Chapter Dos
The next chapter in this trilogy revolves around a man who is no stranger to '32 Ford ownership: Texas native Jim Jard. Starting with a longtime love of the Vic Edelbrock Sr. roadster, Jim went to his friends, the Kennedy Brothers, for another well-planned hot rod build. To get the project started the Kennedys dialed up their neighbor Jimmy Shine over at the So-Cal Speed Shop and had him get started on a one-off chassis with a few of his signature tricks added in for good measure. The key to obtaining the look made famous by Edelbrock's original dry lake scorcher would be the stance that can be attributed to the undropped original '32 Ford front axle and the tall and narrow bias ply tires on all four corners. Jimmy mounted a '57 Chevy 283 backed by a six-speed trans into the step-boxed So-Cal chassis and followed that combo with a reliable 9-inch Ford rear held in place by a pair of '36 Ford rear wishbones.
With the underpinnings squared away, The Bomb Factory (the Kennedy boys' shop in Pomona) took over and mounted a Brookville body behind an original '32 Ford grille shell and hood. The Kennedys would also handle the spraying of the black PPG paint before handing the nearly completed time machine over to Gabe's Auto Upholstery to wrap it up with some classic vintage Oxblood threads to complement the cockpit, which includes a '32 Ford three-window dash.
As with all the Kennedy/Jard collaborations, the paint was hardly even dry before Jim made his way into town and without hesitation filled the fuel tank, pointed the roadster toward Houston, and headed home to enjoy the '32 to the fullest- and add it to his ever-growing collection of fine automobiles.
Rod & Custom Feature Car
Jim Jard
Houston, Texas
1932 Ford Roadster
Chassis
The build for Jim Jard's car began in the hands of Jimmy Shine at the So-Cal Speed Shop, who began by jigging up a So-Cal chassis and adding the pieces he felt necessary for a cool vintage-style hot rod. A So-Cal step-boxed '32 Ford perimeter frame made a great sturdy start, but Jimmy personalized it by adding an original '32 Ford rear crossmember that he also modified to use a '36 Ford transverse rear spring in conjunction with '36 Ford wishbones to mount a 9-inch Ford rearend. Up front, a selection of '32 Ford suspension pieces includes an undropped "heavy" front axle, wishbone and perch pins mated to a pair of Lincoln front brakes, and Houdaille lever shocks, all steered by an original '32 Ford steering box.
Drivetrain
An original '57 Chevy 283ci is topped by a factory dual quad WCFB setup that was the height of cool back when Jim could only dream about such hot rods in high school. Spent gasses exit out through a pair of Speedway Motors "rams horn" exhaust manifolds. Mated up to the vintage muscle is a six-speed Tremec gearbox from a much more recent Corvette.
Wheels & Tires
Digging way back into the archives of hot rod history, Jim duplicated the wheel and tire combination worn by Vic Edelbrock's roadster back in the early days before WWII. This setup consists of a set of '35 Ford wire wheels dressed in a set of NOS Lion's wheel covers (used for a solid wheel look before they were readily available from the factory and aftermarket) and wrapped in a set of Firestone 6.00x16 and 7.50x16 blackwall tires. It should be noted that the very early hot rods had a unique look due to their undropped front axles and larger diameter front tires. It was not until a few years later, during WWII, that hot rods would take on their classic "big & little" raked look with the use of smaller front tires and dropped front axles.
Body & Paint
The bodywork was kept simple in the form of a totally stock '32 roadster from Brookville and an original grille shell, hood, and fuel tank that were all massaged and treated to a deep coat of gloss black paint by the Kennedy Brothers. Guide headlights on cut-down ends of a '32 light bar illuminate the front while a pair of classic '39 teardrops signals drivers in the rear.
Interior
Inside Jim's roadster, the same theme of the pioneer days of hot rodding was followed with minimal changes, like the addition of a '32 three-window dash, a '39 Ford Deluxe Banjo steering wheel, and Oxblood threads stitched up by Gabe's in a factory-style pattern. No other creature comforts or modern conveniences would be acceptable in this retro ride.