Rod & Custom Feature Car
Tom Carver
Newark, California
1932 Ford Pickup
Owner contact info: tom_carver@sbcglobal.net
Chassis
Tom boxed a pair of American Stamping 'rails and added a Model A front crossmember and custom center and rear crossmembers. The frame was notched in front for clearance and Z'd in the rear. Tom drilled the Chassis Engineering I-beam axle himself and suspended it using a Posies spring and SO-CAL hairpins. Spindles and brakes are '48 Ford. The cross-steer setup was assembled using a Vega steering box and homemade tie rod, drag link and Panhard bar. Out back, Tom designed and fabricated his own four-link setup and used Firestone air springs to suspend the 3.50:1-geared 9-inch rearend. Two Tilton master cylinders are connected with a homemade balance bar to control the brakes.
Drivetrain
Tom had an extra small-block Chevy sitting around (doesn't everyone?), so he rebuilt it using Scat I-beam rods, Speed Pro forged pistons, a Crane cam and Dart Iron Eagle heads. The Offy intake was topped with a trio of Rochesters activated by homemade throttle linkage. Tom used Streamline valve covers, chrome air cleaners and an O'Brien Truckers coil cover to dress things up, and built his own zoomie headers with motorcycle baffles stuffed inside. The TH400 automatic was beefed up with a shift kit and Art Carr converter.
Wheels & Tires
The 15x5- and 15x6-inch chrome wheels and smoothie caps were sourced from Wheel Vintiques and wrapped in 5.60 and 8.20 wide whitewall Firestone rubber.
Body & Paint
A former goat pen, the pickup cab required an extensive amount of repair and patchwork, all performed by Tom. "I always wanted to try chopping a top," Tom says, so he took 4 1/2 inches out of this one while also creating a slight radius to blend the visor into the A-pillars. He channeled the body 6 inches, notched the cowl for radius rod clearance and filled the grille shell. Headlights are BLC. The bed was shortened 17 inches and fitted with a custom floor, which left just enough room for an 11-gallon fuel jug built from an old air compressor tank. A '37 tailgate finished off the rear, with '48 Ford taillights below. Tom sprayed all the exterior sheetmetal in House of Kolor Candy Tangerine over a custom mix of base and metalflake. "I really like doing the metalwork," Tom says. "The finish bodywork and paint aren't as fun, but it was all worth it in the end."
Interior
The cab's interior is stark and simple - just like a truck should be. Tom stitched the white rolls and pleats over a homemade bench seat, then covered the kick panels, firewall and back wall with contrasting black carpet. Black paint covers the floor, which features removable panels and a homemade transmission tunnel. A Haywire wiring panel supplies juice, while the filled '32 dash supports Classic Instruments gauges, a Speedway Motors steering column and an old Superior Products three-spoke wheel. Tom modified the Gennie shifter to mount it as far rearward as possible, and topped it with an orange pool ball.