Hi there, folks. My name is Andy, and this is my first post here in this forum. Hopefully, there will be a lot more to come on this find, but here is what I've posted so far on the Yenko.net site, where I hang out. OK, here's the story. This older fellow Ed,(he's 77) that I see in the locker room at the health center that I work out at told me about a year ago that he had this old car in his garage. This was after we talked about my car. Turns out that he parked this '32 Ford coupe in the garage of his then new house back in 1959. He bought the car in 1949 and drove it for a couple of years. In 1951, with the usual plans to fix it up, he started its tear down, but it sat in his mom's barn until he moved it to the new house. As I mentioned before in another thread, he's a pretty private kind of guy. It took me six months of proding and pleading just to get him to open the garage door just to take a few pictures, then he closed the door. And no, it's not for sale. He told me that I was the first person to see this car since he put it away. Last week at our Camaro club meeting, one of my friends asked me about this car, just in passing. He owns a restoration shop here in town. Then the planets aligned for him. The very next day, when I ran into old Ed in the locker room, he asked me if I could help him sell the car. It was time to clean out the yard, and he was firm on his price. So I called Dave at his shop and asked him if wanted to take a look at it. The deal was done on a handshake, and now the fun begins. Fifty years of crud to clean out, just to start with.
Sorry folks, but I'll get the hang of this format. Just not used to it. This is Dave McGaffe, part owner of Classic Ressurections in Grove City, OH. He is the proud new owner of this diamond in the rough, and if anybody can bring it back, he can. Ed, the guy who's garage this has been marinating in for the past 50 years, would like to see it brought back the way he wanted to do it, 1951 style. BTW, included in the sale is a 1960 Olds motor and tranny out of a car that was wrecked when it was brand new, with less than 3k on it. This may be the motor that gets installed, if practical.
Here is what we found when we first walked into the garage. No snakes, but maybe a few generations of various rodentia, and an old raccoon.
In the back corner are the original fenders. Except for the motor and trans, Ed says that everything else is there. We can't wait to see what rare bits are included. I know that the original radiator core is in the rumble seat, and the grill is on the drivers seat. A liitle bit of rust to work around, but the bodyman says he can git'er done.
I have a Camaro to play with, so I have no need for this car. Part of the reason, in fact the MAIN reason I got to take pictures of this car is because I didn't want to buy it. I was shocked, to say the least, when Ed said it was time to let it go. Dave was the only guy I called, because I knew that he would buy it, and do the right thing with it, not just flip it or sell it off as parts.
Holy hantavirus! Thats a lot of junk and debris around that thing. But you need your head examimed for even CARING about a Camaro over the 32!
Here is a detail shot of the sticker in the windshield. Yes, Columbus did indeed have a Naval Air Station back then. North American Aviation had a huge Airplane factory on the south side of Port Columbus Airfield. They made a lot of Navy aircraft, and in the 70s it was sold to Rockwell, where 1/3 of the B-1B bomber was made. It was sold again to McDonnald Douglass, and then it was closed. Anyway the car has a 1951 OH plate still on the back bumper. That's all I have for now, but one day this week, weather permitting, this thing will see the sun shine again.
cool find. i just can't believe the number of `32 Fords that have surfaced from a long storage lately..out of curiosity , would you mind telling us how much(if you know) your friend Dave paid for it? if you don't want that info all over the internet i understand
Thank you for sharing the story and the picture with us. It really does not matter if you like Camaros or Honda Civics IMO if you have a good thing to share about a car everyone here has some interest in.
I'd give up a Camaro in a heartbeat for it. Just don't add insult to injury and tell us it was dirt cheap too.
Great story and see....... It pays to be nice ! Personally , I say you are crazy as hell for passing that one up ! Can you post some picture when you get that 32 out of that mess & are you going to let us know how much it sold for ?
Folks, thanks for all of the kind words. As I mentioned before, if I had told old Ed that I wanted to buy his car, he would have most likely clammed up on me. He does not make friends easily. Since I didn't need to get into a project that I couldn't finish, and I don't have anywhere to put that thing even if I wanted it, I did the next best thing. I called a guy that I have been friends with for over 10 years, plus he owns a resto shop and knows what to do with a car like this. Wouldn't you like to have a friend like this? Here is a link to the story on my Camaro: http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=feature&Number=176614&page=2&fpart=all I know, it's just a beater, but it's my beater. Here I am at Gateway Intl. last year for the Supercar Reunion. This car runs in the low 13's at 104mph with me driving it and it is not tuned for the strip. I drive this car. Last year I drove it out to National Trails Raceway, (about 23 miles each way), ran 13.42 @ 104.88, and drove it home. Back to the '32. I will post new pics when I take them, and I will continue to post about this car as the project progresses. Stay Tuned.
really cool story Andy... to all those that can't understand how you could like a Camaro, I wonder if they only eat the same kind of sandwich every day? I wonder how many of them would've hacked the guy, and parted out the car for the cash? I like cars, period. I can't understand how some people can be so narrow-minded... OH, by the way... AWESOME CAMARO!
Almost forgot. Ed and Dave shook hands, and I was not involved in that conversation. NOMB Just out of curiosity, what would you have paid for this?
Ya man most of us do eat the same sandwich its called a "HAMB" sandwich camaros are like balogna on here!
Thats a 32 three window coupe. To the "hot rod" crowd it's the holy grail. For comparison purposes, it would be like you finding a numbers matching Yenko or Z-L1 in old Ed's garage.
"A LITTLE RUST"???? I would call that "RUST CITY"!!! Enjoyed the story & pix, since your friend ED & I are the same age, we were in the Korean war at the same time. (?) 1951--1955. Looking forward to the future pix of restoration of the 3wnd coupe!!--------Don
Great story Andy. Thanks for sharing. I hope your friend Dave leaves that Naval Air Staion decal just the way it is. When you said that you guys can't wait to see what kind of rare goodies you'll find that's one of them.
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