'32 Ford Roadster
Written by Keith Fudge

There are hot rod roadsters and then there is the hot rod roadster. For decades, the 1932 Ford has been the style of choice for the speed-demons of the street. Well, we at Hemming's My Classic Car had recently heard of a '32 Ford that was one "high-tech, tire-fryin' daddy," so Dennis Gage and the crew traveled to Bellingham, Washington, to meet with Chuck McCoy and his fully stacked '32 Ford.

When we arrived, we were awestruck at what stood before us. With an exterior decked out in Mercedes-Benz Smoke Silver and with an interior outfitted in Mercedes Parchment and Black (and complete with Rolls Royce carpet no less) we were overwhelmed with this engineering marvel. Chuck is the owner and builder of this cool, all steel and hand crafted hot rod, and what he was about to tell us and show us would literally take our breath away. Chuck told us that he built or modified most all of the metal on this fab Ford, including the suspension. He also added that he had designed many of the engine components including the headers.

As we walked the length of the car, we soon found out what all the fuss was about and we then realized that everything that we had heard was true. Underneath the hood sat a 1998 Chevy Generation VI Bowtie block. After all the engine mods including aluminum heads and electronic computerized fuel injection, this rad roadster was at 509 c.i., 750 horsepower, and thrust a whopping 700 ft. lbs. of torque-can you say, "hold on!" All this power is funneled through a Turbo 400 tranny and with 4.11 gears is definitely a head turner-that is, if you are quick enough to catch a glimpse of it as it thunders by! Dennis asked Chuck just how it runs and with a coy grin, Chuck replied, "Just like Grandma's car." Well, if that's the truth, Granny must have been the original little old Lady from Pasadena! With that said, Dennis and Chuck climbed in to hit the Washington back roads, to travel over the river and thorough the woods.

In cruising along, it was stunning to behold the attention paid to detail in the interior; carbon fiber and billet aluminum filled the dash and trim areas, and although this ride could be an elegant ride for the refined Grand-ma-ma at one minute, it could turn into Granny's Gear-Crusher at the punch of the accelerator. The power from this custom was incredible and when combined with a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest with the sun, the wind, and the open road in front of us, we thought we were in hot rod heaven-everybody ought to have a granny's car like this one! Thanks Chuck, for a car and for a time that we'll not soon forget!