1932 Ford Highboy Coupe - This One's For Bobby

Rob Head's hot rod background is similar to many a rodder-he was inducted into the hobby by a gearhead dad (who built and drove a T Speedster powered by a Buick straight-eight). So, when he decided to build a '32 five-window of his own, Rob had two prerequisites: It had to be traditionally styled, and both his sons, Bobby and Jody, would be involved in the build. Well, it took a while, and there were some bumps in the road (the most devastating being the loss of his oldest son, Bobby, along the way), but instead of losing heart, Rob marched on, as he knew Bobby would have insisted. As you can plainly see, the result was extraordinary.

Rob originally found the coupe body during a chance meeting with Ken Wall at the 1999 L.A. Roadster Show swap meet. During their conversation, Ken mentioned he had a steel coupe body for sale, and since Rob was in the market he decided he might as well grab it and get started on a project he'd been contemplating for a long while. Well, Rob got the body home to Littleton, Colorado, and the project began in earnest.

Rob enlisted Rob Crouse to put together a frame for him using a pair of ASC 'rails, which provided the basis for the chassis. The new 'rails were sewn together using a Model A front, a '37 center, and a '34 rear crossmember. A dropped I-beam hung with a POSIES Super Slide spring, and a pair of split 'bones was installed up front, and a '65 Mustang 8-inch, another Super Slide spring, and '36 Ford radius rods hung out back. A quartet of Pete & Jake's shocks, a pair of Buick drum brakes, 15-inch Wheel Vintiques wheels wrapped in bias-ply Firestones, and a '50 F-1 steering box completed the roller.

The Chuck Schutter-prepared 239-cube Flathead, dressed in traditional Edelbrock accessories, and a pair of Red's headers were topped with a duo of Stromberg 48s wearing Speedway Motors helmet-style air cleaners and backed by a Flat-o-Matic C4 conversion, then dropped between the 'rails and connected to the 8-inch via a custom-fabricated driveshaft.

Meanwhile, Dave Landeck was handling the bodywork and paint. The coupe body was massaged back into pristine shape and treated to a top chop and radiused door and trunk openings. With the body primed and ready, Dave laid down a glass-smooth coating of PPG black, which was complemented by a touch of Mike Young artwork. The body was then mounted to the chassis and a Glide seat assembly finished in red vinyl (as was the balance of the interior) by Sew Fine Upholstery of Littleton was installed inside. Rob then chose a '40 Ford column and wheel, as well as a full array of Classic Instruments gauges to finish off the traditional hot rod interior.

Though it was an arduous task, Rob's '32 finally hit the road-a testament to perseverance and a fitting tribute to both the tradition of hot rodding and a hot rodding family.

F A C T S & F I G U R E S
Robert Head
Littleton, Colorado
1932 Ford highboy coupe