It’s been a whirlwind of a couple days. I woke up Wed am, and saw a 32 roadster posted for sale for $16,500 out in Michigan. By the time I had seen it, it was already posted for 32 minutes. There was a phone number attached to the ad. When Mike (partswapper) had posted it, he said this will last about 10 minutes. I thought it’s for sure gone, but I didn’t see a sold comment. I thought about texting, then said screw it I’ll call and see if I can get my name in a queue. There’s so little human connection these days with DMs and texts, sometimes just having a voice connection to the person on the other side is the upper hand. I was sure I was at the very minimum 4th in line to buy this thing. Anthony answered the phone and I said hi, I’m interested in this roadster you have for sale. He said yes I still have it, what do you want to know about it? I said I want to know how I can buy it and pick it up. So we chatted a little bit, he warned me that it had plenty of rust in the lower panels and bondo, but I was sure it was still a real great buy so I told him I’d be on a plane in a couple hours. Just after lunch I was headed to the airport. After my connection flight, I was to arrive in Motor City at 5am. I hopped in a rental car, stopped to get breakfast at this cafe where everyone walking in was on a first name basis, then made my way the rest of the way up to a town called St Clair which is right on the Canadian border. I met Anthony, and checked out the car. I decided while she is rough, the car had plenty of potential. I see some brookville patch panels in my future. For the money, I had to get it!
Very nice! Hard to believe you to had to leave CA and go to MI to find one just across from the Canadian border. Lol! Saw this one at a show last weekend. Said he would sell it for USD$70K. Haha!
I saw that ad also and thought "wow, an original pretty complete 32 roadster for under 20k !". I can't remember the last time I saw one that cheap as complete as it is. Great score. Did you head to the closest U-Haul store for a truck and trailer to drag it home? Sometimes the whole adventure is as much fun as the purchase.
I want to make a Lakes style roadster, so similar to this. The car I bought will need a ton of work to get it decent but Im imagining an old chrome, patina, survivor type and not nearly as nice as this one.
Working on getting an autotransporter to help me get her home. I only had time to fly out there and home in the same day to make a wedding this weekend. It was an exhausting day. I got to bed at 430 am after a delay in my connection flight in Dallas. Kinda a cool story in the lengths we go to get the things we obsess about.
Congrats on the purchase. I saw that when it was first listed and knew I didn't have it in me to do what you did and make that one day trip. I'm glad to see your plans for the car and it will be fun to watch you bring it back to life. Neal
Hey Neal! I love what you do man, and I appreciate the encouragement! Hope to see ya at Santa Margarita this year and Ill make sure to introduce myself if you're there.
I saw that for sale on Instagram, seemed like a helluva deal for the price! Excited to see it's resurrection!
ECM fab: Exactly the direction I'm headed in over the winter. I bought this 32 roadster project a couple months ago and have been buying parts to supplement the project. Did really well at the LARS. My game plan is basically like the nice black roadster you show above but not as nice. Lots of old parts with a s**** can and brush finish. SBC thru an early drive train. I'll eventually do another build thread like I tried to do with the stretched cab roadster.
I saw that ad and didn't know if it was Legit... well it sure was. Great Score!..I have Never seen a real 32 roadster sell at that price.
Roger that Jeff! The OP stated this car was "rough", it would seem that once the fenders are removed which, ***uming he is emulating cars such as the Vic Edelbrock car, it should cut the roughness down considerably. I'm reminded of the roadster that @Drylake from Australia built from collected parts, and those cars that people drag out of a steep ravine, now those are a challenge for sure.
I couldn’t believe my eyes and like I said I decided to call to get my voice and excitement in queue. I was the first to actually call. Then after Mike from partswapper vouched for me (which I didn’t know he did), that was enough. Incredible story really. Still pinching myself.
When my buddy sent it to me, I said the same thing... that's a scam! Wish I coulda, but I couldn't. Congrats on the car ECM! 3blap!
Welp. I just flew into town on Thursday night from back to back work trips in NorCal and grabbed a rental truck at the San Diego airport and set off the next am to drive to Michigan. Call me crazy, but I’m going to get my roadster!! Figured I could go to Brookville to grab some patch panels and door skins and then stop in Chicago to grab some airplane parts for a friend. After that I’m going to head down to Jackson Hole for a few days on the way home to visit a friend. I already was supposed to fly to Wyoming on Thursday but cancelled my flight. I’ve made it all the way to Missouri at this point, and have roughly 890 miles left to the destination! Yesterday I took a 3 hour nap then was in the truck traveling for the next 22 hours. Slept in the truck again last night, so definitely getting a hotel tonight. It’s been an adventure, but I should be loading the car in the am.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Anthony, and I’m the guy who sold this amazing 1932 Roadster to Ethan. I couldn’t be happier that someone like Ethan ended up with it. As I’m writing this, he’s about 20 minutes away from picking it up. I’ve loved hot rods ever since I was a little kid. Even back then, I always had an eye for spotting old cars tucked away behind garages, barns, and sheds. This Roadster is the perfect example of that. I live in a small town called St. Clair, Michigan, and like most 16- to 18-year-old kids, I spent a lot of time just driving around back roads and side streets. One day I noticed a garage door open with a gentleman walking around outside. Sitting inside was what I first thought was a Model A project. I turned around to take a closer look, and to my surprise, it was actually a 1932 Ford Roadster. I introduced myself and asked about the car. He told me his father had bought it many years ago, and after his father p***ed away, he inherited it with plans to restore it someday. Of course, I asked if he’d consider selling it as it sat. He smiled and said, “No, it’s going to my son when I’m gone.” Fair enough. Over the years, I never forgot about that car. It was one of those holy grail finds that just sticks with you. Every once in a while, I’d stop by, ask if there were any updates, and jokingly see if he’d changed his mind. Every time he’d laugh and tell me nothing had changed. As the years went by and the car still hadn’t been touched, I started to wonder if it would ever actually get restored. Fast forward about 15 years. A fellow car guy who lives next to my office knew we were always buying and selling old cars. One day he told me his brother-in-law had p***ed away, and he was helping his sister sell two unfinished projects. As he started describing them, my heart absolutely dropped. I knew exactly what cars he was talking about. I told him, “I know exactly where those cars are. I’ll take them. When can we meet?” After a few days of working around the weather and family arrangements, we finally met and made the deal. This Roadster has an incredible story. It’s not some famous magazine-feature hot rod, but what makes it so special is that it stayed in one family for so many years. That’s something you just can’t recreate. As much as I would have loved to be the one to finish it and keep it local, it’s a little beyond what I can take on with my skill level. I’m so excited Ethan is the next caretaker. I truly believe it’s in the right hands, and I can’t wait to watch its journey as it finally becomes the hot rod it was always meant to be.
The Jalopy Journal
