For Starters -- May 2006

The 75th Anniversary of the 1932 Ford will be celebrated by Ford Motor Co. and all known life forms beginning the end of 2006 through 2007, the actual 75th anniversary year. Yep, if you are a Deuce lover this may very well be the closest you come to reaching Heaven, or at least Nirvana, that any of us carbon based life forms will experience while residing on planet Earth. And for those of you that have seen the last Deuce you every want to see, well hang-on it may be a rough year. Look at it this way; you will have plenty to bitch about when writing to Rodder's Mail.

For starters, a little background is in order. An undertaking of this nature will surely take a small Army of enthusiasts and volunteers coupled with countless hours of migraine developing effort but for our sake Larry Erickson of Ford Motor Co. is the chief, cook, and bottle washer for this effort. Under Larry's direction a nominating committee was put together that identified 474 individual cars, and then pared down to the 75 most significant Deuce hot rods. The 1932 Ford (a one-year off design) combines several firsts such as the first mass-produced V8 engine and a noticeable "leap" in styling brought to fruition by Henry's son Edsel Ford. The Deuce, as it is affectionately nicknamed, was and is a significant representative of automotive history as a race car, show car, and museum piece. Whether you are a Deuce lover or hater you cannot deny the significant role played by the Deuce in the development of the hot rod. The 1932 Ford is the first icon, the cornerstone for the foundation of a $31 billion aftermarket industry that all of us bask in. When all is said and done these "75 Most Significant '32 Ford Hot Rods" will be on display for all to see. If you dream of attending the Grand National Roadster Show, have gone once, or you are a regular then you do not want to miss the show in 2007. You will be treated to an annual West Coast winter rite of passage with the season's first tremendous indoor car show where you will see as many of the 75 Deuces that can be gathered.

I have just come from a free meal (Hall of Fame luncheon, what did you expect) where it was announced that the 57th Grand National Roadster Show (2007), the list of "THE 75 Most Significant '32 Ford Hot Rods" is the first in a series of activities and events marking the 75th anniversary of the 1932 Ford. Ford will participate in celebrating the '32's impact on automotive enthusiasm and culture with a display of the 75 most influential and important 1932 Ford hot rods, sponsored by Ford Racing Performance Parts and Ford Powertrain.

For those who must know now here is a list of "THE 75 Most Significant '32 Ford Hot Rods" and should you happen to know the whereabouts of any of these cars please drop me a line. According to Larry Erickson of Ford Motor Co. only 20 percent of these cars have been located and to make the event a huge success they are trying to find as many as possible.

American Graffiti - 5-window coupe, need we say more!

Boyce Asquith - roadster, Street legal and ran 9 seconds @ 156 mph in the quarter

Lloyd Bakan - 3-window coupe, Hot Rod cover, October 1957

Balchowsky /Vogel - roadster, Hop Up cover car. Road racing in 1952, competing against European sports cars

Banker Bros. - 3-window coupe, Featured in 1961 Hot Rod

Gray Baskerville - roadster, ah, every magazine staffers dream car

Jeff Beck - 3-window coupe, featured in R&C, March 2000

Berardini Bros. - roadster, famous race car

Bill Breece - 3-window coupe, featured in August 1956 Hot Rod and cover

Andy Brizio - roadster, purple with flames and 125,000-plus miles and still going

Roy Brizio - roadster, son-like-father, blue with maroon scallops

Ray Brown - roadster, green lakes/street hot rod with early racing records

Brian Burnett - roadster, Deucari, first Ferrari V-12 powered Deuce, 1979 AMBR winner

Lil' John Buttera - 3-window coupe, classic Lil' loaded with innovations, styling and workmanship

C&T Automotive /Siroonian - roadster, Bonneville racer then 1981 AMBR winner.

Clarence "Chili" Catallo - Little Deuce Coupe, Hot Rod cover and the Beach Boys' "Lil' Deuce Coupe" album cover car

Pete Chapouris - "Limefire" roadster, Cover of Hot Rod and Rod & Custom, 10-sec car

Boyd Coddington - Boydster I, AMBR 1996 winner, began a styling trend

Li'l Coffin - sedan, Wild, custom show car in the extreme turned into a model kit

Phil Cool - roadster, AMBR 1978 winner and Hot Rod cover car

Frank Currie - roadster, a legitimate 205-plus mph street driven highboy roadster

Bill Desatoff - Tudor, 1970s with handmade IFS, Borrani wires, Weber carbs

Roy Desbrow - pick-up, 1952 January Hot Rod cover car

Neal East - roadster, August 1961 Rod & Custom cover car

Neal East - 5-window coupe, April 1958 Hot Rod cover car

Eastwood & Barakat - Tudor, two-weeks to build and first primered hot rod to make the cover of Hot Rod

Vic Edelbrock, Sr. - roadster, legendary name, milestone car, hot rod pioneer and first Deuce to win the AMBR

Ells/Hansen - roadster, 1987 AMBR winner, V-12 Ferrari

Dan Fink - Speedwagon, featured in July 1994 Rod & Custom, winner at GNRS, made into a model

Fjastad/Von Hofgaarden - Tudor, cover car Street Rodder March 1977

Tommy Foster - roadster, AutoRama winner, often called "best example of a '50s era hot rod"

Doyle Gammell - 3-window coupe, featured in December 1963 Rod & Custom

Richard Graves - phaeton, featured in December 1972 Rod & Custom, the "bikini" cover

Ken Gross - roadster, "perfect example of a beautifully crafted, period-perfect, hot rod roadster"

Guldahl /Henderson - roadster, built before WWII, match raced a horse!

Wayne Henderson - Vicky, built in 1973, cover car Hot Rod September 1974, Rod & Custom 1974 and Street Rodder cover August 1992.

Herbert /Gaskin - 4-door sedan, first famous (in cutaway) as Herbert's 12-port Jimmy on propane

Ermie Immerso - roadster, 1998 AMBR winner

Jackman Bros. - Sport Coupe, Hot Rod cover August 1959 and April 1962, Sweepstakes winner at 1961 Winternationals

Andy Kassa - 3-window coupe, East Coast show car lots of wins and much publicity

Kendrick /Beck - Tudor, now owned by Jeff Beck, classic hot rod looks

Gary Kessler - roadster, great example of mid-'70s era mid-western hot rod

Jim Khougaz - roadster, 2002 Pebble Beach Concours Hot Rod Class, famous for the "missing" louver

Bob Kolmos - phaeton, Coddington early-billet look, a trend setter

Jerry Kugel - roadster, cover car Rod & Custom August 1972

Jerry Kugel - roadster - Bonneville, many Salt records, started life as a five-window coupe

Dennis Kyle - roadster, fiberglass Deuce, appeared in a number of Ardun engine articles by the late-journalist Tom Senter

Tony La Masa - roadster, Rod & Custom August 1953, Hot Rod cover car, featured in the Ozzie & Harriet TV series.

Lobeck /Bauder /Coonan /Meyer - roadster, epitomizes the perfect stance, Hot Rod all time top ten

Harry Luzader - 5-window coupe, pure 1960s gasser-style drag strip look

Dave Marquez - roadster, Hot Rod cover car, first lift off body. Best Appearing at the 1955 NHRA Winternationals

Mike Martin - 3-window coupe, can you say "hot rod," yellow highboy with Ford 427 SOHC "cammer" motor and 5-spokes

McGee/Scritchfield - roadster, featured in Hot Rod in October 1948 and April 1962, logo for the L.A. Roadsters car club, Pebble Beach Concours Hot Rod class winner

Tom McMullen - roadster (#1), this is the quintessential hot rod, Street Rodder magazine "mascot" and the car that "drew" many a young man into the world of cars

Bruce Meyer - 3-window coupe, featured in Rod & Custom February 1991

Ak Miller - roadster, he was a hot rod pioneer and his roadster was the test bed for many a performance component

Bob Morris - roadster, Rod & Custom 1993 cover car and known as the Nickel Car

Joe Nitti - roadster, featured in Hot Rod June 1950, a Milestones car

Orange Crate - sedan, AMBR winner in 1962 (Competition Class), show car, competitive car and eventually made into a model

Veda Orr - roadster, first female lakes racer, kept the SCTA newsletter going during WWII

Chuck Price - roadster, first cover car for Rods & Customs May 1953

Tom Prufer - 3-window coupe, Rod & Custom cover car, featured in many publications

Roger Ritzow - roadster, Goodguy's 2004 Street Rod of the Year

Bob Rothenberg - roadster, featured in Rod & Custom December 1998 and Best of the Best, 1998 Goodguy's Street Rod of the Year

Dick Scritchfield - phaeton, Australian car often recognized as the first great phaeton hot rod

George Sein - 5-window coupe, famous show car

John Siroonian - phaeton, Street Rodder February 1978 cover car

Doane Spencer - roadster, first built in 1947, this is the Icon of Deuce roadsters, unbelievable history

Fred Steele - roadster, featured in many publications, has been on the road for many, many decades

Ed "Axle" Stewart - roadster, car is still driven, he invented the dropped axle

Don Thelen - Vicky, featured in Hot Rod, early '60s metalflake paint

Don Van Hoff - 5 window coupe, Hot Rod December 1955 cover

Walsh /Walsh /Cusack - roadster, the 333 numbered Salt racer, lots of records

Tony Waters - roadster, first lakes racer over 200 mph

Lynn Yakel - 5-window coupe, the perfect look chopped and channeled