Now and forever, the 1932 Ford is the Holy Grail of hot rods. Better known as “The Deuce,” it’s what every hot rodder wants. Roadsters and coupes are especially prized, but any deuce will do—from phaetons to rare B400 Convertible Victorias.

Over the years, hot rodders have never stopped modifying ’32 Fords. The Deuce has been chopped and channeled, dropped and drilled, fixed-up, souped-up, primped-up, and extensively raced—from California’s Dry Lakes to the boundless Bonneville Salt Flats, on drag strips all over the country, and yes, even on the streets.

A one-year-only body style, the handsome ’32 Ford bridged the gap between the doughty Model A and the long series of new and improved V8-powered models that followed. The year 1932 marked one of Henry Ford’s most dramatic gestures: he offered a powerful V8 engine in an affordable car. Prior to the ’32 Ford, V8 engines were mainly found in expensive cars.

The ’32 Ford gave hot rodders an instant go-faster platform, thanks to its lightweight, sturdy, ladder frame with its built-in, sculptured reveal and strong, K-shaped cross-member. And the V8 had lots of potential. In fact, both engine and suspension would be compatible with generations of future Fords.

Hot rodders wasted no time in modifying Ford’s new engine, quickly doubling, tripling, even quadrupling its original 60 horsepower. Affectionately called the “flathead,” because its valves were located in the block, not in the cylinder heads, the new V8 was a natural. Over the years, Ford systematically improved the engine to gain power, increasing cylinder displacement from 221 to 239 and then 255 cubic inches. On the streets, the faithful learned how to keep flatheads from overheating.

And they soon proved its horsepower potential was higher than the Ford factory could ever imagine; the rodders made these engines bigger still, boring out cylinders and stroking crankshafts for displacements as large as 334 cubic inches. They boosted compression ratios, piled on carburetors, added hot ignitions and wild camshafts, and the results were speed records, eventually culminating with 200-plus mph lakester runs at Bonneville in the sixties. The distinctive snap of a flathead V-8 under full throttle, echoed across the land, wherever young men gathered to race.

Hot rod legends like Vic Edelbrock Sr., Ray Brown, Ed Iskenderian, Ed Winfield, Clay Smith, Earl Evans, Eddie Meyer and Barney Navarro developed affordable flathead speed equipment. The rapid growth of Hot Rod Magazine’s circulation ensured that speed news and how-to’s from California were soon known as far away as Maine and Massachusetts.

And the 1932 Ford was in the center of the action.

Although the Deuce was over twenty years old in the 1950s and early 1960s, it was still America’s hot rod of choice. Ricky Nelson drove a channeled ’32 roadster on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet television show. And “Chili” Catallo’s “Little Deuce Coupe” graced the cover of the Beach Boys’ 1964 album of the same name.

Hot rodding waned a bit in the mid-1960s, when Detroit muscle cars (hot rodders called them “doorslammers”) like the Pontiac GTO, which offered affordable horsepower and performance, became readily available at a local dealership. But there were rumblings. . . .

Barely a decade later, in 1973, George Lucas’ seminal film, American Graffiti reminded the faithful that their cool old cars were still hot. When John Milner’s outlaw yellow Deuce coupe blew off Harrison Ford’s evil black ’55 Chevy, theaters erupted in cheers. Hot rodders began building coupes and roadsters again in earnest, stuffing bigger, more powerful engines into prewar models. The Deuce has been improved and reinvented ever since, decade after decade, with no end in sight. Builders like Jerry Kugel, Chip Foose, and Boyd Coddington have catapulted the Deuce into the 21st Century, with modern, artfully reshaped bodies, contemporary fuel-injected engines, disc brakes, and more.

Deuces have been daily drivers and dragsters, cruisers and competition cars. Topless, fenderless, stripped for action, they’ve gone looking for trouble—and they’ve found it. They’ve also garnered awards and glory. And, over time, they’ve earned far more than grudging respect.

Now it’s time to celebrate!

For the 75th Anniversary of the ’32 Ford, Ford Motor Company asked a panel of hot rod experts to choose the top ’32 Fords of all time. A list of 474 significant, worthy candidates was whittled down to 75 honorees.

Many of these historic hot rods had been lost and subsequently found over the years. A surprising number of them have been meticulously restored to look the way they did in their heyday. A few are still missing, and an intense hunt has been renewed to find them.

It’s only fitting the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance honors the indomitable Deuce, with a special class of nine especially distinguished ’32 Fords, many of which have not been seen publicly for decades. Five of the cars in this class were named to the exclusive 75-Deuce ensemble; one of these, out of sight for half a century, is making its debut this weekend. Four of the ’32s on hand are new restorations.

Ken Gross is a distinguished automotive historian and journalist and a member of the Selection Committee of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Copyright © 2007 Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission. All rights reserved.