Thread: 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan Bodies

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I see why you say you can find these things for less that 18K, of course I still did not see any 32's in your gallery...

BTW: I never said they had to be streetrods, they can be rat rods too... I still don't think you can show me any 32 steel for 18K or less...

Dave Brisco

oh for the 32 sedans, theyre off I-5 exit 90 northbound, about 15 miles down. Theyre easy to find, just look for the 50 merc 2dr sedan theyre parked next to. They havent moved in the 5 years since I spotted them.

The only 32 roadster body I knew of for cheap was way screwed up, doors, trunk all welded up and the body had the deck cut out to move the driver farther back. Still it was only 2k and overpriced.

Originally posted by suedeplymouth
I can think of two 32 two door sedans that are just sitting in a field.

Are they for sale?.. What kind of shape and what is the asking price...

Dave Brisco

Theres a house sitting vacant there. Ive tried several times and I cant figure out who own them. I thought maybe about contacting the county to see who owns the land.

The 32's arent complete, theyre rollers but neither has front fenders, hood, grille or flatty. But theyre complete other than that.

daves mouth is watering on the though of a steel sedan or roadster , but i have been on these i know where a ( fill in the blank ) is setting . witch hunt !!!!!!

Well ive personally tried to get these, I dont know how to find out who owns them though.

I think weve all been on goose chases. I went to see a friend of a friends "ford deuce coupe", which turned out to be a 36 chevy 3 window with a small block chevy sitting sideways in the rails where it had been dropped. Actually the mexican guy who owned seemed happier after he learned it wasnt a "damn ford".

Yes there is lots of old tin setting around here too... Same kind of deal though, either the owner does not want to sell, you can't find the owner or it is just an old rotted out body that ain't worth the time to pull out of the field...

Still my original point is that a good 32 body (worth building) is going to cost you a good amount of cash or you will spend that money and a ton of time trying to make an old rusted hulk into a nice rod...

32 Tudor Sedans are not plentiful nor cheap... My original point was simply that these cheap rods are not really all that easy to find and in many cases as kennyd pointed out simply do not exist...

Also, I think when a poster comes here to ask a question we should try to give a helpfull answer if possible and not to spout off about their choice of car or style of build... It looks as though we have hijacked Roger's thread, for that I appologize that was not my intention...

Ratrod, Hotrod or Streetrod... I like them all and they all have a place here on CHR...

Dave Brisco

To quote Jack Nicholson from from "A few Good Men", "Now dont I feel like the f**king a**hole now".

Here ya go Roger, right out of Hemmings.

FORD: 1932 Two-door sedan, bodies only; 1933 coupe five-window body only; 1932 engine; 1932 frame; 1930/31 phaeton doors; 1928/29 phaeton doors; 1937 convertible sedan doors (4); 1931 Model A 180 doors, etc. Contact: Oscar, (859)200-2444; Email: usaway_@hotmail.com, KY

TUDORS: two originals, 1932, 1936, #2 rated, cheap. 574-264-1129, Elkhart, IN; ray@callray.com (Note; I've tried dealing with this guy, he's very hard of hearing and can sometimes seem very confused)

FORD: 1932 sedan 2-door, mint original, uncut body, sell or trade for 32 roadster body. 319-849-1418, IA. (Repo roadster bodies go for around $10-11K so that's probably what he has in mind)

If you look you'll find them (bodies as well as cars), it just takes some patience. And there aren't very many sellers out there anymore who are unformed enough to give something away. In fact, I'd say in a majority of the cases over the past 20 years those that used to be the uninformed are now the misinformed. They tend to believe that these weren't made of steel, but rather gold.

Dave, as for complete cars, especially ones that run, the ads in Hemmings started at $22k and shot up from there.

I'm building a Gibbon-bodied highboy. Exterior finish of the car is excellent for a glass car. Gibbon forms their bodies in pieces, then bonds them together much like an original would be assembled. They do an excellent job of fitting doors, trunks, etc. The doors, trunklid, hinges, latches, etc. are nicely installed and quality stuff. I didn't have to do much with the gaps. The gelcoat they use is very nice also. It's sands well.

That being said, there are some significant problems. This is on my rod only - I don't know if it's endemic. However, if I ever do another glass car, I know some things I'm going to look for.

- The interior window moldings are not good. They don't fit the doors. I had to do major bondo and glass work to get a decent fit. They fit now, but I'm still not sure how I'm going to attach them. The finish inside the windshield around the "A" pillars is really rough. I haven't figured out how I'm going to get the molding to fit - if it will fit at all.

- There are problems with the wood body reinforcing being plumb and square. The package shelf in my '34 is about 1 1/2 " out of level side-to-side. I'm going to have to do some significant mods there. The plywood braces on either side of the trunk are not in line with each other. Fitting a flat 1/4" plywood panel to them for later upholstery took a lot of woodworking. It looks like all of the wood in my rod was placed by eye without any measurement. It goes every which-way.

- The finish on the underside of the body where they joined the body to the floor was simply awful. There is no other way to describe it. All of the joints underneath - i.e. driveshaft tunnel, firewall, etc. were not finished at all. Just gaps where the layers of fiberglass lapped over each other. The joint where the rocker panels joined the floor were equally nasty. Plenty of places for water, dust, dirt and mud to get between the outer body and the floor pan.

- I don't know what's up with the firewall and the fit with the hood. The channels for the cowl lacing are too deep. I tried the original cloth-covered lacing, and the hood sits inside the body edge at least 1/4". It looks like I'm going to have to fill the channel in order to get proper hood fit - or leave the hood sides off.

- There are places in the floor and firewall where there are three or four layers of fiberglass. It makes fitting pedals, steering columns, etc. really interesting.

Bear in mind that I built a chopped, full-fendered Model A sedan. This body is harder to work with than the A ever was.

I'm not trying to knock Gibbon's workmanship, because much of it is excellent. I just wanted to pass on my experience. This will make a nice rod - it's just going to take a lot more work than I thought. Kyle will stand behind his product. However, you have to ask yourself what you're going to do if you're 800 miles away, and start to notice problems once you get into the details. It ain't McDonalds . . . you can't go back and get a replacement Big Mac.

One final note. I would NOT get a dropped floor again. With a P&J chassis with the angled ladder bars, there is little room under the car for ANYTHING. It's possible to make e-brake lines and shifter cables work OK, but exhaust is a major problem to solve. Also, footroom inside the cab is really . . . no, I mean REALLY narrow. If you have a manual trans, I'm not sure how you would get three pedals in there. This is NOT Gibbon's fault - it's the buyer's choice.

If you decide to go with a Gibbon body - or any glass body, try to see one up close and personal at a rod show.

I would just add that my experience with a Gibbon '32 3 window body was exactly the same as HR (with the exception of the wood bracing issues), plus extremely poor fitment of the deck lid. The rest of the exterior body work was pretty much standard panel smoothing of waves. I would add also that our buddy Dan J had a much more favorable experience with his '33 sedan body from Gibbon. So take that for a spectrum view of (in)consistency. Also know that it takes a specially fabricated windshield frame that is unique to the contours of the Gibbon body (not an issue if you're going smoothie with a flush glued windshield).

As a side note to HR, I replaced the "shelf" behind the seat with a triangulated, 1" square tube cross brace for greater rigidity, and to allow the seat to slide back a couple more inches for more leg room. Also, I laid in some coremat on the front floor section ahead of the seat for more rigidity to the floor which is needed. If you have their dropped floor that may be less of an issue.

We've discussed this several times before in other threads. A glass body nearly always requires body work. They're not the simple AMT model assembly process that some people believe. So whether you go steel or glass, the original purchase price is just the ante, you'll still have to feed the pot to keep in the game. Or you pretend you're a "rebel" and blather silliness about being a "real hot rodder" and drive around a lumpy, rusty, unrefined, flat painted ride. While that may be a valid alternative "style", it doesn't give license to criticize people who are desireous of a higher standard.

Well said, Bob. I've done both tin and steel cars, both require a lot of work to get the fit and finish correct. Might want to check out a Downs body, too.

As for the rat rods, they do have a place....but not in my garage. There's plent of room for all kinds of cars, it's just hard for me to understand why attention to fit and finish would detract from performance??

Since the discussion has shifted to steel versus 'glass, can I ask about a comparison of Heritage and Bebops '29 roadster bodies? I admit I wanted a deuce roadster, but looking over the full cost of the project I figured I could do a good job on a '29 for about 20% less money, and besides I can still put a deuce grill on the '29!. Bebops has provided good service so far for the running gear and they may have invented the one-piece floor-with-fenders which Heritage now offers also. The Bebops body is roughly $1000 more than Heritage and if you cost out the body parts of the old Anderson Industries body (now Rod & Race) you still find the Heritage to be the lowest cost. The question is what is the relative quality and fit of parts? I think the one-piece fenders-floor eliminates a lot of fitting and potential misalignment and I have already rejected the Rod&Race '29 mainly because of the smaller firewall indentation. I was told I could not run a HEI distributor on a SBC with the Rod&Race firewall and that together with the probable problems of fitting individual fenders put that body off my list. Now what about steel/wood reinforcing in the Heritage and Bebops 'glass bodies. I have heard disparaging AND complimentary comments about BOTH! Other things being equal the Heritage body is cheaper. Note that both Heritage and Bebops bodies are designed to use the Brookville A frame which has a flat rear crossmember with the u-bulge in the rear crossmember which was first developed for the A-pickup bed, while the Rod&Race body is set up for the stock A rear arch-over crossmember. At present I favor the Heritage body but the Bebops people get pretty huffy about their body being better. Anybody out there with experience building either body? May I also say that at my age a Tudor or Coupe really looks better for a person with a chronic sinus problem than a roadster, but the price of a roadster body is $3000-$5000 less than a closed car, so I will just have to get a good top and only put it down in July.
Further now that I have Dave Seversen back on my good list after accidently putting him on the "ignore" list can I ask Dave or someone with a '28-'29 to tell me the width of the outer edge of the Model A rear fenders so I can calculate the offset for wheels with a 56 1/4" Maverick rear measured from the outer drum surfaces? I am almost to the roller stage but I need wheels.

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

i have used many glass bodies , the worst is street beast cars next is a heritage body . i like the beebop bodies .
i have seen heritage bodies that i would not make a dirt track car out of .
but i have also heard they sold to new pepole and are re making t he molds and trying to make a good car ?