , build by a Hot Rodder with out a credit card at home in a basement .

 

"I'm not overly concerned with a small difference in money, I think I could sell the Wescott body used and be within $4000 difference of buying the new Brookville, but the finnished car would for sure be worth the extra $4000 when done, if it had a steel body (not that it would ever be sold) so it's a wash financially."

Today and in the future the value of all our toys may be worth almost nothing near what we have purchased them for or built them. I don't know your age but around my neck of the woods prices are not heading where everyone who owns a 32 wants it too. It's not just 32's but most everything and roadsters which were the best are not doing as well as coupes/sedans from what I see. It's not what a guy is asking, but what it is really selling for.

If it were me, do exactly what YOU want. Make it your way and keep it. I've got way too much in my s--t an and spare engines that should have been sold off about 10 years ago. Good Luck

 

deathrowdave don't hurt your arm patting yourself on the back. !!! ALL GLASS CARS ARE NOT KIT CARS. If you buy a body and buy & make parts for it doesn't make it a kit car.
Yeah I'm a little perturbed as I happen to have a 32 from Mr.Downs & 1 34 from Mr Dwight Bond. both cars have many of my inventions & yes I have bought stuff from Bob Drake & Macs. I wonder if you have any aftermarket parts on your real Henry. Oh by the way I'm as old as your car & still work on them. Just incase you are wondering I also have a real Henry 34 5 W coupe. Enjoy your car Dave as I do mine. The 32 has 85,000 miles on it. I don't have too many on the 34 roadster as I just installed my newly rebuilt engine it is a 24 stud instead of the 21 stud I removed.
Plenty guys try to sneak a rub, feel under the edges of the fenders. Why don't they just ask me ,I don't mind telling they that it is one of the few glass car bodies the either Mr Downs or Mr Bond made. What does get me is guys that put a glass or steel car down. I often wonder what They made & drive.
Enough of this I'm done. Thanks for listening.
Burn Out Bob

 

If your hot rod 32 has an original body and frame,with no patch panels and 100% original paint, you are very lucky. If not, you are driving a compromised 32 hot rod! Welcome to the club.

 

Worked on Henry steel, Brookville steel and glass
All have flaws
I like welding more than glass work. Less irritation
I like clean Brookville steel over rotted, butchered OE steel
What was the point?
Lost my train of thought
The only 32 parts I have is a hood latch

 

Like some of you guys I've been doing this over 50 years. I've always felt voicing a Knock on any special interest vehicle was just the person Flapping there Pie Hole trying to be Superior. I've always said "they all look good at 60 M.P.H". That's good enough for me. I seldom ever do static Car Shows. I do drive by's, sometimes I park outside and do a walk through. I always avoid the Power Parkers knowing I can't have a productive conversation with anyone that thinks there Car should impress me. There car might but there attitude turns me off. Hot Rods are for Fun and if you think Fiberglass or Steel makes you someone, Well your really just kidding yourself. If you have to ask or feel to know what it is that should tell you it don't matter, it's good enough.
The Wizzard

 

Oy Gevalt! Dumbest thread on the HAMB in a while. Reminds me of that commercial, "my dogs better than your dog..."
Somebody build something and take some damn pictures.

 

Build the car you want. It doesn't sound like the Wescott is the one you really want. Gene

 

My roadsters a Brookville but I'm seriously considering a glass 34 3 window...

 

Tough decision. The only 'glass cars I've had were a few corvettes and I loved them. As I look back on it, I'd have been money ahead to buy a 'glass 3 window coupe body than piecing together my steel 34, 5 window.. Each has it's merits. Good luck with your choice!

 

Seem like you have a sentimental attachment to the Wescott car from your friend. I say go with it. Memories and history make things interesting. Wescott is a nice body.

 

That was my thought exactly. No matter what a good deal the Wescott car is you will always have that Nagging it isn't steel biz floating around in your head. Hell right now If I had the cash I'd run down and beat you out of that car or beat you to it. The Glass doesn't bother me and I knew Dee 30+ years ago and would still love to have one of their 32 tubs and run it as a highboy. At my age I would rather have a hot rod I can jump in and drive and drive a lot than worry about the mouthbreathers badmouthing it because it doesn't rust well.

 

All glass vs steel aside, what (if any) technical / strength / build-ability merits does one have over the other, speaking specifically of a Wescott vs Brookville

 

I can't speak for the B-ville bodies, but the steel inner structure of the Wescott bodies is another one of Dees' pioneering moves within the fiberglass industry.
As a side note; an old aquaintance of mine welded a lot of those steel structures for Wescotts.

 

The memories of your friend and the Wescott body vs. the one Brookville will stamp out next Thursday, do need to be thought about. I bought a Wescott Roadster body around 1975 from a local dealer for $2,200. Sold it so I could buy a '29 Packard from a close friends estate. That had an original cowl and all the wood, doors and rear sheet metal was new. Two years later that was sold in 1983 so I could buy my 1912 T, the very first old car I was given a ride in. Keepers have meanings that only matter to the owners. Bob