Chassis No.
18-74786
| Hershey, Pennsylvania
Model 18. 65 bhp, 221 cu. in. L-head V-8 engine, three-speed manual transmission, solid front axle and live rear axle with transverse semi-elliptical leaf spring suspension, and four-wheel mechanical drum brakes. Wheelbase: 106.5 in.
By 1931, dwindling sales of Ford’s Model A prompted many to write off Henry Ford’s car company as being unable to keep up with the times. However, Ford had an ace up his sleeve with the revolutionary V-8 model line, which he developed in secret and introduced on 31 March 1932.
Henry Ford’s insistence on a low-priced V-8 engine, against the four- and six-cylinder competition, was a stroke of engineering and marketing genius. The flathead powered most Ford cars and trucks until its replacement by an overhead-valve V-8 in 1954, but aesthetics were not ignored. The new models featured rounded corners, a slanted windscreen, and a perfectly proportioned radiator shell. Nearly 300,000 of these “baby Lincolns” were sold in 1932, and the DeLuxe Roadster remains a favorite today, although only a small number of the original 6,893 units built have survived in their original form.
The DeLuxe Roadster offered here, finished in the classic Ford color scheme of Washington Blue and Black, is described by an RM Sotheby’s specialist as “a good-quality older restoration that continues to show very well.” It is desirably equipped with six cream-finished wire wheels, including dual side-mounts with polished metal covers; dual Ford-badged fog lights; dual cowl lights; and a driver’s side mirror, as well as wind wings. The rear carries both the fun-loving rumble seat and a luggage rack with a fitted trunk, ideal for the tours for which a Ford V-8 is so much fun. The interior is upholstered in brown leather, with proper rubber floor mats and a simple wood-grained dashboard. Overall, the car’s finishes are well-maintained and would still present well at shows and events. Some 60,471 miles were recorded at the time of cataloguing.
The ’32 Ford is one of a handful of automobiles that can justifiably be referred to as iconic; it is a car that every enthusiast should experience once in his or her lifetime. Undoubtedly the best way to experience it is with the open-air thrills of a DeLuxe Roadster, presented very much as Henry Ford would have known it!
