A Slick ’32 Ford Coupe Brings The Heat To The Street

The 1932 Ford coupe is one of the most iconic cars of all time and is often times one of the most sought-after for turning into a modern hot rod. A prime example of what can be done with a ’32 coupe belongs to Art Engle. Inspired by the hot rods of his youth, Art decided it was time to build his own.

However, obtaining an original ’32 coupe is near impossible nowadays and after spending tons of money on an original, hacking and slashing into the old sheetmetal is often out of the picture.That’s why Art turned to Downs Industries to provide him with the ‘32 body made from modern composites. Once the body was received it was time to get down to business.

As you’ll notice, the first things to go were the running boards, hood, and fenders. Other slick touches include shaved door handles, suicide doors, and a chopped top. After the bodywork had been done, the car was prepped and painted by the crew at RJ’s Paint Shop in Pleasanton. That stunning brilliant red comes from Mercedes and is called “Mars Red”.

Once the square tube chassis and body had been painted, it was shipped off to Tri Valley Upholstery to have the interior immaculately covered in a white and red design. With the interior and exterior painted and upholstered it was time to work on the heart of the coupe; the engine. The coupe is powered by a 327 with fuelie heads built by Victory Machine in San Jose. The intake manifold on the 327 is an original Winters twin four barrel topped with two Edelbrock 500CFM carbs.

The loud exhaust comes courtesy of a pair of Patriot Lakester headers. When the end plate is off, you can hear the coupe rumbling from blocks away; but for cruising, the headers are plated shut and the exhaust travels underneath the car and through a set of MagnaFlow mufflers at the rear. Once the power is made by the beautifully dressed 327, it passes through a Saginaw 4 speed transmission and is sent on its’ way to the back wheels. The power is then distributed by the Ford 9-inch rear-end which is packed with 3.50:1 gears and a limited slip differential to keep power going to both rear wheels. Of course one of the most drawing features of the coupe is the exposed suspension and wheels.

Up front is a myriad of parts that have been bathed in chrome. The front axle is a Pete & Jakes suicide front axle assembly sporting a 4-inch drop I-Beam axle from Superbell and Ford Econoline spindles. Eventually Art has to stop the beautiful hot rod, and the braking power comes courtesy of SO-CAL Speed Shop and their Hot Rod Front Brake system. Believe it or not those aren’t drums up front! They’re actually disc brakes with Wilwood dual piston aluminum calipers and custom made SO-CAL iron rotors.

In the rear is a Pete & Jakes triangular 4-bar setup with Alden coil overs to keep things comfy for Art. So what does all this hard work achieve for Art? Try winner of the ‘One Fine Deuce’ award at the 2011 Goodguys All American Get-Together and second in its class at Long Beach Motorama. With those two major achievements under his belt, Art has already surpassed his expectations for this build and is looking forward to another killer show season.

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