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Chip Foose Explains His P32 - Expanded Interview for Web

By Eric Geisert
Photography by Scott Williamson
Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web

Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web
There is so much to look at on this simple car you don't know where to start. But one area might be the '36 Ford cowl that was used instead of the original '32 unit. Chip used it because there is far less kick in the side panels making for an easier transition between the doors and the hood sides.

Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web

Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web
For an even more vintage look, all of the wiring used in and around Chip's roadster is wrapped in cloth. The '39 Lincoln V12, mated to a '39 Lincoln side-shift trans, displaces 292 cubes and is fed by a pair of Stromberg 97s. Check out how the exhaust is routed from the heads to special baffles before exiting at the hood sides.
Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web
The seats came from a WWII-era B-17, as did the seatbelts. The dash is a narrowed '38 Lincoln unit, while the red Bakelite steering wheel came out of a '40s-era Lincoln. The doors have been lengthened two inches--a measurement that was taken out of the length of the rear quarters.
Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web
Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web
You can see some of the intricate work done on the brackets used throughout the vehicle--they all look like they've been stamped when in reality they were all hand fabricated and welded.
Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web
The nose design was first work up by Chip and Tim Fitzpatrick in a full-size clay model, from which fiberglass molds were pulled. The molds were taken to Marcel's Custom Metal in Corona, CA, where they used them to fabricate a shell out of aluminum. The nosecone was stamped at Quality Metalcrafters in Detroit.
Chip Foose P32 Expanded For Web
Motorcycle rubber wraps the 18-inch '32 Ford wire rims, but the rear rims were widened 2 inches by using two other '32 wheels.

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