’32 Ford Celebrates 75 Years
Hagerty’s 2006 Hobby Survey reveals that the ’32 Ford roadster is the #1 vehicle car collectors would bring back for remodel, with 71 percent of those very or extremely interested in buying a vintage remake. More than 10,000 respondents took the survey.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents are at least somewhat interested in buying a model or style of car that is inspired by previous eras of car manufacturing. The Deuce roadster was top pick for buying a vintage remake, but what came in at second and third? The Dodge Challenger came in second and the Shelby GT500 came in third. Obviously one quality respondents like in their cars is speed!
Nicknamed the ‘Deuce,’ the ’32 Ford became the hot rod to have, a symbol of youthful automotive enthusiasm. The ’32 offered the first mass-produced V-8 engine – called the “flathead.” Public interest in the car seemed to be part and parcel to the 78 mph top speed. The ‘32 Ford’s style and performance made it the foundation for vehicle personalization and the automotive aftermarket of the day.
There were two versions of the ’32 – a four-cylinder and the V-8 flathead. They came in two body styles, the “5-window” (two door windows, two quarter panel windows and the rear window), and the rare “3-window” Deluxe Coupe that featured front opening doors, also known as Suicide Doors. The Deuce was called Model 18, the “1” standing for “first” and the “8” for V-8. The less popular Model B was the four-cylinder model, a refined version of the four-cylinder Model A.
The ’32 Model 18 was the first successful V-8 in a low-priced car. The 65-hp engine was used in some models costing a meager $460. There were 14 different body styles – like the roadster, coupe, sport coupe, tudor and fordor sedans, cabriolet and phaeton. Prices ranged from $460 for the roadster and the coupe’s $490 to the $650 convertible sedan. Production totals numbered only 520 for the roadster and 28,904 for the two-door coupe. Nowadays, the roadster and coupe are notable, as these body styles are more used in making the models into streetrods.
Both ’32 Models B and 18 had full-crown fenders front and rear, a clean-looking slightly V’d radiator shell with a neat little dip on top, a curved headlight bar (with a V-8 emblem on V-8s) and a vertically louvered hood. The interior of the ’32 featured a dashboard with all instruments and controls housed within an engine-turned oval in the center of a wood-grained panel.
For information on the ’32 Deuce and the events surrounding the 75th anniversary, visit www.yearofthedeuce.com.
Hagerty conducts an annual hobby survey to gain information about the collector vehicle market to better understand our collector friends, market trends and lifestyle interests.
