THOSE DARN 32 FORDS - dragracealberta.com
Transcription
THOSE DARN 32 FORDS - dragracealberta.com
THOSE DARN 32 FORDS ------------Bob Cantin I was just 12 years old when I bought my first car, and it cost me a whole $5.00!! It was a princely sum of money for a kid my age, for I had saved up for about half a year to buy this beauty, mainly by cutting lawns, washing cars, and saving what I could from my meager weekly allowance. The car was about as nice a 1926 Model T Ford 2 door coach as one could find, even back then (the year was 1952). I had bought the Model T from the grandson of the original owner, who had bought it new in the summer of 1926, from Dominion Motors, a large Ford dealership in Edmonton. Yep, it was so cherry that I drove it straight home to show the family, and then continued on to my dad’s machine and welding shop, where I promptly whacked the top off of it!!! I figured that an open car not only looked better, but should also run better! With the top removed, I proceeded to drive that little Ford all over the west end of Edmonton,---- giving the local kids rides, learning some things about Model T’s and their cranky habits, but mostly just cruizin,--- polishing my newly found driving skills as I went! I had the local kids donating their weekly allowances for the privilege of cruizin with me, and believe me, that was real sweet for me, because although not realizing it at the time, I was actually in business! By purchasing the old Ford, I had overnight become a driver, (although certainly not licensed), and was in business for myself to boot! Best of all, I had also acquired some bragging rights! Yep, and bragging rights like these were hard to come by for a lad just entering puberty. Heck none of my friends had acquired a car yet,-----geez THEY were still messing around with bicycles! Author and T coupe circa 1955. One of the many cranky Model T’s in his life So for the entire summer of 1952, right after supper, I would crank that low-mile, topless T coach up, and start my cruise of the neighborhood, picking up my eager young paying customers as I went. If business got a little slow, I could always stop by either of the 2 local gas stations, (after they had closed of course), and drain their hoses of fuel. Gas was about 30 cents per gallon in those days, the average kids allowance (at least in my neighborhood) was 10-25 cents a week. The old Ford was seldom out of gas, but if the hoses at either of the stations were empty, then my dad’s fleet of new welding trucks was always a good alternate source for an “emergency” fuel supply. I quickly found out that a 4 foot length of rubber hose placed into the top of one of those welding machines fuel tanks, would, with a couple of quick sucks on the end of said hose, supply me with enough fuel for another couple of hours of running. I was always careful not to drain any of those tanks completely, lest my dastardly deed should be discovered. The last bloody thing I needed to happen, was to discover the fuel Page 2 of 37 tanks had been secured with locking gas caps! This could only happen if dear old dad were to suspect one of the older neighborhood kids of helping himself to some free fuel, and taking the needed precautions to discourage them in doing so, by locking the tanks. I don’t think that my dad ever noticed the shortages in the fuel tanks, and he certainly never queried me as to where the fuel for the Model T came from. By the time I was 13 years old, I had become a real pro at siphoning gas,-- always being careful not to get a mouthful of that foul tasting substance. The key to that success of course, was to always use the same siphon hose, and to know just when to quit sucking! Author’s twin boys on running board of brass T circa 1979 Bob Cantin photo That summer I never encountered any of Edmonton’s “finest” while driving that old Ford, although I had always kept a look out for them .With my cargo of eager paying riders aboard, we just carefully “chugged” our way through west Edmonton’s quiet residential side streets. Traffic was real light, and for the 3 months I ran that little Ford, I never did spot any “fuzz”, true testimony I guess, as to just how quiet my neighborhood must have been! No one in the neighbourhood ever questioned my little after supper operation, and that darn Ford, although at times a bit cranky, never quit running! I’ve owned over 100 Fords since then, and in looking back at my taste in the certain models and various years of same,--- I realized that my preferences for certain years of Henry’s automobiles would change about every 10 years! First it was the Model T’s,-- I had become very fond of them and their cranky habits since that first topless, 2 door experience, a fondness that would stay with me for over 50 years. (I did however sell my last Model T in 2001, swearing never to own another one)! The authors last Model T, which he sold in 2001. It had optional wire wheels, Ruckstell rear end, -----was great parade car, author swore to never own another one. Bob Cantin photo In the middle 50’s I went through my Model A period! Model A’s were extremely cheap to buy, and they seemed to be everywhere! It didn’t take me long before I had filled the vacant lot next to my parents home, with an assortment of Model A roadsters (there were over a dozen of them by the time I hit high school). It was also about this time, that I discovered my preference for open model cars, a preference that I confess I still have to this day! The Model A infatuation was quickly followed by 32’s , (which I recently Page 3 of 37 realized had been quite numerous in numbers over the subsequent years). With 2007 being the 75th birthday of this model, I decided to recount (at least in my mind’s eye), some of the 32’s that were in my life, from the early 50’s to present. There were so many of them, that I’ll have to refer to them all by number! To record my association with this truly unique, one year model of Ford automobile, I had to dig through several old bills of sale, hundreds of photos, and the various memorabilia that I had accumulated over the years. My first real “encounter” with a deuce, was a car that actually belonged to my Scoutmaster, the year was 1953! I was working at getting a proficiency badge in scouting, which involved my trekking to a camping spot in the country, carrying only what I needed for the trip, and camping out overnight. This was a pretty big deal back then, for there weren’t any modern day camp ground facilities one could use. The camping part of this trip would involve finding a suitable camping spot, and setting up a comfortable overnight camp. Hopefully, I could find such a spot on some Crown land, (there was still some of that on Edmonton’s western outskirts). I figured that with the help of a couple of fellow scouts, we could head off and find a suitable spot (which the scouting manual stated had to be some 7 miles distance from our homes, ----and of course, be in the country). We would have to carry enough food, sleeping gear, and a tent, to spend at least one night, in the wilderness?? Problem was we would have to hike there, carrying what we required for the overnight stay in our back packs, or on our pack boards. In order to check out some possible camping sites, and essentially speed things up, the scoutmaster decided he would take myself and my 2 fellow scouts on a search for some potential camping sites, a couple of weeks ahead of time. He wanted to be assured that we wouldn’t be trespassing on any private land, but if we had to do so, he wanted to obtain the required permission needed for us to make a camp before we left on our big 2- day adventure! He picked the three of us up from my parents home, driving one very “cherry” deuce 4-door sedan,--- complete with V-8 power (remember they built them with 4bangers too). The 4-door was his everyday set of wheels which he used for driving to work in downtown Edmonton. The 4- door model must have come in handy when his 3 kids, dog, and wife traveled with him on frequent weekend outings. I remember thinking that this really was neat car, for compared to the low-mile 1930 Model A 4door sedan, (which I had recently purchased from the shop teacher at Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton)--- this puppy was quiet---like REAL quiet!!! It had none of the 4 cylinder engine vibrations inherent to a Model A, and best of all, that little 4-door could really haul some serious ass! Yep, it was during that short trip looking for that campsite west of Edmonton, that I was hooked on Mr. Ford’s eight cylinder marvel! I decided that afternoon that I was going to have to get busy and try to find me one of these neat cars! After returning from what turned out to be a successful campout, the official search was on for my first 32 Ford! An 8 cylinder engine would be replacing the vibrating 4bangers that I was just beginning to understand, and yep, the V-8 model 32 Page 4 of 37 Ford was going to be my choice in doing so! Down the street from my parents home, was a Texaco service station, (one of the 2 stations that had kept me in gas with the Model T). So what shows up there one day, but a REAL hot rod 32 Ford coupe!(car #1) A guy named Denny Stanford had just started working there, and he’s driving this pretty little channeled 5-window coupe! It was painted Spartan Green Metallic, had a full-dress flatmotor, a hand-formed half hood, and a set of wide whitewall tires. A full custom red and white naugahyde upholstery job finished the car off. When he exited the parking lot, and “jumped on the spoon”, this thing could light up the back tires and could go like stink!! For me, it was love at first sight, and I immediately knew what I wanted MY first deuce to look like. It would have to be fenderless, channelled a whole bunch, and have a later model flathead with a whole lot of “go” in it! It wouldn’t be too long after my first encounter with that car, that into my life came MY first 5-window coupe, (car#2).( car #1 would appear again, but this would happen a few years later)! I managed to acquire car #2 from a guy a few years older than me, who also lived in the west end of Edmonton! After towing it home (it had no engine in it), I set about channelling it, and removing the fenders (just like the Stanford coupe,-- car #1.) I went to the Texaco station on several occasions to get measurements off the Stanford car, and it was during this time that Denny Stanford and I got acquainted. I’m sure he was flattered to have this younger kid asking him all these questions about the car, and he was always patient with me in answering the many questions that I would throw at him on those visits. Stanford coupe was one of the few finished hot rods on Edmonton’s streets in the early 50’s. Car was used as model for authors first channeled deuce coupe. Stanford photo Denny Stanford and Car #2 circa 1952 Stanford photo It was fortunate for me that my dad owned the welding and machine shop, for it made the channelling operation on my coupe fairly simple. I had by that time, acquired some of the necessary skills Page 5 of 37 needed to channel the car, and if I were to encounter any problems during the construction, I knew I could always seek some expert advice from dear old dad. I swapped a pair of Model A roadster bodies from the vacant lot “stash” of Model A’s”, for some “as new” used speed equipment. The deal included a set of Edelbrock cylinder heads, a dual carb manifold with rebuilt Holley carburetors, and the complete throttle linkage, required to make it work. At this point, I figured that I was well on my way to having a clone to the Stanford car (car #1), however, I was now faced with the fact that for me to continue construction on this joy of my life, I would have to spend some MONEY on big ticket items like a decent engine and transmission, new glass, some kind of upholstery job, and paint (which would probably just be some good old Red Oxide primer). Other incidentals like tires, battery, and new gauges, etc, I was pretty sure I could always horse trade some of my other newly accumulated “stuff” for. This was all quite overwhelming for a 13 year old kid! I mean, up till now, I had been able to trade and scrounge parts for the various cars and parts which I now possessed, but this MONEY thing I just knew was not going to be as easy to acquire! A kid in school would need a pretty good part time job to earn this kind of money, and after all you just couldn’t quit school at 13, even though the thought of doing so was at times certainly attractive. My life at this time was pretty good, and the thought of spending time doing tedious stuff like working part time , had me simply putting the project on hold, at least for awhile! So I just kept on doing what I liked doing, wheeling and dealing in cars and parts----and the job thing , well it would have to come later----and what the hell, ----for that matter, ----- so could the hot rod! Car #2 was channeled 5”. Parked for lack of funds, it formed a neat backdrop for picture of authors younger brother and his pals circa 1953 Bob Cantin photo So car #2 ended up being parked behind my dad’s welding/machine shop, with the much needed construction work coming to a grinding halt---all because of the lack of funds. With the decision to temporarily park this thing, my dreams of a cool channelled deuce coupe hot rod were put on hold for the next couple of years. The closest thing to owning a REAL hot rod for me, was to trek down to that Texaco station and drool over the Stanford coupe! Later that year, Denny Stanford would hire me to wash and wax that little beauty, a weekly chore I eagerly looked forward to. About all I was able to afford at this time on my Page 6 of 37 meager weekly allowance, was the monthly editions of Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Motor Trend magazines. From these publications, I learned about dropped front axles, hydraulic brake conversions, and hopping up the popular Ford and Merc flat head V-8’s. They contained lots of pics showing how to chop, channel, section, paint and weld up the various body panels, while making some of these modifications. Hell, it all looked quite easy----all I was going to need, was---- that damn MONEY thing—(the tools and shop stuff as I’ve mentioned before, I was already fortunate enough to have ready access to)! Enter into my young life, 1932 Ford(car #3). I saw it parked on the street just down the block from my parents home, it was the summer of 1956. There were some older guys standing around talking,---their focus was mainly on this 32 Ford roadster. It was bright purple, full fendered, had a 3 carb manifold, chrome air cleaners, and a good old C59A Merc V8 engine. It seems these older guys had just rented the big 2-stall garage behind the house the car was parked in front of. Then I noticed that 2 of the 3 guys were wearing car club jackets with “Drifters West Edmonton” crests on the back! The roadster was stunning to say the least, and as I approached them, I could hear that these guys were talking some serious hot rod talk! I heard for the first time in my life, terms like 3 and 5 by 4,(which is flathead talk for an engine that is 3 5/16” bore by 4”stroke)---1007B Isky camshafts, and “hey kid, get your ass away from that car”. Yep, these were the guys that ended up teaching me about hot rod “stuff” in the years to come! And they not only taught me hot rod “stuff”, but as it turned out, all 3 of these guys would become lifelong friends in the process---a bond that all started with our mutual admiration for 32 Fords!! The older guy that owned that roadster was a guy they called “Racer Ray”. Seems he was well known in the Edmonton area for building hot flatheads. Ray would later in the year win the Alberta Provincial Drag Race Championships----(an event that was held for the first time that year (1956). This event took place at the old Shepard abandoned air strip, just south of Calgary). It was the first year for organized drag racing in Alberta, and yep, he won that event driving that same purple flathead powered deuce roadster! In doing so, he was pitted against several other hard core hot rods that were there for the event. Racer Ray worked for the original Ford Engine Rebuilders shop in west Edmonton, and he always had what seemed like an endless supply of “hardcore” internal flathead parts. He owned the first Scintilla-Vertex magneto set up for a flathead ever seen in the province (an item I eventually would purchase, and an item I still have). He had raced and blown up more flathead engines than my young mind at that time could imagine. I remember him being so very upset after blowing up one of his “killer” engines, one that had a rare POTVIN ELIMINATOR camshaft in it! Some say these camshafts were probably the finest camshafts ever developed for the old flatmotors, but personally, I think that Isky’s 404 radius tappet “Constant Acceleration” camshaft (which I later ran in my flathead dragster) was a whole lot better. Yep, old Racer blew that engine so Page 7 of 37 hard, that the camshaft ended up in 3 pieces---the block literally exploding when it cratered! He kept those 3 pieces of camshaft for several years, proudly displaying them whenever the subject came up! I doubt that the engine had 200 miles on it at the time of it’s demise, and the camshaft pieces were all that he was able to salvage from it! Ray was the guy that would teach me about offset grinding the Merc 4” crankshaft to end up with a 4 1/8” stroke. He showed me how to change rods and install full floating bearings on the reground crankshaft. I learned how to drill the lifter bosses, enabling me to use a nail to set the Johnson adjustable lifters, (eliminating the use of those horrible little curved wrenches that were so difficult to use)! He also showed me how to install larger intake valves, which he said would help the old flatmotor breathe a little easier. Finally, he helped me port and relieve one of my first flathead blocks, which he assured me would help make the big valve swap really work! All this “classified” information Racer fondly referred to as his “Speed Secrets”--- (some serious information and tricks these old guys seemed to guard quite jealously). This knowledge he assured me would be helpful in winning---or perhaps losing THAT big race against one’s rival’s worked over “piece”. If you were careful while drag racing on the street, and knew about when to shift, you might just be able to keep your favorite flatmotors innards intact! Over the years Racer Ray managed to share most of these “speed secrets” with me and a couple of my close buddies. To this day I’m still not quite sure why he did this, but what the hell, the information was FREE---so I took it!! A lot of this information I still find most useful, and I have to say that it certainly has worked for me, because after many years of racing Old Henry’s flatmotors, I never ever, blew one up, even though they would get revved to 6 thousand rpm plus! This was an rpm range that wasn’t supposed to be attainable with a flathead, however, I still remember a famous little flathead rhyme of the era that we often quoted: A Man is a man who fights with a sword Or conquers Mount Everest in snow But the bravest of all drives a 32 Ford And tries for six thousand in low! “Racer” Ray Legris and the purple 32 roadster circa 1956. Chopped 34 coupe belonged to Jim Dykes. The coupe ran a rare set of Elco Twin cylinder heads. Author still has these heads in his collection of flathead speed parts T.Lauder photo The second one of those original guys wearing a Drifters jacket, was a guy named Richard “Red” Chevalier. He too owned a deuce,-- his being a bright red 3window coupe, a car which I would eventually end up owning! It was a car with an interesting past---- and as it would turn out, would have an even more interesting future! “Red” went on to open the first real speed shop in the Province of Alberta (Pioneer Automotive in Page 8 of 37 Edmonton), a venture which was actually an extension of his fathers existing auto repair shop. Richard also built Edmonton’s first REAL dragster, (a blown Chevrolet gas car), which his brother Ross drove. Our car club later bought the chassis from this race car from Richard. We would team up with Freddy Ladwig, a successful drag racer from Red Deer, (a small city south of Edmonton), in running Edmonton’s first top-fuel dragster,---but this didn’t happen till a few years later(1965-67.) After proving he had the fastest accelerating car in the province in the fall of 1956, Racer Ray put the word out that he was going to sell the purple roadster. He wanted to build a 31 Model A roadster pick up that he had tucked away, and would need some cash to complete it. A school chum of mine, a guy named Denny Arnold, had just inherited some serious cash from his grandmothers estate, was looking for a fast sporty car. An introduction to Racer Ray was made, and a new hot rodder was about to make the scene! Racer Ray’s deuce (car#3) would soon become a part of my life over the next few years. Denny Arnold l went on to work as a stuntman in the movies, and was later inducted into the Hollywood Stuntman’s Hall Of Fame. He worked in many Hollywood movies, becoming close friends with guys like Burt Reynolds and Charlton Heston, and ended up marrying well known actor Slim Pickens’ daughter! Denny hired me to rebuild the roadster into a showcar, still wanting to retain it’s “ass hauling” capabilities(a reputation the car had already earned). I have written a couple of stories about Denny and I, and our various adventures in that car, and like so many of those early hot rods that graced my life, this car too would manage to survive the many owners/builders that would own it over the next few decades. The last known owner of the roadster has had it stored away for over 25 years, but I have to admit that I’ve lost track of it’s exact current whereabouts. Rumours though have it parked in a warehouse somewhere in the Edmonton area! The ultra rare Elco Twin cylinder heads on Jim Dykes’ 1934 Ford coupe. Unique heads have 2 spark plugs per cylinder, used Nash distributor and dual coils Lauder photo While rebuilding the Arnold roadster (car #3), I purchased another 5-window coupe from a farmer west of Edmonton, (car#4). I discovered the car while deer hunting, and the purchase price on this one was a whole $25.00! The car was by 1957 standards fairly inaccessible. The farmer that owned it had removed the engine, transmission, and the complete undercarriage, parking the remains of it on top of a small hill, a short distance from his house. None of us had car trailers back then, and without wheels, moving the car was an almost impossible task. With the farmers permission, I simply chose to cannibalize the car right where it sat. Page 9 of 37 I needed to rebuild the original frame on the roadster(car #3), so I ended up removing the frame from this otherwise pristine little coupe. One weekend, my buddy and I loaded the frame onto my dad’s Jeep truck, and took it home! The coupe had a nice set of fenders on it, so they too, along with the bumpers, gas tank, and rear frame covers were also removed and loaded up. Over the next few years, I would get other needed parts from the little donor coupe, the dash board and instrument panel being the last items to be removed. I had almost forgotten about that car until the fall of 2002, at which time I returned to that same farm to see if it was still there, only to find out that the farm had been sold! The new owner remembers his kids friends removing the car body, and taking it to the small town located about 10 miles south of his farm. He said they’d planned to take it to the high school, where with the help of the shop teacher, had hoped to build a hot rod. Well,----hopefully the remnants of the car did get rebuilt, and maybe ended up being someone’s new ride in the latter part of the 20th century! I wondered what it might have ended up looking like, or if it had even made it to that stage. Either way, car#4, was gone from my life,---or was it!! Author figures this coupe to be the same one as car#4 in story. Car is missing the exact same parts that were removed from it in the late 50’s. Present owner said the car came from the same area that the author had originally found it Bob Cantin photo In 2001, I came across a 5-window coupe, about 5 miles from my acreage. It was sitting in amongst some used farm trucks, next to a small river. A closer look revealed that it was missing all the exact parts that I had removed from car #4. The body was sitting on a Dodge Dart chassis, and hadn’t been worked on in years. I tracked down the owner, who told me his dad had bought the car from some kids from the same small town that the farmer had said it had gone too many, many years before. I’m pretty sure it’s the same car, and if so, it’s another example of a true survivor! I hope that one day soon, it too may finally get rejuvenated by some ambitious Ford enthusiast. An interesting side note to the Denny Arnold roadster story, was that Denny had bought the roadster with money his grandmother had willed to him. He bought the car from Racer Ray without his parents knowledge, using some of that money. After I had the car basically rebuilt (it was all done except for paint and upholstery), Denny’s dad somehow Page 10 of 37 found out about the car (which Denny had kept stored at my house, while the rebuild work was being performed). The fact that Denny had “blown” part of his inheritance on this damn old car, infuriated the senior Arnold, and some serious lectures to the both of us soon followed. I of course got blamed for getting his boy interested in these damn old cars, with the end result being the proverbial brown stuff hitting the fan. Shortly afterwards the senior Arnold “took possession” of the nearly finished roadster, and then to add insult to injury, the old man up and sells the car to a couple of our hot rodding archrivals’ father! This guy was the head of the newly installed Ford Plant in West Edmonton, and his two sons, well, they had been constant pains in our backsides, especially when it came to hot rods! They too had been building some hot rods, and as they had much deeper pockets than we did, they had a serious edge in the quality of the cars they were building. We tried hard to try and forget the fact that these two guys might soon be driving the much prized roadster probably just as quickly as they could get their grubby little hands on it. We were spared the humiliation though, for before they got to pick the car up, their dad got transferred to Ontario. The two sons were going to go back east with him, so we figured it was good riddance to all of them! The cherry deuce roadster would end up accompanying them on the long trek across Canada to Oakville, Ontario! We figured that “being out of sight” would be as good as “being out of mind”, and although we were both saddened by the loss, we decided to try and forget the car, the 2 sons, and concentrate on getting on with our lives! Well, about a year later (it was going to be Denny’s 18th birthday), his old man has a change of heart, and buys the car back for Denny’s birthday! The details of this little transaction were never disclosed, and we never asked. We were informed however, that the car had never been run since leaving Edmonton, and was in storage somewhere in Ontario! This was great news for us, for at least the two sons wouldn’t have had a chance hurt anything on the car! I thought it was real cool of his dad to go to the trouble to buy the car back, (maybe guilt pangs were haunting him) however, the car was in Ontario, and we were now faced with getting it shipped back to Edmonton. After shopping around, it was discovered that the cheapest method of getting it back to Edmonton, would be to ship it by flatcar via CN rail. So, the arrangements got made, and the car was loaded on a CN flatcar, for the trip west. Here’s this really neat 32 roadster, dressed up engine, no hood, lots of chrome stuff everywhere, a neat custom hand formed chromed grille insert, no convertible top, and it’s all sitting in the open on a CN flatcar! Remember in those days, railroads didn’t use sideboards or screens to protect automobiles while being shipped. A week or so later, we got the call to pick the car up at CN’s Edmonton freight sheds. Much to our surprise, the only thing we could find missing was the car’s windshield! We felt mighty lucky that no one had used the car for target practice while enroute, for they could have used either rocks or guns on the roadster as it sped by, but there it was in pretty much the same condition as we’d last seen it, without a scratch on it! A 32 roadster windshield in 1958 was about as rare as a set of hen’s fangs, and I suspect the only reason whomever took Page 11 of 37 the windshield, was that it was the easiest chrome piece to remove from the car. Denny was forced to drive the car without a windshield, for the rest of the several years he owned the car. He was always optimistic that he would be able to find a replacement, but sadly that never happened.(remember there were no repros available in those years). I remember Denny and one of his other pals, driving the car to Spokane, Washington from Edmonton, in 1960. They put some 1500 miles on the car on that trip, and they did it without a windshield or a convertible top!! Must have brought a whole new meaning to the phrase “bugs on the teeth”, and they were also very lucky not to encounter any rainstorms on the trip! The hopped up flatmotor never missed a beat, although the trio of 97 Stromberg carbs occasionally liked to flood, a situation brought on by the use of a healthy electric fuel pump. I was driving a channelled 31 Ford roadster at the time, which I had named “Lil Mau Mau”, ( named for it’s deep black lacquer paint job). It’s windshield was chopped, and although it was different, we found that the Model A windshield would sorta work on the deuce. Whenever Denny had a date that was worth impressing, he would come by my place and put “Mau Mau’s” windshield on the 32 for the evening,-- hopefully returning it the next day .That chopped windshield made the 32 look pretty mean, but with or without that windshield, it was no understatement to say that this purple puppy could-- and did “haul some serious ass”! Somehow that 32 roadster never managed to hurt the one really weak link in these things all powerful, that of course being Henry’s puny 3-speed transmission! Ford transmissions were notorious for blowing low and second gear, this usually occurring after you had hung a serious shift from low to second gear. Many a night after some serious street racing, you could get to drive home with one of those damn Ford transmissions going “clang, clang, clang. High gear was the only safe option, and one hoped and prayed that loose teeth, which were now lying in the bottom of the transmission case, wouldn’t get picked up by spinning transmission gears! Bob Cantin’s “Lil Mau Mau” Ford roadster was a common sight on Edmonton streets in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Car ran hot flathead engine, saw lots of drag race action Dahlmer photo In 1958, I was able to buy the old Denny Stanford coupe (#2). It had traded hands several times by then, and was now painted red. Someone had moulded a set of rear fenders to the body (doing a very nice job), and extending the rear pan below the trunk. They had incorporated the dual exhaust pipes into this panel, mounting a set of 50 Pontiac taillights in Page 12 of 37 the same panel. The hopped up flathead engine was now almost worn out, God only knows how many miles had been put on the car since Denny Stanford had built it. The coupe racing Dan Sorenson’s DeSoto powered T- pick up at Edmonton’s International airport circa 1959 Bob Cantin photo Stanford car featured in CARS magazine 1965 Chalmers Photo All the speed goodies were still there, and best of all, the price was right---$150.00! So car #2 would become car #5 in the story of my 32’s. (This car would eventually change hands many more times, each new owner adding even more modifications and mechanical improvements to it) Denny Stanford car now with rear fenders added. Car was in primer getting some new mufflers. Photo taken circa 1958, behind Bob’s house Dahlmer photo While I owned (car #2/5) I rebuilt the flathead, boring it to 3 3/8”, and installing a 4” crank, giving it a healthy 286 cubic inches. I had just got started to do some work on the steering and brakes, when good friend Billy Orchin comes along with his pocket full of money, with a desire to own a channelled 32 Ford coupe. As I had a few other projects on the go, I was quick to accommodate him. And so deuce #2/5 would go to a new home, although again, not out of my life,- at least not yet! I helped Bill get the car basically finished, and except for paint, (it still had a decent upholstery job), he started driving it. The coupe was a pretty strong runner, and old Billy had lots of “clutch off” action during the few months he did drive it. Then for some reason, Richard Chevalier, decided he too wanted the coupe real bad, and surprisingly, Billy just up and sold it to him! A guy named Al Trammel bought it from Richard a few months later,---- with Richard never ever really driving the car much! Trammel repowered the little coupe with a hopped up 283 Chev V-8. Overhead valve V-8’s had just begun to replace the trusty old flatheads, and the local auto wreckers Page 13 of 37 hadn’t yet accumulated very many of the relatively new Chev V-8’s. Trammel considered himself lucky to find an engine at the wreckers, and snapped it right up. $200.00 seemed like a lot of money at the time for an engine, but after all, the engine was only a year old! The swap retained the original Ford transmission, a standard practice in those early Chev/Ford conversions. Trammel figured his new ride, with that newer overhead V-8 was unbeatable, for he was constantly bragging how fast this thing was! As it was Trammel’s first hot rod, he really wouldn’t have had much to compare it to, his mother’s new Cadillac would have been a slug compared to the coupe’s performance. One night in 1960 as I was heading home driving “Lil Mau Mau”, (which was still flathead powered). The roadster’s engine was now equipped with some of MY “speed secrets”. It was sporting a new C&T stroker kit (296 cu. inches), an Isky 400JR. camshaft, the Vertex magneto, and dual carburetors. It was 2am in the morning, and what pulls up along side me at a traffic light, but Mr. Trammel and his Chev powered deuce (my old car # 2/5) At this hour of the morning, there really wasn’t any traffic around, however I was reluctant to “have a go” with him, even though he was urging me on to do so! It wasn’t that I was afraid of being beaten by a car with a newer generation of engine, it was just that both the cars by now had become well known in and around Edmonton. I figured an encounter with the local constabulary at that time of the morning, wasn’t exactly on my list of things to do that night! We were both heading west on 107th avenue in Edmonton’s west end, and 2 blocks ahead of us, the road had some turns in it, where it wound through a large cemetery. Not exactly what you’d call an ideal site for a drag race! What to do,-- I’ve got this guy yipping and yapping about how hot his new overhead valve engine is, and how he could, in a heartbeat, beat my “old water boilin” flatmotor ! I figured I’d better save face and oblige him, with both of us agreeing to shut off just about where the road straightened out,-- which was about a quarter of a mile ahead! The light turned green and away we go! Trammel who was relatively new to the world of street racing, didn’t realize just how quick a good flatmotor could get launched. The roadster quickly jumped a car length ahead of him, my tach was reading nearly 6 grand, when I shifted into second. The coupe was still in low gear, and was starting to sound like it might hurt itself. About this time Trammel shifted,---and over the scream of both engines, I heard this tremendous “bang”. Suddenly I was all alone, with the little flatmotor still pulling hard in second gear! I got off the “spoon” and started to slow down, for I was now approaching the straight stretch of road beyond the graveyard turns. I knew HE must have blown something major, for the roadster was still pulling hard and sounding good! I figured it must have been his new Chev engine that had “come apart”,-- cuz that really was a loud bang! I got turned around, and slowly retraced my course. There parked next to the curb a couple of blocks back under the street light, was my poor old deuce coupe, (car #2/5). A huge pool of oil was underneath the car, with a very disgruntled Mr. Trammel mumbling something about “goddam flatheads” and Ford *!** transmissions!. He then actually had the Page 14 of 37 nerve to ask me if I could tow him home! He didn’t want to leave his broken pride and joy sitting on the side of the road overnight, especially in the middle of a damn graveyard! Being the true gentleman that I was, I would kindly oblige him. I had to go home and get my flathead Merc powered Jeep (which I had nicknamed “Gillis”), to tow him home. Trammel lived with his mother in the “posh” district on top of the river bank near Edmonton’s Government House, so I wouldn’t have to tow him very far to get him home. About 2 blocks from his house, a police cruiser stopped us and asked what we were up to. Seems the young cop that stopped us was mostly interested in our 2 interesting vehicles, for he neglected to even ask us for our drivers licenses or registrations. After a short informative chat (at least for him), we proceeded on to Trammel’s house,-- trying to be quiet, for we didn’t want to wake any of the neighbors. Well, the old flathead had done real good “blowing off” Trammel’s new Chev V-8, and I was feeling pretty good as I drove home. I knew I would have some serious bragging rights for at least the next month, and I was hoping my win would help shut Trammel up! The little coupe got a new transmission the following week, and as I suspected, things were REAL quiet from the Trammel camp. As for me---well--!! My gesture of goodwill that night, would in the near future pay off big time for me, for it would be Mr. Trammel, who would be selling me the remnants of a very nice deuce three window coupe, and at a very affordable price (thank you in advance--Mr. Trammel)!!! Well known drag racer and hot rod builder, Geoff Goodwin, owned the channeled coupe (#2/5) for a while, repowering it yet again with a Y block Ford engine of 312 cubes. Dragster chassis builder, Wally Protz bought the car a couple of years later, removing the Y block Ford, and repowering it with another Chev V-8 ! Wally had the car for a few years, showing it at various car shows in Alberta and Saskatchewan. I guess he must have gotten tired of it too, for he ended up selling it to a guy who he thinks lived in or around Winnipeg. Sadly, none of us have seen the car since! It was a great little car, and I just hope someone out there is having as much fun with it today, as we all did back then! Car #6 has a most fascinating history indeed! Of all the 32’s in my life, this was/is my all time favorite! The car came to Edmonton from Oakville, Ontario about 1954. I was in my high school parking lot one day when it came cruising by, driven by an older dude, who as it turned out lived only 2 blocks north of the school. I managed to find out the owners name, a nice older guy (of course any one over 25 was considered old), named Bill Chisholm. Bill was a professional musician, who was usually home during the day, mainly playing his gigs at night. When I knocked on his door, (I had skipped a class from school that afternoon), he politely informed me that the car wasn’t for sale, -- it was his daily driver! He told me that while he was still living in Oakville, he had driven the car to Los Angeles, and had the almost new C69A Canadian flathead hopped up by a famous engine builder down there, and that he’d just never ever consider selling the car---end of Page 15 of 37 conversation,--- nice talking to you young fella! Pictures in a recent OLD AUTOS newspaper article, show the coupe, (circa 1954) drag racing another deuce coupe at Ontario’s famous Cayuga drag strip. I assume it was Bill Chisholm driving it! first piece of asphalt to get used for drag racing in the late 50’s in the Province of Alberta. It was here in those early years, that a dozen or so hardy souls would line up and “clutch off” against whoever, and driving whatever, that showed up that particular day! There was no real timing equipment involved, a guy at the finish line with a red flag would simply designate the winning car by waving the flag in the winning cars lane. This method would declare the winner only, no speed or elapsed times were recorded . A genuine set of Chrondek timing clocks wouldn’t show up until a few years later. My favorite 32 of all time, seen here drag racing at Cayuga’s drag strip circa 1954. Owner Bill Chisholm would bring car to western Canada in 1956. Hot flathead engine was built in Los Angeles. Coupe had unusually small cowl lamps, making it easily identifiable. Same lamps are still on the car today OLD AUTOS photo It was a nice original 3-window, had all body and paint work done, sporting 40 Ford hydraulic brakes, and 4” dropped front axle. The hopped up flathead was 286 cu. inches, had tri-power, Hellings air cleaners, and Edelbrock aluminum heads. The original upholstery in the car, was still like new!! Well, as the man once said---“nothing is forever”, because less than a year later, my old buddy, Richard Chevalier shows up driving the Chisholm deuce coupe! Richard, as I mentioned earlier, belonged to the then fledgling “Drifters-West Edmonton” hot rod club. He, along with fellow club member “Racer Ray Legris” and a few other hard core hot rod club members, would make the 180 mile trip south to the Shepard drag strip, located a few miles south of Calgary. Shepard, was an abandoned WW2 air strip, and was the Richard Chevalier and coupe on way to drags in Calgary circa 1957 Lauder photo In 1959, Richard sold the 3 window to a guy named Jack Ondrack, who would later become a successful sports car racer. Jack didn’t want the coupe’s killer flathead engine when he purchased the car, so Richard got to keep the custom Californiabuilt flathead engine. He put it in the cherry 39 Ford 2-door Deluxe that he took as part payment from Ondrack for the deuce. Ondrack put a stock 283 Chev with tri-power in the coupe, keeping the original Ford trannsmission and 32 rear end intact. The car showed up one day at my dad’s machine shop, to have a set of Page 16 of 37 motor mounts for the new Chev engine, and a custom generator mount to relocate the generator installed. When the installation was completed, Ondrack drove the coupe to Calgary twice to race it at Shepard, both times blowing up the puny 32 rear end! When it was running the car ran real strong, however, Ondrack wasn’t impressed with cars that broke parts and had to be towed home, ---especially when it was the 180 miles back home to Edmonton from Calgary! So it was right after the second rear end blew, that the car got sold to my old friend---Al Trammel! To this day, I’m not sure just what it was that prompted Al to dismantle the coupe, --but dismantle it he surely did! There was not a nut, bolt or a screw on that car that he didn’t take apart. Scattered about on his mother’s garage floor, was this once fine 32 coupe, all in a zillion pieces! Al put the word out that the car was for sale--(piece by piece), but by the time I heard of the sale, half of the car had been sold off! Another west end guy was building a channeled 5-window coupe, and had given Trammel $400.00 for the complete, rolling chassis! For $400.00 the guy got a cherry frame, the 4” dropped axle, hydraulic brakes, the 283 Chev V-8, a 39 Ford tranny with Lincoln gears, and a 32 rear end that was “hatched”. It all rode on a nice set of 15” wheels with wide whitewall tires. Wow, that was a big dollar for hot rod stuff in 1959!---So “what’s left” I asked? Well, scattered about the garage was this sorry looking 3 window coupe body (stripped even of it’s pristine upholstery). Several other guys had been over to look at it, but had passed on it, saying it wasn’t worth the asking price, as it didn’t even have a frame under it! Trammel had paid $600.00 for the complete car and had figured that by parting it out, he’d easily be able to double his money. By the time I got there, I think he was quickly beginning to realize that this wasn’t going to happen! So, a deal was struck, and car #6 came into MY life! For $200.00 I bought the totally dismantled, but still complete deuce coupe body, along with a decent frame Trammel had found lying out behind his garage. It took 3 pick up truck loads to get all the stuff home, and after unloading it all, I stacked everything behind my parents house. Bill of Sale dated 1959, shows purchase of bare body and frame, all that was left of original Chisholm coupe. Over the next 2 years, author rebuilt car, finally putting it back on the road in 1963 Bob Cantin photo Over the next 2 years, I was able to obtain another 32 rear end, a set of 15” wheels and tires, and a new I-beam 4” dropped axle. By the summer of 1962 I had the car Page 17 of 37 reassembled and looking like a deuce again. The only thing missing was an engine, and that too was about to come my way---in a rather unusual way!! In 1963, Chevrolet introduced a 340 hp version of their 327 cubic inch engine! There were 3 crate engines of this model sold in Edmonton by the local GM truck dealer, Western GMC. One of these was sold to old friend Richard Chevalier, who would supercharge it, and install it in a new dragster. The second engine was bought by a guy named Earl Lewis who would put it in his 56 Pontiac, and the third engine was bought by an unknown guy in town named Billy Matheson!! Yep, turns out to be the same Billy “floppin in the net” Matheson that currently writes a bimonthly column for the popular Calgary Foothills Street Rod Associations newsletter. Billy had bought and paid the big dollar for this engine (remember this is 1963). He had Pioneer Auto install a set of Gotha rocker arms, an Edelbrock tripower complete with chrome air cleaners, and of course had the Corvette valve covers polished! He had planned on putting the engine into his 40 Ford coupe, but after he had bought the add ons, he’d simply run out of coin!!! The engine sat in Pioneer Automotive’s show room for a few months, but apparently no one could afford the price of $1600.00! Sitting next to it for sale for at least 2 years, was an Ardun engine, --complete with a Norden 180 degree crank. A nice runner it had been freshly removed from a local stock car racer, and placed in the showroom for sale. It too, couldn’t even fetch the $750.00 asking price! After all, it was really just a trick flathead with a fancy set of heads, and in 1963, who in hell wanted flathead stuff? The Ardun engine belonged to well known circle track racer, Eldon Rasmussen. Eldon had recently replaced the Ardun with a Chev V-8 in a car which he would race successfully for a number of years at Edmonton's International Speedway Park. (Eldon would later go on to race at Indy) Page 18 of 37 Some interesting ads from popular Benchracer magazine from the early 60’s, showing the Denny Arnold roadster listed at $800.00. There were no takers, ------probably because car was still flathead powered. Arnold installed a Hemi- DeSoto engine in the car to sell it! Ardun engine was a no sell at $750.00. Price was dropped to $600.00, engine still didn’t sell! Race cars for sale in same ads didn’t list any prices, author remembers race cars cars being bought for less than $2,000.00! Page 19 of 37 One day, I get a phone call from old Billy, and he’s wondering if I’d be interested in trading my channeled 1931 Ford roadster (Lil Mau Mau) for his new 327 Chev V-8 engine! I could keep the flathead that was presently in the roadster, Billy would take any flathead engine in the roadster as long as it ran,---- stressing he had to have the roadster running! So I’d end up with the strong running flathead from the roadster, and a new V-8 Chev engine, Billy would get the keys to the roadster! I would hate to see the old roadster go, for I had seen a lot of action with the car! I had even driven the roadster through several winters, and although it had a pretty good heater in it, it was still damn cold in there on those sub- zero trips! I had often thought that if I had a permanent roof over my head and some roll up windows, it might make winter driving a little less challenging. So suddenly the deuce 3window coupe that I had squirreled away in the back yard, looked like the logical solution to the problem,--- plus,--- I would have my choice of the two quite different engines to repower the coupe with should I choose to rebuild it. After some serious deliberation, I grudgingly did the deal with Billy. I was feeling sad the day he came to pick the roadster up, and drive it to it’s new home. He got a reliable little show and race car, and me I got this damn Chev V-8 engine that hadn’t even been fired up yet! We did the deal in the fall, so I knew I would have the whole winter to get the coupe finished in time for spring. I set my mind on getting the coupe built in record time, for I needed a new set of wheels totally completed if I was going to make the scene at any car shows in the coming year! A neighbour had just parted out a nice 51 Merc sedan that had overdrive in it. I knew the rear end would have a set of 4: 27 gears, so I bought the complete rear end and both leaf springs from him to install in the coupe. No one at that time had ever put a set of leaf springs under a deuce,(at least not in my town), and so with the help of good friend Dan Sorenson, (whose dad also had a machine shop) we installed the new style rear end and springs under the coupe. The car sat just right with the 4” dropped front axle, and the Merc rear end and springs. A set of 8.20-15 boots in the rear, some 6.40-15’s up front, and the chassis was about finished. Now came the time for me to choose a tough transmission for the car. Sorenson had a rebuilt 1937 Packard transmission in his shop, so I bought it and we adapted it to the standard Chev V-8 bellhousing. I was quite sure this would cure any weak transmission problems that I might encounter by using an engine with as much muscle as this mighty Chevrolet was supposed to provide. Page 20 of 37 All time favorite 32 3-window back together again in Edmonton car show circa 1963. Car ran 340hp small block Chevrolet, Packard transmission, 51 Merc rear end.------ With 4:27 gears, car was very quick Bob Cantin photo I took the complete month of February off work that winter to finish the new car. I wanted it ready for the Red Deer Igniters annual spring car show, which was held every May. The night I fired the car up for the first time, there was a small crowd of well wishers on hand for the event. I was encouraged to take it out on the back street behind my shop, and “jump on the spoon”. After all it was the first high horsepower 327 in town, and the boys wanted to see what this new powerplant could do!! I have to admit that new overhead definitely sounded good as I idled the car to the end of the street and got it turned around. My main concern was whether the new Packard tranny would be able to handle all the horsepower this new V-8 was supposed to be capable of producing. I took a deep breath, brought the R’s up a little, then promptly changed feet! The car leaped ahead, but before those 4.27 gears could get to work, there was a horrendous bang, a lot of dust,----- then nothing!!“ Yep, I must have blown that damn Packard tranny up”! I shut the engine off lest I hurt anything, and got one of the boys to tow me back to my shop. I steered the car into it’s stall in the shop, while the onlookers, (now turned car pushers,) were chuckling up a storm. Although I was embarassed to say the least, I couldn’t help wondering just what in the world all that damn noise was! A quick look underneath and I discovered that the new custom built driveshaft was missing! That night I learned an important lesson while running rear leaf springs,---- especially if the car has a lot of horsepower! “INSTALL A SET OF TRACTION BARS”!! -----Yep, right there in front of all my pals, I blew the damn driveshaft clean out of the new hot rod, not a half block from my house!! My trusty old flatheads had certainly never done anything like that! I knew that I was going to have to be careful for awhile with this new car, for I was certainly lucky this time, as I hadn’t really hurt anything! The damage was minimal, with the u-joint snapping off clean. I was able to retrieve the undamaged driveshaft from the street, where one of the guys had found it laying next to the curb. Authors favorite 32 coupe on street prior to being parked for some 30+ years. Picture taken circa 1976 McLaughlin photo In 1963, there weren’t any factory muscle cars to speak of on the street, and that Ford coupe with those 4.27 gears, would come off a green light like a bullet! Many a Saturday night I would cruise the streets of Edmonton looking for a little action, but I think the cars reputation for being fast must have preceded it, for I could never find any action for it at all, ------well except for that one night! A guy in town had a near new 62 Corvette which he had just finished hopping up. He Page 21 of 37 had bored the engine out to get 301 cubes, installed a newer generation Duntov solid lifter camshaft, and a Mallory dual point ignition. By 1963 standards, this thing was pretty darn fast! We happened to meet up one night after leaving a party at a buddies place. It was about 3 AM in the morning, and he was most determined to put my 32 coupe away in a race. I’m sure he’d probably heard how quick my coupe was supposed to be,---- and well, he did have this near new Vette, -----and we all know how fast a hopped up Corvette is supposed to be,--- right? I had my girlfriend with me, and it was agreed that she would drop her scarf from inside my car, thereby signalling the start of the race! I suggested that as I was still lacking a set of traction bars, (I hadn’t installed any yet), the start would have to be a rolling one. “No problem” was his reply, a big grin on his face! We stopped in the middle of 107th Ave, (again in Edmonton’s west end), and checked both ways for any traffic. With no other cars in sight, my girlfriend drops the scarf, and away we go! It was new Corvette against old Ford coupe, both engines screaming! We had run for a little over a quarter of a mile, and when I looked in my rear view mirror, I could see that the blue and white Corvette was a LONG ways back!! I got on the brakes to slow down, as I had one of Edmonton’s infamous traffic circles quickly approaching me. Moments later the Corvette pulls up alongside my coupe, and the driver yells at me---“Man I gotta get me one of those 327’s”! And that was that!!!---One damn good drag race with the car and that engine, and the rest of the time, the coupe was just plain old reliable, everyday transportation. When I had it completely finished, it turned out to be a fine little show car! I never ever did put a set of traction bars on the coupe, for I had figured that without them, I wouldn’t be breaking any more parts. It also discouraged me from participating in any more after- midnight street races! The old coupe has been parked in this same garage since 1976. Car was repowered in the 70’s with small block Ford. Bob Cantin photo A couple of years later, I was approached by a guy who owned a low- miled 55 Chev- 2-door post. Seems he wanted the coupe REAL bad, and would trade me the coupe (less this wonderful 327 engine) for his pristine little Chevy 2-door! I figured it was maybe time for a change, so after some deliberation, another deal got struck! Again, I must say I was kind of sad to see the coupe (car#6) go,--- for like the roadster,---- I had also grown quite fond of this car too! So what was to be my favorite 32 of all time, would be off to another new owner! I planned to put the still low-mile 327 to work in the new full size Chev, after all, it had the luxury of a back seat, room for more than one passenger, and best of all, it had a really good heater and 2 windshield wipers! Over the next few years, the old coupe changed hands several times, eventually Page 22 of 37 getting repowered with a small block Ford. A bright yellow paint job replaced the Cardinal Red paint job that I had painted it in 1963, and a new chocolate brown leather upholstery job replaced the black rolled and pleated interior that I had been so proud of. A couple of years ago, I decided to try and track down the cars current whereabouts, or at least see if I could find out what had become of it! I figured if I were to be lucky enough to find it again, who knows, it just might be for sale, and maybe I could buy it back! After some lengthy detective work, I ended up telephoning a man who was quick to assure me that he indeed had what sounded like the same car!! He told me he had bought the car in the mid 70’s, but had driven it very little. When his new bride got pregnant, he had decided to put the coupe away till his new family was established, and some of the financial burden of married life had eased up a bit. Well, it seems the car got parked in his mothers garage in 1976,--- it was still there,--- and yes he’d be happy to meet me next day and show me the car!! It took us a few minutes to remove all the cardboard boxes from atop what was soon to appear, as a very bright yellow, 32 Ford 3-window coupe! Although it was dusty from a quarter centuries storage in that garage, there it was,--- fully intact, ---looking pretty much the way I’d last seen it, almost 30 years ago! He was grateful for the copies of the various pictures I’d collected of the car over the years, and until the day of our meeting, he was not aware of much of the cars previous history. As a matter of fact, other than the previous owners account of the car, he wasn’t aware the car even had much of a history! He told me he wanted to keep the car, and that he hoped to one day get around to getting it running again. He assured me though, that should he decide to part with the old coupe, the logical home for it would be in my garage! This car is truly a survivor, for I know of only a handful of hot rods in this province that have remained in the same city for a half century. The amazing thing about this car, is that except for a basic color change, it still looks pretty much the way it did in 1957 when I had first seen it cruising past my high school. After I sold the coupe, my desire to be driving a hot rod every day seemed to wane a bit. With the freshly traded 55 Chev as my new mount, my energies were soon directed towards another of my unfullfilled passions----drag racing!! Fellow hot rodder and good friend Ken McLean and I, bought an unfinished flathead powered dragster which had been commissioned to be built by the then defunct Roadents Car Club of Edmonton. Old buddy Dan Sorenson had built the chassis, and other than some minor work to finish the chassis off, the car needed only an engine, a body and some drag slicks. Well, by then, I’d also acquired the California built “killer” flatmotor that originally came to town in the Chisholm coupe (car#6), so it was a natural to find a new home for it between the rails of the new dragster. This flathead dragster proved to be a reliable little car, requiring very minimal upkeep. We were fortunate not to break many parts in the 3 or 4 seasons we ran it. The D/dragster designation was for dragsters with in-line six and Ford flathead engines only. This meant we were at the bottom of the dragster pile so to speak, and major race Page 23 of 37 meets would have us competing in Middle or Competition Eliminator brackets. There were a couple of meets however, where I was pitted against some of the Top Fuel guys running for Top Eliminator! It was here that I was to learn what that “AMF” painted on the rear of some of those American cars meant! I had thought that AMF stood for AMF Voit, a well known American company, which manufactured basketballs and various other sporting goods supplies. Several of the top cars had this “AMF”painted on the rear of the cars bodies. When I had asked these guys, how they had managed to get a large company like that to sponsor their cars, they about split a gut laughing! When they had quit laughing, they explained the “sponsor” abbreviation to me! The first 2 letters stand for Adios, and mother. Your imagination can fill in the last blank space! I got to read that sign a few times while racing a lot those American cars, and I would chuckle everytime one of them went thundering past me. I liked it, so I had my sign painter paint the same letters on my future race cars, optimistic that someone behind me in a race, might get to read those letters on MY sign. 40 years later and I still have those letters painted on my current hot rods front license plate! Flathead dragster and crew circa 1964. Crew members Bernie Fedderly and Terry Capp would be later inducted into Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. Capp’s Chev V-8 powered Ranchero was push vehicle Bob Cantin photo I turned the controls of the little flathead dragster over to an up and coming young fella named Graham Light. Graham had never drag raced before, and he would get to cut his teeth driving that reliable little car! Graham went on to be a world renown Top Fuel car racer, and today is the Vice President of NHRA’s racing operations. D/Dragster in pits at Calgary’s Shepard Raceway. NHRA’s Graham Light would later drive this car,----- his first ride! Montgomery photo The second dragster we built ran a blown nailhead Buick engine, which we ran for only one season. We then dropped in a blown 392 Chrysler, and switched to burning nitro methane. This engine had a brand new Enderle fuel injection set up, (most fuel cars were still running Hilborn injectors), a 6-71 huffer, and a pretty good load of nitromethane in the tank! Talk about hp in a can! These were pretty scary rigs to drive, for you could smoke the tires from the starting line right on through the traps! Of course the trick in getting there, was in trying to keep the damn thing Page 24 of 37 straight! Long wheelbase cars were just beginning to make the scene, and with the longer wheelbase, the driver had the mechanical advantage in the length of the chassis, to better steer the car. My car was quite short, and seemed to prefer to try and run off the track more than on it. I think that destiny may have played a part in my decision to retire from the sport in 1967, for up till then, I hadn’t experienced any personal injury! A serious drive line explosion though, had my co-driver losing half his right foot on his third and final pass for his fuel license. Seconds after the drag chute was deployed, a safety shield covering the driveline came loose, mercilessly chewing away at his right foot! As it was the end of the season, I parked the car, selling off the chassis the following year, ----never actively returning to the sport! Author smoking the hides with the top fuel car at Edmonton’s International Speedwayin 1967. Driveline explosion retired car and driver later that year Edmonton Journal photo Meanwhile, street rodding in the 70’s had almost died out! There were very few new cars getting built, and the sport was going through it’s “resto rod” period. It seemed the younger guys were buying “muscle cars” from Detroit, and their focus seemed to be mainly on drag racing them. With my drag racing career behind me, I had again set about picking up neat old Fords and parts thereof. Throughout the 70’s, I accumulated so many early Fords, that I ran out of places to store them all. It was during this time that I acquired several more 32’s, and for the next decade or so, it seemed like they were everywhere! My dad’s welding/machine shop was a popular hangout for many of the stock car racers of the period. A seasoned circle track racer, Duke Adzich, approached me one day and asked if I could find him a 32 Ford coupe for his new circle track car. He had just cut a deal with Prodor Construction of Edmonton to sponsor him, and the new car he wanted to build, was a 32 coupe! As fate for this next deuce(car #7) would have it, I had just run across this nice 5-window coupe sitting in a body shop’s yard south of town. I acquired it and traded it to Duke for a freshly hopped up flathead that he’d built and never used. His new car was to be updated with a 283 Chev motor, making the new flathead surplus to his needs. I bought the coupe, which cost me a whole $40.00, and made the trade. I also knew that Dukes previous sponsor had spent over $300.00 rebuilding the flatmotor. It was a sweet deal for me, and so the next weekend I hooked my towbar on the coupe and dragged it home. For the next few years I got some good use out of that fresh flathead, running it in my 39 Ford 2-door deluxe. I can remember watching Duke gas welding that cherry trunk lid shut on the deuce coupe, and then helping him gut the original pristine interior, to make way for an unwieldy looking roll cage! Car #7 became a stock Page 25 of 37 car racer, and was yet another 5-window coupe that I would own but for a short period of time. It got painted Prodor Construction Orange and Black, and after just a couple of racing seasons, ended up on someone’s scrap pile! Sadly to say,-that it was probably the only 32 that I have owned, that actually got destroyed! It was also during the 70’s that I was concentrating most of my efforts in establishing the family business. My dad and I had joined forces, and were now in the commercial diving, machine/welding shop, and off-highway vehicle leasing business. In the main shop, hanging on the walls, was my collection of 32 Ford grilles and grille shells! We had a lot of “walk in” customers, and it was through those grille shells (there were about 3 dozen of them) that new leads on more 32’s would be generated! One of these customers had mentioned that there was an old 32 Ford coupe sitting next to a house just down the alley from him on Edmonton’s south side. I was there the next day to look at it, and it was almost as the customer had described it! Sitting next to a residential garage was a mostly restored 32 3-window coupe. It had a newer flat head engine in it, and was complete save for a missing front seat! Bodywork and paint had been finished, and the coupe was pretty much ready to drive. The young fellow doing the rebuild on the car had decided to get married, and yes, the car was for sale! Some money got exchanged and 32 Ford coupe (car# 8) was towed across the river to my shop. Again, because of business commitments, that coupe got parked in the yard along with several others. About the same time, another hot rodder in Edmonton, called me to tell me that he also had a complete full fendered 32 3- window coupe (car #9), that he wanted to sell. It was in his parent’s garage, and $650.00 could relieve him of it. I made arrangements to have a look at it, and yep, parked there in his parent’s single stall garage was yet another very pristine little coupe. It had recently come north from Calgary, where this guy had bought it from. Someone in Calgary had inspirations of building a hot rod and had installed an Olds rear end and recessed a radio antenna on the rear of the body. Other than those two basic modifications, the car was original and mint! Another deal was struck, with the understanding that I would return that following week end to pick the car up, and pay him for it. He indicated that there was no hurry, for as the winter snows hadn’t receded from the yard, he didn’t want me “chewing up” the driveway while extricating the coupe from his parent’s garage. I was of the understanding that the deal was done, a handshake had sealed it,-- or did it? Over the years lots of my deals have been done on a handshake, and as I knew this guy, I figured he was credible. With this in mind, I had gone home to wait for him to contact me when the driveway was dry enough to remove the car. My big mistake, as I soon found out, was in not returning immediately and paying him the agreed upon sum for the car. Seems that he wasn’t from the same school of honourable horse trading as I was! After a month of me waiting for THE phone call, I decided to call him, only to be informed that he’d sold the car to some university student, (I later found out for more money) a few days earlier. To say I was pissed would be an understatement, for as far as I was concerned, we had consummated the deal! Over the next few years, I found out that there were a few Page 26 of 37 more of these dishonourable types that I would encounter while buying and selling old Fords. 3-window coupe #9, resting quietly in present owners garage. Car was originally from Calgary,and was authors first encounter with a “less than honourable” car owner. Present owner hopes to someday build it as a street rod Stew King photo So car #9, was another 32 3-window coupe that showed up in my life! This car I have managed to keep track of over the years,-changing hands again a couple of times before the current owner obtained it! The amazing thing about this car, is that even today, it too remains unchanged, never really being touched since I had first seen it, more than 3 decades ago! The present owner has owned the car for more than 2 decades, and I tend to believe him when he tells me that he’s intending to “one day get around to rebuilding it”, a story I guess we have all heard at one time or another! I have tried on several occasions to buy the coupe (car #9) from him, but he just chuckles and says----- “Bob, stand in line”! One couldn’t find a more pristine coupe than this one, and I do hope he will find the time and monies to complete this very worthwhile project. Cars #10, and 11, were another couple of 3-window coupes would add some color to this next chapter of interesting cars in my story! Car #10, I found by accident while hunting pheasants one Saturday afternoon, east of Red Deer, (a small city in central Alberta). I was with my drag racing partner Fred Ladwig, who owned and wrenched-on the Chrysler engine in the Top Fuel dragster I have mentioned earlier. Sitting in this farmers yard was a pretty decent 32 3-window coupe, complete with a nail head Buick engine for power! Seems the farmer’s son was building the coupe as a hot rod, and had got as far as installing this Buick engine in it. The call of the bright lights had the kid moving into the city and starting a new job, putting the hot rod for the time being on hold. The farmer politely told me the car wasn’t for sale, and upon hearing that, we carried on in our pursuit of the wily pheasant! A couple of years later, I was picking up a 35 Ford coupe, which I had purchased in the same general area, and thought I would check in to see if the 32 coupe was still there. Well, the car was gone from where it had been sitting in the yard, but I decided to drive into the yard, knock on the door, and at least ask about it! I had my tandem trailer complete with this newly acquired 35 Ford coupe onboard. When the farmer came to the door, he was more interested in the coupe on the trailer, than he was in inquiring as to what we wanted, stating that he’d owned a coupe like it when he was first married! When asked about the 3-window I had seen a couple of years earlier, he stated that his son had given up on it, and that to get it out of the front yard, they had towed it across the road, and parked it behind the pig barn. The front fenders, hood, grille shell and fuel tank had been removed for construction, so he had decided to haul them to his personal garbage dump, located on his own property, a short distance away. We Page 27 of 37 drove to the dump in his pick up truck, where we loaded all the parts in the back of his truck. Most of this discarded sheetmetal was in excellent condition, and I quickly found room for them on my trailer for the trip back home! Oh yeah, did I forget to mention it, but he GAVE me the rest of the coupe too? After loading and securing the new parts on my trailer, I stopped for a soda pop with him and his wife, and we had a nice visit. I told him I would endeavour to get back as soon as possible to pick the 3 window body up. He assured me that as the car was out of sight across the road and behind his old pig barn, there really was no immediate hurry for me to pick it up. He was right, it was indeed out of site, for I figured the only way one could spot this thing, would to be flying low in an airplane! With this in mind, I went back the next spring to pick up 32 Ford (#10). As I got close to the turn in the road approaching the farm, I was surprised to see a new road allowance had been cut, with the new road going straight ahead instead of following the winding course the original road had followed. The newly surveyed road allowance had now cut through what was once land occupied by my recently acquired Ford coupe, that site being just north of the farmer’s old pig barn! Actually, the new road cut through less than 100 feet from where I had last seen the coupe, a bare patch of ground marked the outline where it had been parked. When asked the farmer said he’d thought I’d come sometime during the winter and picked the car up, evidently not seeing who did pick it up! It could have been a local junk snipe, or maybe even someone on the road construction crew with ambitions towards building a hot rod! Either way, car # 10 was gone, the only consolation for my efforts being a set of fenders, hood, grille shell, and fuel tank. I hope the car didn’t make it to a car crusher for it’s scrap value, however as the farm is several miles from the nearest city, I somehow doubt it, the nearest crusher being several miles away. I can still visualize that little coupe sitting behind that damn pig barn,--- out of sight,--- no hurry to pick it up-------!!! “If you should be reading this story, and did pick that car up,----I just happen to know a guy with some parts that might fit it!!! Car #11, was another experience with one of those dishonourable characters, mentioned earlier. I had gone on a garage tour with some members of our local Antique Car Club, and it was the last stop of the tour on a Saturday afternoon. We had gone to a guy’s place with a large haytype shed, located on the outskirts of the city. He had been buying and storing cars in this building for several years, his preference being for the larger cars like Buicks, Cadillacs, Lincolns, etc. I remember the tour group being excited and looking forward to seeing the many cars he’d said were in his collection! I figured it would be a boring stop for me, as I was of course interested mainly in old Fords! The cars were jammed so tightly in this building that you had to literally crawl over one car, to get to the next one. Most of the tour members were content to just stand in the small doorway, and gaze at the collection, rather than having to crawl over the dusty inhabitants for a closer look. But to my amazement, there sitting in front of the small man-door, was another what appeared to be, very cherry deuce 3-window coupe! The car appeared to be complete and in an extremely well- Page 28 of 37 maintained original condition. Stepping outside with the owner, I asked him if he’d be interested in selling the coupe, and was surprised when he answered yes! He stated that he’d sold the land and building to a developer, and that come spring, he’d have to vacate the property! Sadly, all the cars in the building would have to be sold! After a bit of haggling, we settled on a price, and the deal was sealed with a handshake. I had my business partner with me that day, and he was witness to the transaction. He too was interested in buying one of the cars in that shed, a customized 1939 Lincoln Zephyr convertible, which was sitting just a few cars away form the deuce! My partner had recently finished restoring a 1941 Lincoln Continental convertible, and was looking for a new project to work on, hopefully another Lincoln. He had wanted to get a better look at the Zephyr convertible once it was removed from the shed! The price tag quoted for this rare convertible, was certainly not cheap, and a closer look was a must. I offered to give the guy a cheque for the coupe the next day, as I didn’t have my cheque book with me. He assured me that he would feel better accepting the money only after he’d removed the car from the building! As the coupe was sitting nearest the small man-door in the building, it put it furthest away from the sliding barn doors that were the only way of removing it. Thus the coupe would be one of the last cars in the collection to make it out of the building. We would keep in touch regarding the removal progress, I even offered to give him a hand moving the other cars out of the building. I figured he could probably make use of my tandem trailer and it’s heavy duty electric winch in loading some of the other cars, as they were all immobile. About a month later, I was in our local early Ford parts suppliers shop buying some parts, when I spotted the same 3window coupe sitting in the back of the shop! As this shop is close to my acreage in the country, I figured the guy I’d bought it from had kindly delivered it to that shop, saving me a trip across town to pick it up. Imagine my surprise when the parts store owner informed me that he’d just bought the coupe, and what the hell was I talking about referring to it as MY coupe! 32- 3 window car #11 in local Ford parts dealers shop. Car was sold to author on a handshake, then sold again for more money to local Ford parts dealer. Car has been recently sold again, and is presently undergoing a full body-off restoration Bob Cantin photo I told him the story of my buying the car from this other guy a few weeks before, and the conditions of the sale. Well, the proprietor of this old Ford parts store got pretty upset! Being an honorary gent and not wanting to have any hard feelings between friends and customers, he immediately phoned this guy to find out what was happening! After a brief conversation, the owner of the shop started chewing on this guy, and then hung up! He told me that our guy had stated that he’d decided sometime after we had done the deal, that I was going to Page 29 of 37 build a hot rod out of the car! With this in mind, he supposedly decided to look for another owner, one that would do the honourable thing, and restore the car! My parts supplier friend told this guy in no certain terms, that if he had felt that way about my owning the car and modifying it, that he at least owed me the courtesy of a phone call stating his reasons for backing out of the deal! He also mentioned something about he should be expecting a thorough ass-chewin from yours truly! Of course this guy knew I would be building a hot rod out of the car when he’d sold it to me! I found out later though, that he’d offered the car to the parts supplier after HE too had expressed some interest in it. Turns out though, that the new selling price was $1,000.00.00 higher than what we had originally done the deal at! The courtesy phone call, I of course never got! I finally figured out that I’d learned a hard lesson in buying desirable old cars!! “After you have consummated the deal,--- pay the man immediately! Get your bill of sale, and leave,--- preferably with the car”! I’ve made a living over the years, buying and selling equipment of all kinds, and I firmly believe that you can only lose your reputation once! This guy probably had lost his long before I came along that day, and I’ll have to say I was super pissed at his actions in this deal! Later I had silently cursed him for his two-faced actions, but then simply got on with my life, figuring that if I were to win a few, then I’d probably have to lose a few! Terry Capp’s chopped 32 pick up on starting line at Shepard Raceway, Calgary, Alberta circa 1964 R.Vickers photo Sadly to say, within a few months, the guy was diagnosed with cancer, and died within the year! The car eventually got sold to a man in Edmonton for some big dollars, and is presently undergoing a full body-off restoration. L to R: Terry Capp, Bernie Fedderly, “Chuff” Bramhoff. Chopped 32 pick up truck ran B/Gas with authors new 340hp Chev V-8 circa 1964. Capp and Fedderly are now inducted in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame Bob Cantin photo I still had the low-mile, 340 hp Chev V-8 from deuce coupe #6 sitting in my shop. I had decided I liked the way the stock engine in the 55 Chev ran, and decided I wanted to do something with the unused Page 30 of 37 engine. Drag racing buddies Terry Capp, and Bernie Fedderly, were running a chopped, full fendered 32 pick up truck in B/Gas class at the drags. The car had a strong running 301 cu. inch small block Chev, but it was getting a bit tired. I offered to loan them the 327 engine from the coupe to finish out the current drag racing season while their 301 got freshened up. Once again, but for but only for a short time, I would have another 32 Ford in my life! This time though, it would be in the form of a drag race car! With Terry doing the driving , and Bernie wrenching on the engine, the truck proved hard to beat that season! The next season, the pair set about building the soon to be famous Capp/Fedderly Anglia gasser. This crowd pleasing, wheel standing terror, burnt up racetracks in the Pacific Northwest for the next few years, and then later switching to racing Top Fuel dragsters. Terry Capp and Bernie Fedderly were inducted into Canada’s Motorsport Hall of Fame, and are both still very active in drag racing today. Terry is officially Canada’s fastest Top Fuel jockey (319.37mph), and Bernie Fedderly is co- crew chief (with Austin Coil) on John Force’s Funny Car. Terry kept the deuce truck in storage for many years, finally deciding to sell it in the early 80’s to a guy who put a V-6 Buick in it returning to driving it on the street. I guess the old nostalgia bug maybe caught up with Terry, for a couple of years ago, he was able to buy the truck back. 2007 should see it on the street again, sporting complete sheet metal restoration, and a new contemporary hot rod chassis! A new GM crate engine will power the ride, and I expect we’ll see a lot more of that truck in the years to come. Terry and wife Rachelle, when not partaking in major drag race events, still somehow manage to find time to participate in various rod runs in Western Canada. Terry was recently fitted for a new and exciting Top Fuel Funny car being built by another Hall of Famer- Ron Hodgson. It’s due to make it’s debut in this the 75th anniversary of the deuce, so watch for it to be burning up North American tracks in the near future! Although I didn’t own this vehicle, it did for a time keep my association with 32’s alive. For purposes of this article, I’ll refer to this deuce as car#12. Again, another local 32 that has endured the ravages of time! In the sixties, I acquired two of the nicest deuce 5-window coupes a man could ever only dream of owning (cars #13 and 14)!it was while driving to my shop in west Edmonton that I had noticed a nice 5window coupe parked in the parking lot of the old Charles Camsell Hospital(car#13). It was parked in the middle of the hospitals huge parking lot, where only a keen eye constantly on the look out for such old tin might spot this thing! It was surrounded by some newer vehicles, but it was pretty evident the car hadn’t moved in months! At first I thought someone was driving the little coupe to work at the hospital, and it had simply broken down. It appeared to have been recently repainted, and had an amateur attempt at reupholstering it, the new material being a slippery sort of oil cloth! I had left my business card on the windshield in hopes of contacting the owner, but after a month or so of waiting, no reply had come forth. I decided take a more direct route, and made some inquiries in the hospital itself. It was here that I was informed that the owner of that car had indeed worked at the hospital, but had taken a new job Page 31 of 37 elsewhere some months before, and no one had seen him since. Worse yet, no one I spoke to, seemed to know how to contact the man. So, I did what I should have done first. I opened the unlocked drivers door, and looked for a vehicle registration for the coupe. It had a new set of antique Alberta license plates on it, and sure enough, there under the seat was the current registration slip for the car, which supplied me with an address. Well, the timing was perfect, because after contacting the man, he informed me that he had no place to store the coupe, and yes he would surely like to sell it! An exchange of $300.00 was made, and a Model B coupe got parked behind my shop! The battery had been frozen while the car was parked at the hospital, but after installing a new 6 volt battery, the 4cylinder engine started right up. The coupe ran well, and everything mechanical turned out to be real tight. Only thing wrong with this car was that it wasn’t a V8! I didn’t have that coupe more than 2 months, when a customer told me of another 5-window sitting in a garage, about 10 minutes away from my shop(car #14). The car belonged to a young banker, who had recently been transferred to Edmonton from Calgary, and that he was in need of some money to help with his relocation. I contacted the man, and met him one Saturday morning to have a look at what he had. Inside this old single stall garage, sat yet another cherry deuce coupe! It had been painted red oxide primer, the odometer showed 38,000 original miles. Other than the primer job, the car was basically untouched! The owner while living in Calgary had taken the rear fenders off to clean and primer them, and when finished, had stored them in his bedroom,---- at the foot of his bed. He said his reason for doing so, was to decrease the chances of them being stolen,--- they really were that nice! A new battery, and a fuel pump, and the little 21 stud V-8 flathead engine fired right up! The engine puffed a little white smoke out the tailpipe, but other than that, it ran like a champ! Cars #13 and 14, a matching pair of original deuce coupes! Car on left is 4-cylinder Model B, car on right has aluminum oil panned V-8. Bob Cantin photo During the week, I would park the pair of coupes(cars 13 and 14) in front of our skin diving shop, in hopes that their awesome presence might attract some more cars for the collection,---- which they certainly did! Shortly afterward, another old drag racing buddy happened by the shop for a visit, and informed me that he had found a deuce cabriolet in Northern Alberta. It was on a farm well off the beaten road, next to a site he was working at as an electrician. He said he’d take some Polaroids of the car, and drop them off at my shop the following weekend. Well, this he did, but the surprise of the day came when I realized that the car wasn’t a Cabriolet as he had figured, but an ultra Page 32 of 37 rare Sport Coupe! I had never seen one, but a check of the production figures showed only 2,169 V-8 models of this body style ever being built. Compared to over 6,000 Cabriolet models produced that year, the coupe was indeed a rare find! I called the gentleman that I was told owned the car, and was informed that it actually belonged to his father. Seems his dad had been the Ford sub-dealer in the area, and had taken the coupe on trade on a new 1949 Meteor. He had kept the little coupe because he had liked the car’s ability to navigate Northern Alberta’s muddy and deeply rutted rural back roads. Someone had installed a set of General 16” wheels on it, but other than that, the car was completely stock. The original V-8 engine was still sporting the original aluminum oil pan, and Detroit Lubricator carburetor. Well, $250.00 later, and a trip to the family farm in a place called Teepee Creek Alberta, and yet another 32 coupe(car #15) was also parked behind my shop. The car hadn’t been run for a few years, but after removing and cleaning the fuel tank, installing a new battery and fan belt, this one fired right up too! Years of hard use in Northern Alberta were showing, and although the V-8 ran smoothly, it too was pushing oil. The steering and brakes left a lot to be desired, but I didn’t mind, for I had just acquired one of the rarest deuces ever built! Being a member of the V-8 Cub of America, I made inquiries with other members of the club (which has an international membership) as to the known wherabouts of any other Sport Coupes in North or South America. I was amazed to find that there were only 12 models known to exist at that time, mine would make 13! I’m sure there were a few more, but like the hen’s fangs, there definitely weren’t very many of these things surviving the ravages of time! Rare 32 Sport Coupe was found in Northern Alberta. Car had accessory General 16” wheels, original V-8 engine. After years of sitting, engine fired right up Bob Cantin photo During the 70’s, I was made aware of the “Keep Alberta Green” program, a provincial program promoting the clean up of Alberta’s rural countryside, mainly by removing unsightly old car bodies etc. Notices were posted in rural newspapers to encourage farmers to haul any old auto and truck bodies to the nearest landfill sites. Portable crushers would show up to crush them, supposedly ridding the countryside of these unsightly blemishes. I befriended a fellow working on one of these crushing crews, and he would give me a “heads up” when any of what was considered “real good stuff” was slated to be crushed. The trouble with this plan however, was that the lead time was very short, and I would have to be ready to head off to the next site with my truck and trailer, at a moments notice! I was still extremely busy trying to run my various business ventures, but somehow did manage to pick up about 4 dozen old Fords, along with a few pretty rare other good pieces. Page 33 of 37 essentially in HIS back yard. Well the stuff continued to “grow feet”, and I soon quit hauling and storing anymore vehicles there. Some of the many cars retrieved during Save-A-Car program in the 70’s. Over a dozen deuces were rescued from the crushers Bob Cantin photo While accomplishing all of this, I now had a real problem, that being the lack of storage space for all this tin! I know that had if I could have had more time and about 20 acres of good storage, I could have accumulated several hundred really choice pieces! To this day, I still feel bad about the cars I had to leave behind for the balers. I was able to cut a deal with a local restoration shop, whose shop and yard were on the eastern outskirts of Edmonton to store all these new found bits of tin! There was so much tin that I even named the project “SAVE-A-CAR”, in hopes of writing off the mounting expenses incurred while traveling around Northern Alberta picking all this stuff up. I was assured that the area I had these vehicles stored in would be secure, and I took the man at his word. I noticed almost immediately though, that some of the smaller items like headlights, taillights, windshield frames, instruments, and even one 32 firewall had gone missing. He tried to assure me that no one would have access to my stuff, after all, the cars were In this lot of SAVE-A- CAR tin, there were several 32-34 Fords, most of them 2 and 4door models. I did sell a few of them off to some of my hotrodding buddies, but after that first year and the mounting thefts, I decided to dispose of them all, for they had gone from being a great asset, to an even greater liability! A car collector from Montana bought them all, and several car carrier loads later, had them relocated in his yard south of the border. All in all, the project turned out to be a huge waste of time, money and energies, my only satisfaction being that I did save a bunch of neat old Fords from the baling machines! There were at least 6 or 8 pretty nice deuces in this bunch, but as I never got a chance to do anything with them, they’ll escape being formally numbered for this story. 32 Ford #16, was “berry picking” car of local lawyer. Another nice original, low-mile Ford Bob Cantin photo In the 80’s, I did some business with a local lawyer, who mentioned in passing one day that he owned a 32 Ford 2-door! He called it his “berry-picking” car, and had recently taken it to a local body shop Page 34 of 37 (right in downtown Edmonton), to have it cosmetically touched up. He had taken all the chrome and stainless pieces to the plating shop, to have them rechromed, or polished. He had also told the body shop to cease working on it, as they had now exceeded his projected budget for the rebuild, and I guess he figured he’d be putting the proverbial $1,000.00 saddle on the $20.00 horse! But when the plating bill came in and it was over $1,000.00, he ultimately decided to sell the car to me! This 32 was another B Model, the body and the original interior being in fantastic condition. When he had asked me if I wanted to buy the car, I jumped right on it, and the following weekend, I was trailering yet another 32(car#16) home to my acreage west of Edmonton. The fenders had been removed for painting, the britework was still wrapped in the brown paper from the plating shop. It took a few evenings to reassemble it all, and after installing a fresh battery, the little 4banger started right up! My business partner Hugh Dunnigan had seen car#16) and approached me with an idea he had in mind to build a really unique 32 Ford! The plan involved cutting the body up to make a Waterhouse Convertible Victoria clone out of the Ford body, ----a style never actually built by Ford, but was used on some of the fancier, elegant cars built in the 30’s. This particular 2-door (car#16) was just too nice to cut up, but I knew of another car that I had recently found just north of Edmonton. It was just a bare body, and I thought it would be a much better candidate for his project! I had bought this car about the same time as car #16, and hadn’t picked it up yet. So on a cold October Saturday morning, we headed north with my trailer to load this car#17 up. Once loaded, we were surprised as to the condition of this body, and we had some more reservations about him cutting this one up too! After much discussion, it was ascertained though, that it would still be the best candidate for his project. Once unloaded at his shop, work quickly began on this unusual project. Car#17. sitting quietly in farmers pasture, awaiting what was to be an amazing transformation. After sitting in farmers yard for many years, It would take only 6 months of dedicated hard work to rejuvenate. Bob Cantin photo It took just six months of dedicated hard work to create this very special 32 Convertible Victoria! With a new supercharged small block Chev V-8, contemporary chassis, and workable convertible top the car is certainly unique! The wheelbase was lengthened 12” to 118”, and the new car rides and handles like a dream! The many trophies and awards collected the past decade are proof of the quality of workmanship and classic design that went into the car. I really don’t think old Henry would be too upset with us for cutting up and rearranging a piece of his early V-8 tin! Page 35 of 37 Car#17 on trailer prior to heading to new home. Body would undergo major surgery to transform it to Waterhouse Convertible Victoria styling Bob Cantin photo After 6 months of dedicated work, the Waterhouse style body was completed. Stretched a foot, the car rides and steers like a dream! The new supercharged small block Chevrolet, gets you there on time Bob Cantin photo In all my years of collecting 32 Fords, the one body style that I was constantly looking for but never found was a 32 roadster! Other than the roadster(car #3) that I had worked on in the 50’s, I have known of only 3 other roadsters in the province of Alberta! I wish I had a dollar for every wild goose chase I made chasing down that “I know a guy that has a deuce roadster in his yard” lead, only to find a Model A sitting there! Practicality should dictate a closed car being the better choice of vehicles, in which case I guess I must be a practical guy, for the open cars and I just never hooked up! I’m still prone though to chasing down any “rumours” of perhaps another deuce roadster that’s “still out there”. So it was early in the 21st century, that I found myself searching again for a deuce roadster that was reportedly sitting in a guys yard on the outskirts of a small town west of Edmonton!. The car had apparently been there for a number of years, and had been covered up sufficiently as to not draw any attention to it. It had recently been uncovered, and a guy living a few miles away had told me about the car. I knew he was familiar with what a deuce roadster looked like, and that was why I took off as soon as I heard the story for a look! Well, his directions to the site were perfect, and sure enough, there behind an abandoned house was the stark outline of an area devoid of grass, where a vehicle had been sitting. By the looks of the remaining bare patch of dirt, it appeared that what ever had been there, must have been there for some time. I was ready to put it in my “nuther wild goose chase” file except for something that I spotted laying in the tall grass,---- a near perfect 32 Ford hood! Seems whoever picked the car up, left in such a hurry, they left the damn hood behind! The old house on the site was abandoned, and when I asked the nearest neighbor if she had seen any one removing an old car from behind that abandoned house, I was met with a blank stare and a “what old car” reply. I certainly hope that whoever got this one, will find it a new home, not a quick trip to the local crusher for a few lousy bucks! If you should happen to read this and did pick that car up, I have to tell you too about a guy I know with a pretty nice Page 36 of 37 deuce hood, that’s probably the same color as the car you picked up. Oh and by the way, “was that car really a roadster”? As I was writing this article in 2006, I mentioned to a few of my cronies, that I had owned over two dozen deuces in my lifetime. Over the years, I know a lot of our local cars had disappeared to other parts of the country, but I felt that there could still be quite a few deuces left in and around Edmonton. This statement was met with some skepticism and a great deal of guffawing from my peers, so inspired again, I decided to poke around and see if there were in fact any cars left. To my astonishment, after looking around a bit, I discovered that within a 10 mile radius of my home in the country, there are six 32 Fords (count em, six 32 Fords)! My search turned up four 5-window coupes and two ½ ton trucks! Another search on the other side of the city, turned up an equal amount of coupes and sedans, with a couple of complete cars stored away in the city itself! Well, who knows, but maybe someday soon, I’ll be able to buy my old 3-window coupe (car #6) back from it’s present owner. As I approach my 7th decade on this earth, I’ve decided to build one more deuce, and this car would certainly be my first choice in doing so! I think it would be nice to cruise the streets of Edmonton again, looking for that bit of action I never got with it back in the sixties! I think that destiny will somehow put the two of us back together in the same garage, one more time!!! Who knows---maybe?? I know I will continue to check in on the widow with that low- miled (24,000 original miles) 5-window coupe, that her late husband was so proud of. Even though it’s a 4-cylinder model, I think it would be fun to take it on a 21st century rod run, watching the faces of the young guys drooling over such a pristine little coupe! So in closing, please join me in wishing a “Happy Birthday” to all the 32 Fords left in the world, ---my life is definitely a lot richer in having known some of them!! Here’s a glimpse of a few that are still out there--- 5-window estate car sits quietly in garage, 24,000 original miles on speedometer Bob Cantin photo Owner uncovered this one for picture. Car sits in garage less than 3 miles from authors acreage. Bob Cantin photo Page 37 of 37 A lonely 2-door awaiting rejuvenation Bob Cantin photo A couple of truck cabs and related parts----below, a deuce coupe awaiting owners granddaughter to reach driving age, recent installation of portable garage now keeps it out of weather Bob Cantin photos And as for this guy, if I were to rummage through my spare parts and find a windshield, a dash, and another frame, and I’ve still got those fenders from that 3-window coupe that disappeared-hmmm!!!! Bob Cantin photo A rebuildable 3-window coupe awaiting rejuvenation. Pratt photo Or maybe I could use that spare windshield, and those fenders on this one! Bob Cantin photo