It was the Deuce, which got its nickname from the "two" in the year 1932, and the Ford Flathead V-8 that spawned the customized-car culture, which has grown into a $3.6 billion annual industry. The all-new '32 came in 14 body styles, made of steel - no wood - for the first time.
There are many books on this iconic Ford, but two good ones have recently landed on my desk.
- "Deuce: 75 Years of the '32 Ford," written and photographed by Robert Genat. Published by CarTech, 191 pages, $39.95, plus $4.95 shipping. Order at www.cartechbooks.com. Genat sought out as many original restorations as possible.
"Everyone seems to know what a '32 Ford hot rod looks like, but I was determined to show how these cars appeared when delivered in 1932," he said.
He started with the cars in Southern California, but most '32s here have been hot-rodded. The search led to Michigan, where he found several unmodified cars. One was an original four-door and one was a beautifully restored, low-mileage roadster.
"The owner used a lot of new old-stock parts and claimed that the driving experience is as close to what it would have been like in 1932," Genat said.
He photographed the four-door behind the old Ford valve plant in Northville, Mich.
"I'm lucky to have so many friends in the hot-rod community and didn't have any problems finding those cars," Genat said.
- "'32 Ford Deuce," by Tony Thacker, with a foreword by Edsel B. Ford. Published by Motorbooks, 324 pages, $50. Order at www.motorbooks.com. Thacker grew up in England, where the weather was gray and miserable. His one escape, he says, was to sit on the curb and read Hot Rod magazine.
His book is the result of more than 25 years of research, he said, not always full time but certainly intense for five years.
"The search took me from England to Scandinavia to Africa to South America, Australia and finally the United States," Thacker said.
There are hundreds of photographs from all over the world. For example, there's a shot of the former king of Bulgaria getting into a 1932 Ford in Baghdad in 1932.
There is much Ford Motor Co. history in the first seven chapters, which contain engaging black-and-white photographs of production lines, testing and cars. The rodding years begin at Chapter 8, with many vintage black-and-whites of home-built rods on the track and off-course, in the mud, dry-lake racing, sideways and upside-down. Chapter 10 moves to color photography of the '50s and newer styles. Then a series of two-page spreads follow with significant rods and their creators.
"Writing a book like this is a treasure hunt, and you never know where or when you're going to find the jewel," Thacker said. "And even now, when it's done, I still look for information. "I'm working on the 100th anniversary now."
Amazon.com lists both of these books at a Buy Together Today price of $57.87.
Mark Maynard is driving in cyberspace at mark.maynard@uniontrib.com
