There are two sure signs of spring: daffodils poking out of the ground and vintage vehicles rolling out of winter storage.
This week, Beacon resident Paul DiGiovanni pushed his bright red 1932 Ford coupe slowly out of the garage.
Nothing says “hot rod” louder than a customized ’32 Ford coupe. DiGiovanni said he saw the bright yellow version in the 1973 movie American Graffiti, fell in love with the look and knew someday he’d own one.
Someday was six years ago at Eric’s Muscle Cars in Clarksburg, Maryland. The previous owners had found the Ford in Ohio in nearly original condition and had it customized at Bransford Motorsports in Woodbine, Maryland. When the husband died, his wife sold the car. She said it held too many memories.
Today, the two-door steel body is the only original part. Even the frame was custom built.
DiGiovanni declined to say how much he paid. “It was a nice price,” he said, noting that the previous owner spent $17,000 on the engine alone. Some 1932 Ford coupes have sold at auction for upward of $100,000.
DiGiovanni has done little to the car apart from converting black engine hoses to braided stainless steel. “I’m a plumber by trade — I don’t have the knowledge to customize a car,” he said. “I wanted something I can get in, turn the key and take off.”
The car is “a beast” on the road and driving it after a hard day of work provides stress relief. “I get in it and just forget about everything,” he said.
He also likes the attention it commands. “I’ve been at a stop sign and had someone say, ‘It’s beautiful, can I take a picture?’ ” he said. “That gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
DiGiovanni has pushed the coupe to 95 mph but isn’t looking to race. He seldom ventures more than 20 miles from home. “It gets about 5 miles per gallon of high test,” he said. “It only has a 10-gallon tank — I have to be sure there are gas stations.”
The car has few special features. The tan interior is fabric. There’s a stereo but no power steering, power brakes or air conditioning. But it does have a 355-cubic-inch Chevy V8 engine. “With two, four-barrel carbs and a 671 blower, it puts out 800 horsepower,” DiGiovanni said. “It’s all about the power!”
The Specs
Assembly: Dearborn (also Canada and overseas)
Body: 2-door coupe
Production: 28,904
Designer: Edsel Ford
Engine: 221 cubic inch (V8); 201 cubic inch (4 cyl)
Carburetor: Detroit Lubricator
Horsepower: 65 (V8), 40 (4 cyl)
Transmission: 3-speed manual sliding gear
Weight: 2,310 pounds
Tires: 18 x 5.25
Fuel economy: 13.5 mpg
Top Speed: 78 mph (V8)
0 to 60 mph: 16.8 seconds
Cost: $495 ($11,500 today)
Power was something Henry Ford also appreciated. Adding more power to his vehicles made 1932 a significant year in automotive history. Before then, Chevy’s six-cylinder cars were outselling Ford’s four-cylinder models. Not to be outdone, Ford introduced the flathead V8. It became hugely popular and an enduring part of American culture.
Police departments across the U.S. started buying it, attracted by the power. On the other hand, Clyde Barrow, of Bonnie and Clyde, also wrote Ford to say how much he appreciated the speedy car.
Before starring in American Graffiti, the ’32 Ford inspired the Beach Boys’ 1963 hit, “Little Deuce Coupe.” And the oft-misunderstood lyric “revved up like a deuce,” in the song “Blinded by the Light,” written by Bruce Springsteen and popularized by Manfred Mann, is a tip of the hat to the ’32 Ford coupe, aka the deuce.
