Thread: FALSE ALARM!! I went on a wild goose chase !

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Latest updates on the investigation regarding the whereabouts of one 1932 Ford Hiboy Roadster now belonging to Faith Granger. Sherlock tripple and quadrupple checked all data and determined there were too many lose ends, enough to give the very sharp detective "reasonnable doubts" as to the identity of the car.

The detective, who's dashing organizational skills are only surpassed by his uncanning fifth sense, decided to back track and go back to the pivot owner who was the last Minnessotta person to lay hands on the car before it was shipped to Wisconsin.

After much probing (including one long, tedious telephone torture session during which the owner finally confessed ) , Sherlock was able to get the owner to look AGAIN in his many records and actually locate the photo of above mentioned vehicle, as well as the REAL seller's name.

And as suspected: He had previously given Sherlock innacurate information and the God D*** car on the cover of Rod and Custom is NOT the roadster Sherlock was tracking ( well there goes one week worth of hard work for absolutely NOTHING )

Now a new lead is uncovered, a new path lays before Sherlock's feet and many new phone calls and conversations are to be scheduled. It is expected that the roadster will probably turn out to have humble beginnings, and no claim to fame (well at least not yet ). But rest assure that Faith loves her Hiboy just the same! (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder)

I'll keep you posted here as to what I find out now...

Like I said before ....
in this thread ...

Originally Posted by Deuce

Do not put a lot of faith in the stories and tales you hear. People LIE ...
Lots of folks buy/sell/trade cars like some folks change clothes ... details get lost or misplaced. Time also affects the memory. With over 25 years of owners and the changes in the car and the lives of the many previous owners ... anything can happen.

IMHO ... it does not really matter where it has been or what it has done ... Nor the DNA of the parts ( But at least it does have some original Henry Ford 1932 Ford parts DNA ... a lot of " so-called 32 roadsters do not ) ...

What really matters is it is yours and you are enjoying it. Trying to improve it and make it yours ...

The frame rails will be 75 years old next year ...
A lot of the other parts are as old ... or close to it.
It is fun to track down the history of a car ( I have talked to the man who bought my 32 Roadster off a Los Angeles Wilkshire Blvd. car lot in 1941 ) but my car has only had 4 owners since 1941 ... making it easier to track and verify. I saw it in 1969 and bought it a few years later.

Good luck on your quest ...

Randy

AS I posted on the other thread:

There is still a slight chance the car on the rod and custom cover may be my car.

because some of the details did fit. For exemple, the way the horn and spreader bar are completely boxed on both my rod and Terry's rod. (remember that the cover was shot probably in 1972 and Terry bought that cabriolet - minus body - in 1979, so many things had changed on it already since the photo - like the drilled axle for ex).

Also terry's roadster had a home made 1 inch squarish steel bar going under the inner lip of the dash - curving along with the curve of the dash - AND I HAVE THE SAME BAR ON MINE. Do fiberglass bodies usually come with one? I asked Wescott today and they said NO... But I'm not sure....

Last but not least terry described his steering wheel as a 54 CHEVROLET TRUCK - which is exactely what I have on my roadster - and I have not seen a steering wheel like this on any other roadsters around here... Seems an uncommon choice - so what are the odds both his and mine have it?

In short there is still a small chance that car may be my car, but I now have another lead to check, one that seems more likely. So I'll let you guys know what transpires.

Faith: I think you are on the right track in determining if the cars are the same or not. The boxed front horns may not be significant, as this was and is a common modification, but the dash support and steering wheel seems unique.

Even though various builders have added their own signature to the car over all these years and owners, some elements are usually retained. I don't know how detailed the pictures you have are, but some of the things you may want to look at are :

1) How the front end is set up. Look at the axle curvature on the ends where it was dropped. Also look at the shackles and perches, and how the shocks mount top and bottom.

2) How are the wishbones split, and do they mount in a similar fashion. Most remodeling jobs leave this area alone unless there is some problem that needs to be fixed.

3) See how the steering box mounts and the way the shaft goes into it. I forget if your car has vega style cross steering or traditional ford pickup style.

There should be a hundred little touches that are specific to your car and that would have probably remained even though other elements were changed over the years.

Don

Not ever wanting to do a genealogical study of a car before....

Is it possible to take the VIN and trace various owners back? You would need a friend (that's an oxymoron) at the DMV who would be willing to run the number. Even if it went out then back in Calif., there is still some sort of a paper trail for who ever registered the car. Some of the real old stuff may not be computerized but at least you should be able to go back 20 years or so.

My feelings on people that sell cars and car parts l-i-e thru their teeth, all present company and thread readers excepted, of course

Originally Posted by Irelands child

My feelings on people that sell cars and car parts l-i-e thru their teeth, all present company and thread readers excepted, of course

The sad truth is ... a LOT of folks .. DO ... just buy and sell the cars for a profit ... and will LIE to enhance it's value or LIE to cover up some things. Then some sellers just do not know. Others kept poor records ...

I know a man who has owned over a 100 pre 49 vehicles in the past 20 years. He buys them, patches them up or gets bored with them and then sells them. He only has one that he has kept all the years ... A lot of the ones he had ... he slipped the title ... ( never had it registered in his name ) and sold the car to the next buyer off the open bill of sale he got when he bought it. Sometimes he removes the GOOD STUFF and then sells the vehicle ... He is basically a used car dealer for old cars ... without a dealers license.

When you go to a major rod event ... especially from Mid-Summer on ... a good 1/4 of the cars there are for sale ... at Daytona Thanksgiving event ... the percentage is even higher. A lot of folks BUY IN ... did not build the car ... and now want out. They bought someone elses problems and want to unload it.

A lot of Roadster's suffer this fate ... of being sold again and again.
And can be a real good well built car. Folks see a roadster and think ... WOW ... what a lot of fun ... and then the ... MRS ... gets caught in the rain. They get sunburned a few times. The wind bothers them at 75 MPH. The cool weather comes or the newness and novelty wears off and the roadster is up for sale. Roadsters are a lot like Harleys are now. Folks bought into the idea without evering considering the weather and the upkeep.




Yes ... I have been known to own and ride a few Harleys too ...