A 1932 Phaeton Provides a Series of Surprises By Glenn Davis
SURPRISE #1: A FRIEND ON THE TELEPHONE By 1986, the chances of finding a good old Ford in our town's newspaper had begun to decline. Nevertheless, I doggedly continued my ritual of reading the classified advertisements daily and was quite surprised when an ad for a '32 Ford Phaeton appeared one Sunday morning. Heading to the phone, I could already feel the peculiar excitement that marks the beginning of a hot pursuit for a new automotive acquisition. The woman who answered my call told me that the car was still available. She was in the process of answering my questions when it dawned on me that I was talking to the wife of an old high school friend and college roommate, with whom I had lost contact some ten years earlier. She was as surprised as I was and after a brief catch-up
1932 Phaeton, as found in 1986
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The Phaeton on the road in 2019.
discussion on family events. She related the story of her husband's purchase of the car and the downturn in their construction business, which required its sale. The Phaeton had come to my friend as part of a twocar deal, which included a roadster. The cars had been purchased sight unseen, through a broker and were supposed to be "museum quality." Although they might have been museum quality at one time, they arrived at my friend's house in a sad state of disassembly and neglect. The Phaeton looked like a complete car from about thirty feet, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that the car had been taken completely apart and had spent time outdoors in the desert sand and the rain. No bolt was more than finger tight, the rear doors were bent downward on their hinges and the runs in the paint on the frame went up instead of down. Clearly, the body had been off and the car had been abused. My friend and the broker were no longer on good terms and no previous history of the car was available. Nevertheless, the combination of my attraction to a good puzzle and my friend's offer to let me pay him off over two years, brought us to a deal and the car was mine. SURPRISE #2: AUSTRALIAN BODY At the time, I had just become active in the Early Ford V-8 Club and my initial fantasy was to restore my newly acquired Phaeton to Dearborn standards. This plan was soon dashed when my more knowledgeable friends told me that although the car was left-hand drive and had a US frame number, the body was of Australian origin.
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