101 Cars: 1932 Ford Highboy Roadster

Automotive Lifestyle

101 Cars: 1932 Ford Highboy Roadster

The Quintessential Hot Rod
SPEEDtv.com is celebrating the launch of the new program "101 Cars You Must Drive" with a weekly countdown of the vehicles featured in the show. Tune-in to SPEED 9pm ET on Monday nights, and to SPEEDtv.com every day for new "Must Drive" features.

SPEED Staff | Posted August 01, 2008 Charlotte, North Carolina

These cars are light (well under 2,000 pounds, depending upon equipment) and usually basic. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)

Nineteen thirty-two was a magic year for Ford. it was the launch of the legendary flat-head V-8, which brought eight-cylinder power to the masses. And the lineup was redesigned, resulting in looks and proportions that have stood the test of time. Everyone has their favorites, but there's no denying that the '32 - particularly in the roadster-bodied, fenderless highboy form (although three-window coupes are popular too) - is the foundation of hot rodding. Styles vary, from today's smooth highly detailed, and expensive rods built by Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose, to simpler, traditional design cues seen on the first postwar '32s. Individuality is key. To drive a '32 Ford powered by a rumbling, tire-melting V-8 engine is to understand hot rodding itself. These cars are light (well under 2,000 pounds, depending upon equipment) and usually basic. Many eschew non-essentials such as windows, tops, radios, heaters, or A/C, not to mention power accessories. They make noise and go fast; well, in a straight line at least. But in the beginning, hot rodding was all about quarter-mile times and top speed at the dry lakes, so why worry about anything else?

Specifications
Engine: Whatever you can cram between the rails, but most are built with 350-ci OHV Chevrolet engines.
Horsepower: Mild to wild, but you need at least 350 to make it really fun.
0–60 mph: 5.0 seconds, if you can get traction
Top Speed: Streeters top out around 140, but they go nearer 200 at the Bonneville Salt Flats
Price New: $500
Value Now: $25,000 for a simple, home-built version; $100,000 or so for a custom build from SO-CAL Speed Shop; $500,000 and up for a show winner.
Ford "Highboy" Roadster Photos

CLAIM TO FAME: Hot rodding's most popular canvas

SOUNDTRACK: Theme song from the movie Hot Rod Girl

PERFECT PASSENGER: Your honey

BEHIND THE WHEEL: There are several outfits that sell new updated chassis and bodies - even turnkey cars.

DID YOU KNOW: The '32 Ford is the oldest body still in production.

THE PERFECT DRIVE: This is another one of those cars that, if you had the time, driving across America would be the right thing to do.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SPEED Staff

SPEED.com

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