Just got off the phone with a friend that did an inspection on a very poorly built '32 5Window, he thinks it was a 1970's build. Car is crap, sounds like it is on a T bucket frame made out of Model A Ford rails, the body should be saved. No photos but it has no firewall, and needs body patches, Lord only know what is under the bondo. Bad channel job, wheels wells are shot too. Has window garnish mouldings and a good deck lit. Starting price is $8,000. I told him from his discription I'd start at $2,000. Anyone want to post a photo and price of other bodies in this condition? Opinions are always welcomed. I'm going to ask about getting a look at it.
I saw one sell here in upstate New York a couple years ago in just a couple hours at a swap meet for about $12,500. It had no floor and needed rust work in the cowl, but wasn't bad otherwise. Came with a grille and I think some so-so fenders. Given the market's kind of down $8000 is probably on the high side for one so rough, but unless it looks like it's been chewed up and spit out by a giant, I think $2000 is on the unrealistic side. With '32 stuff it's hard to say, it literally depends on how bad someone wants it when the time comes to sell it.
I just gave Plowboy asking price on the '32 5W he was selling. It's rough as shit but it's my dream car and it's the only way I can afford to get one. I had a guy tell me that I was fucking stupid for paying $5000 for a shitty body because I could pay $12,000-$15,000 for a nice one and be way a head of the game. The truth of the matter is this though, I don't have 12-15 but I did have 5 so now I own my dream car. It may take a couple years to get into shape and I'll probably be into it for twice what I paid after it's done but right now these are my means and I think I made the right choice. Only time will tell but I think that the opportunity to own one for what you can afford is seldom. $2000 would be great but I wouldn't bark at $8,000 if it were in better shape then mine.
2000...are you serious. You seen what garnish moldings and decklids bring.... 5000 for a roached out 32 body is very common...almost the norm. If you get it any cheeper...your stoked
But then again, I am you brash and hopeful as well as being pretty naive when it comes to Hot Rods so I may be a sucker.
Jeffrey, thanks for the photos, that looks like a good deal, rough maybe but you can see what you are starting with. The body that was discribed to me was "built" at one time and all types of sins are covered I'm sure. My '32 Vicky body was rougher than your 5Window, and I often wonder if someone is busy fixing it.
I paid 10 granola bars for this project.... Could have sold the frame for 5000...but I traded another hambr the TCI roller for a stock 32 chassis with 36 running gear....and a shit ton of cool parts....we were both happy. You could not have a car with more bondo on it...Im NOT joking...but it is solid for needing every patch pannel...and the chop sucks too...and theres a big ass hole above my passenger A pilar...and it was rear ended once...and had no garnish moldings... and someone shaved the drip rails....Im an idiot....
I've seen prices all over the place for clapped out bodies...BUT, that being said it's pretty common to see the 5-8K range for something similar to what JeffreyJames posted. At least to me anyway. I have two that are a little better than what JJ bought, but not by much. One is just a body, deck, doors and dash and i paid a touch more than what he paid. The other is a roller on a beat 32 frame, missing the deck and dash..i paid a LOT more for that one. Neither had firewalls, or garnish moldings. In other words, to me IF it can be salvaged and can be bought for the 8K that he's asking, or even slightly under WITH the garnish moldings, it sounds about right to me ( or, a pretty decent buy for a 32)..the molding's alone can be freaking rediculous to buy.. Tony
This one sold for 20 grand,,,it had all the garnish moldings,glass,dash,firewall,windshield frame,running boards and rear fenders,,along with other misc parts,,,not the best body but pretty darn solid. HRP
Luckily mine has the garnish moldings, window regulators and door mechanisms so I am ahead there but the rear quarters are the bitch. Brookville sells the roadster quarters for $1600 per side so trying to make these ones work or finding suitable replacements is my first goal for the car.
I think of this $$$ crap thus: '32's have been steadily goin UP as long as I've been alive. Bodies, parts, whatever. I expect this to continue...they don't crash like musclecars and Corvettes do because there is an unending stream of people who want them. My stuff I have from dumb luck, generous family, and a lifetime of scrounging...I've NEVER been actually able to step up to market price for '32 stuff, not in 1961 and sureashellnotnow. We are in the END TIMES for normal people with families and mortgages to grab onto a '32 in any condition at all. If you can latch onto a hulk now, do it...or in 5 years you will be looking at a worse hulk for twice the money. If I were starting out now, I would have to buy fiberglass, and fantasize about maybe stepping up to a Brookville...I could never again get what I have now. Jump on the tin, and do what you have to do to learn how to patch it.
OK ... I may be biased But 32 Ford stuff ( like Bruce Lancaster said so well ) has not went down in the last 50 or so years. I have been told " You NEVER pay too much for Deuce stuff ... you just may have bought it a little early " Most of the 32 Ford parts, pieces and cars I have, I most likely paid too much ... at the time. In the late 70's I paid $300 for a super nice, original 25 vent hood. My friends said I was crazy. I wish I had a dozen at that price If you really want it ... BUY IT. There always has been ( and always will be IMHO ) those who want and are willing to pay for original 32 Ford cars and pieces. 8 grand is NOT out of the current market value ... IMHO ... but I may be biased ...
Can I just say that this thread is making me feel better. Anybody want to make me feel really good and donate some quarters?
Is that from the Indiana auction? If so I still regret not getting that car. That body is for sure buildable. Don't let anybody make you feel bad about buying it..
Not sure. I do not know where PLOWBOY got it from before he sold it to me. I hope it is now that your saying such nice things about it.
Looks like it. A beam was laying across the quarters and I was all by myself and didn't want to try to drag it out of the woods alone. I've allways wondered what happened to it.
No, this one is blue. Thanks to everyone who has replied, this is working into a good example for what bodies in this condition are worth. I want to see it because it could be an old drag car based on the discription I got. Not a famous car, just a local car that has been missing for a long time.
4 years ago, it seemed 32 bodies were completely dried up, and I found an old California circle track body. Doord and decklid welded and leaded shut and crumbled quarters, no garnish mouldings floor or dash....I paid 6 k for it.... I guess this old tin forces you to get good with a body hammer.
This thread brings back memories. About 25 years ago there used to be a chopped '32 five window body at our local swap meet. It was pretty rough, no floor, rust, and cracks in some of the welds where it was chopped. I used to laugh because every year it was there, usually a different owner, with a $400 price tag. I don't laugh anymore. I wish I had bought it. My 22 year old son beats me up quite regularly over it as a reminder.
Since the going rate for a '32 five window door seems to be about a grand, I'd say your offer of $2k is pretty low... But you never know... You might get lucky and get a really good deal, or you might miss a halfway decent deal by trying to low ball the guy. If you need to think twice about parting with $8k for a '32, then you probably shouldn't buy it. I don't buy anything unless it's something I feel 100% good about.
I may get to see this project this weekend if all goes well. From what I've been told it isn't any better than any of the body photos posted here, except for the red one that went for twenty. Great to see what others consider a good deal before I see this one.
That looks like a great start. I paid seven and a half for mine. It looked better but I ended up replacing the first 8" of the body (including door bottoms) and above the windshield. If it is your dream car then don't worry and start getting it on the road.
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