Long time muscle car guy here.... I always admired hot rods but have never built or owned one. I am however a muscle car builder and have a deep knowledge here. That said I have come across a hot rod I cannot resist, and the owner is willing to sell. It is a 5 window all Steele high boy (no fenders or hood). It is a 1932 ch***is with a 275 flathead and a 1930 body. A tremec 5 speed, 378 rear end. The paint, interior, fit and finish are all fantastic. It is awesome. Before I make a final decision i would appreciate thoughts on what I should check out/evaluate and thoughts about price range. If this was a muscle car it would be top rating (1-2). Thanks for the opinions! -John
First thing I'd check out is does it have a legitimate ***le? Then proceed into the mechanicals. Did the owner build it himself? If so he should be able to give you a lot of detail on the car. If not what do***entation does he have? It sounds nice enough but without any kind of picture to go by and just shooting in the dark it could be anywhere from $25k to $35k or more from what I have been seeing out there for sale.
Hot rods are way different than muscle cars. Even though most muscle car guys think they can fabricate, compared to most hot rods the fab is minimal. And a Model A body on a 32 frame will probably involve quite a bit of special fitting, with lots of tweaks to the subrails and floor. Look all around for strong mounts and no kludgy welds. Make sure the doors fit well, without gaps and s****es in the doorjamb. Maybe the ch***is will have a whole new center X member too, to accommodate the later trans, so check over the quality well. There is currently a HAMB thread going by a fella who thought he bought a well-built Model A coupe on a 32 frame. He has basically torn the whole thing apart and is rebuilding about 50% of it from scratch.
From the photo the engine is an 8ba vintage so it would be a 239 in stock specs. Or it could be a 4 inch crank 255 Merc again stock specs. So my guess is that 275 is the result of overbore, stroking or both. Regardless the car looks good in the photo but as always the devil is in the details.
thanks so far... Id like more thoughts on value too if you have experience. I don't have a sense for the combo of years and features realtive to value as I might otherwise. It aint cheap!
New business idea…..rent a HAMBer. Looks like you are in M***achusetts, and if you asked, I bet there are a few fellas near you that would help you check it out.
Does the owner have any build photos of it. Currently building my own A coupe on 32 frame, there’s a lot of fab work that needs to be done to fit it all together and get it right.
Any advice given on here, and many knowledgeable HAMBers will be glad to help, will require a helluva lot more pics and details, the more, the better.
thanks willie... i dont have many more pics as i am going to take a closer look. I do know quality craftsmanship and feel like I can judge that. I just dont want to spend too much and be upside down. ***uming it is a 1.5 car and those elements it would be good to get a ball park. Even mid would be about $x and top would be $Y.
Is there a special reason for combining the different years body and frame in the hot rod world? is the 5 speed unique and desirable vs. automatic... The buick wheels desirable... That type of insight would be helpful. vs. that is a Frankenstein which people do not like and is reflected in the value. thanks
Very hard to put a value on a hot rod without seeing it that being said I watch the cars on BAT and most highboys with flatties go between 20-30k that looks very nice
looking at BAT and the internet in general this car and combo ***uming awesome condition does not appear to exceed $50K? that seem right to you guys? I am not seeing CSPIDY findings except for convertibles and gl*** bodies...
@hurlbird the 32 frame besides being really good looking gave you a V8 and lower car. It was likely easier/cheaper to pick up a Model A roadster body back in the day and replace a 2 or 4 door sedan 32 body.
Upside down? Have you got a lot to learn about hot rodding. I built muscle cars for profit, I build hot rods for fun. They are a lousy investment "vehicle" ...although my tesla stock is looking good.
Crawl under it, bring a reefer magnet to check for Bondo on the body. Drive it, check for wandering an bump steer. These are similar to muscle cars jus smaller. What rear end is under it?
The 32 frame+Model A body combo was the ticket to a cheap hot rod in the old days. The ch***is from a wrecked 32 sedan with a coupe or roadster body from an obsolete Model A or late T gives you a very lightweight car with a V8. To take it a step further you could replace the early flathead with a then-relatively-modern 8BA and a later synchronized transmission with minimal fabrication. This practice is why the 32 grille shell is so ubiquitous on hot rods. It's quite a bit more work to put a V8 in the Model A frame than to swap the Model A body to a ch***is that's already set up for it. Without knowing more about the car nobody can really give you more specific advice. But I'll warn you that you're probably going to be upside down out the gate. Buying or building a prewar hot rod is usually a losing investment. The gold chainers with money to burn like comfy street rods, not so much the rough n ready nature of the real deal. In the muscle car world ROI is always a concern, but you have to put that out of your mind in the hot rod world. WRT your question about 'frankensteins'... hot rods are all frankensteins. The 32 ch***is/Model A is the bread and ****er hot rod, a very popular combination that will usually sell for considerably more than a Model A on a Model A ch***is.
All of it is for style now. There is nothing done to that car that is a performance improvement over what you can buy off a showroom floor. They were 70 years ago, but not now. Hopefully you aren’t expecting that car to beat any new Honda from stoplight to stoplight. And, just an FYI, the wheels aren’t Buick, it’s the front brake drums (only).
Get an understanding of how expensive those flatheads are to get built for so little HP On a more serious note are there are reciepts for the motor build?
Hard to tell in the picture, but the frame rails look to be stepped in, right at the rear wheel opening. Aftermarket frame? ***le have OEM Ford frame numbers? Body would have to be "right and tight" to be dressed in black.
A model A coupe will RARELY ever bring 50K. Personally I wouldnt spend over 35K for a VERY VERY nice one. 50k would get you into a 32 or even better 33/34 that needs work, something it appears you could do yourself.
Model A on a 32 ch***is is one of hotrodding norms. Been done for many years. Probably originally done as 32 was the 1st factory V8. Find a wrecked 32, bolt on your A body and you have a v8 Model A. A manual car will generally bring a little more than an auto.
That's where I'm at... If I get lucky and find another 32 coupe or roadster body, this 29 body is going back in the river.
The 32 frame is much stronger than the A frame. That is the main reason they were used. That looks like a really nice car in the picture. Take someone with you who knows these cars and what to look for like front end setup, body mounts, gas tank position, emergency brake, etc. If you buy it, it won't appreciate a lot but it won't depreciate either. That makes it a good investment for all the pleasure it will give you. Kids and older people will wave at you, lots will just stare and wish they had it. I love to drive mine, love to wash it and even just to sit with a beer in a lawn chair and look at it. Hope you can make a deal . It looks great in pictures for sure and you can't go wrong with a healthy flathead.
Pete pretty well nailed it. Although plenty of guys build A V8 Fords by putting the flathead V8 in a Ford frame this was the original ch***is swap to build a cheap rig hot rod. Model A Ford roadsters or Coupes with a bad engine and maybe a bent fender or two could be had for what won't buy dinner at the beer and burger joint now. You could pick up a 32 Ford sedan with body damage but a good V8 and ch***is for not a lot of money and you and your buds could set the A body over on the 32 Ch***is and have an instant hot rod Model A Ford. The little black coupe has what looks like a nice 30/31 body sitting on a very Hamb Friendly 32 Ch***is. Well dressed flathead with what appear to be some nice goodies. 5 speed and 3.78 rear so it has a bit of grunt around town but can wheel down the big roads with the big dogs. Chrome dropped front axle = cool factor and looks great, 45 fin Buick drums - 12 inch brake that stop a bit better and the aluminum drums cool a bit better and look cool. 100 more Bubba points than disk brakes on the front of an open wheel car. Wheel tire combo check the right boxes for Hamb friendly and traditional could have been built in the early 50's as does the look of the car. That's the good and may be the bad as you would piss some guys off if you started making changes to "make it your own" it doesn't need any cosmetic changes and unless the flathead ****ters in a bunch of pieces it doesn't need an engine change. Equate that to buying a Plum Crazy 340 TA Cuda with a 4 speed and all matching numbers and do***entation and putting a new crate fi hemi under the hood with an automatic and sticking 20's on it. Sacralige. I'm thinking that this calls for as someone said, rent a Hamber or at least offer up a good meal and expenses for someone seriously knowlegable to go along and look it over closely. Someone who can see past the makeup, low cut top and short skirt. Someone who knows what questons to ask and is able to understand the answers.
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