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Reproducing 1932 Ford Sedan Deliveries- Making DeliveriesReproducing The Rarest '32 Fords From the June, 2009 issue of Rod & Custom By Tim Bernsau Photography by Dan Kemppainen
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According to Robert Genat's great book on 1932 Fords, the last Deuce body style to go into production was the sedan delivery. Ford built the deliveries by converting Tudor sedans, with the quarter window glass replaced and a large rear door installed with a driprail added above it. Ford only built 400 of these, plus an additional six for sale overseas (we've seen other numbers, but all in this ballpark), making these utilitarian three-door Deuces the rarest '32 Fords ever built. Due to the low original production numbers and the fact that they were used as work vehicles, not many are around anymore. There are, however, a few more than there used to be. Dan Kemppainen at Kemp's Rod & Restoration in Hancock, Michigan, has been converting '32 Tudor sedans into sedan deliveries--the most famous one so far is George Poteet's award-winning version, featured in the July 2008 issue of R&C. George liked it so much, he asked Dan to build him another one. The photos on these pages show the conversion being made to John Stimac's black '32 and Steve Hayes' blue car.  Part of the secret to Dan's...  Part of the secret to Dan's success is this sedan delivery conversion kit from Doug McRae in Topeka, Kansas. The whole package comes complete with all wood (just like in the original sedan deliveries) necessary for the floor, side, and corner structure, rear door frame and wood, window structure, and quarter window replacement, as well as the three hinges. Handle and lock assemblies are not included. Flower cars were sedan deliveries with the quarter glass retained. Doug also has a flower car kit which includes the wood to frame the quarter windows.  Dan built a jig and template...  Dan built a jig and template (painted red), which is centered here on the rear of Steve's sedan to locate the exact outline of the door opening. A line is scribed around the template and the sheetmetal is removed with a cut-off wheel. The original sedan rear sheetmetal will be used to create the skin for the delivery door, just like the factory did it.  The wooden door structure,...  The wooden door structure, part of the kit from Doug McRae, has been fit into the newly made opening.  The sheetmetal has been tack-welded...  The sheetmetal has been tack-welded onto the sedan at this point and lines up with the frame.  When the door is finished,...  When the door is finished, it will need to overlap the opening slightly. To accomplish this, Dan adds about inch of sheetmetal to the body around the rear door opening. This piece also forms a 90-degree angle to wrap around the wood frame. The body is braced and the sheetmetal clamped in place prior to welding, to keep everything square.  This close-up shot shows where...  This close-up shot shows where the door latch will be installed at the beltline and how the sheetmetal wraps around the wood frame.  The rear door is constructed...  The rear door is constructed of a wood frame to which the original outer metal skin will be attached. A 1 1/2-inch nailing flange has been secured to the outside face of the wood frame to form a perimeter around the door, creating an overlap. The outer skin will be hammered over this flange.  Notice the hinge notches in...  Notice the hinge notches in the wooden frame on the driver's side of the door (the doorskin hasn't been cut for the hinges yet). Dan's conversions use three hinges, just like Henry Ford's. The hinges are provided with the conversion kit.  A Deuce delivery wouldn't...  A Deuce delivery wouldn't look right without the distinctive rear driprail. Dan gets these reproduction pieces from Duanne Luckow at Coachworks Specialties in Portland, Oregon, and welds them in place above the door.  The lock and door latch has...  The lock and door latch has been added to Steve's blue car. Dan built a die to form a recess in the beltline for the lock. Since latches from the 400 original '32 deliveries are not readily available, Dan modifies Model A-style latches for this application. It's a complicated job to rebuild the latches to open correctly, and only certain latches from certain Model A body styles will work correctly.  The process of installing...  The process of installing the wood floor starts with these side-to-side support crossmembers screwed into place. Just like with everything else, this design is just how it was done in 1932. The floor deck planks are maple and screw into the lower boards.  Using the original piece of...  Using the original piece of sheetmetal removed from the black sedan, Dan formed a 5/8-inch flange around the edge, which will then be hammered over the door frame flange (photo 8)to form the hem of the door. Holes were drilled in the flange where it would be spot-welded after it was in place.  Here the floor is finished...  Here the floor is finished and the door has been hung on the hinges. The wood corner brace is in place and fits the radius of the body. The round plates in the outermost board are body bolt access covers, fabricated by Dan (there are three on this board, and three on the driver's side board), to copy a detail found on the original cars. Car owner Steve wanted to retain the quarter glass, making this a flower car (a delivery with windows). Doug McRae has a wood kit that allows you to keep the stock Tudor glass, window channel, and hardware.  Even using Doug McRae's kit,...  Even using Doug McRae's kit, this job requires a little bit of woodworking to make sure the floor wood is cut correctly to form-fit perfectly along the various contours of the inner fenderwells--which will differ from car to car, especially after 77 years. McRae provides some extra material for cutting into shape.  The mild steel rub strips...  The mild steel rub strips are included with the wood kit and are drilled for the fasteners. Dan recesses the holes to countersink the fasteners, and uses oval-head slotted screws in the proper sizes to keep it looking authentic. The deck boards and strips are cut to original length, but can be modified. On the black car, Dan shortened the boards by a couple of inches to give the tall owner a little more room up front. The floor in the blue car was left unmodified.  Another authentic detail on...  Another authentic detail on Dan's conversions is the door frame plugs. These wood plugs cover the countersunk screws fastening the wood corner braces to the doorjamb. In case you were wondering, this is another detail done by Ford in 1932. Once sanded, stained, and varnished, it's almost invisible--unless you're looking for it. These small details, done for accuracy, are what make these conversions so successful.  This rear door window frame...  This rear door window frame is steam-bent maple, radiused to match the top of the door. Dan trimmed it to fit and located the screw holes for each application. The flower car kit includes additional pieces for the quarter windows. Below that, you can see that Dan has started to install the Masonite interior panels.  This tempered Masonite, a...  This tempered Masonite, a high-quality grade, is the same material found on the factory sedan deliveries. Dan starts with 4x8-foot sheets and uses templates to create the various interior panels, but each piece essentially has to be sanded and hand-fit to fit tight against the floor, fenderwells, and at every corner.  For John's black car, Dan...  For John's black car, Dan artificially aged the wood by beating it with a chain to distress it and darkening it with a propane torch. He finished it with three or four coats of furniture-quality tongue oil, applied with a rag, and scuffed it with a Scotchbrite pad in between coats. The wood looks natural and original, but is well protected.  The world now has a couple...  The world now has a couple more '32 sedan deliveries (or flower car, in this case) on its roads. Dan has several more lined up, ready to be converted.
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