'32 Ford 5 window coupe returns home
I found this story and pics on the H.A.M.B. website. It was so cool I had to share it here. I don't know this guy, but his story is really cool. Mike
"There are only a few personal firsts that really stick out in a guy's mind,
I'm sure you can think of at least two. My first car has to rank right up
there very close to the top of my list and I would bet that you feel the
same about your first car. Let me tell you about my memories of my first
(car that is). It was early May 1955 and spring was just beginning on the
north shore of Lake Superior which meant that getting around and exploring
car lots on your bicycle was the perfect thing to do when you are one month
away from your all important 16th birthday. I can remember rolling past
Dominion Motors used car lot, which was just down the street from my home in
Fort William Ontario, where something caught my eye sitting in the back row.
I immediately recognized what I saw and made a beeline to the back of the
lot. What was sitting before me was, what all of the car magazines were full
of in 1955, a 1932 Ford 5 window coupe. Wow! This is what they were talking
about! Fort William (now Thunder Bay)is a world away from San Diego
geographically but for that instance, they were one and the same. My
enthusiasm and inexperience overlooked the many imperfections and all I saw
was the beauty in black. I made my way to the sales office to find out what
the asking price was for her. After a quick search, I found Mr. Winters (I'm
positive that was his name) and he told me that "the fine little car was
$75.oo". No time to bargain, I had to get back home to tell my Dad about it
as fast as I could as it's not every day you find a '32 coupe for sale for
$75.00. I had all the finances worked out in my head by the time I burst
through the front door. I could sell my outboard motor that wasn't needed
anymore as someone had stolen the boat that my Dad and I had built the year
before. I could find a job to pay for the balance. It was all going to work
out, I just knew it was.
Well,I must have caught my Mom& Dad on a really good day as the coupe was in
our yard by nightfall. One very lucky 15 year old, wouldn't you say?
I remember getting my beginner's permit on my 16th birthday and driving MY '32 "B" with its new brushed red paint job, to get my driver's license the very next day.The tester asked me how many miles I had driven with the beginner's permit to which I responded "about 15". He said" We had better make that 150." He then directed me to drive him around the block, then drop him off at the front door of the Vehicle License Office, where he said, " You are doing just fine. Go and park it and come in and get your license."
YaHoo! As you might expect, I had a great summer learning about cars and driving. However, I was still way too short to pick up chicks.
Looking back on it all now,It would have been great to have had an older brother that could have tutored me in Hot Rod 101 as I think I had the" Jughead Jalopy" mentality back in those days. With the proper role model looking over my shoulder I'm sure I could have done a better job. Oh, well.
I traded the '32 in on a '40 Ford coupe the next spring,but that's another story. Over the many years that passed, I kept hearing reports that my '32
was still in town but I could never verify that until very recently when a friend of a friend gave me a name and phone number that might lead me somewhere. Sure enough, it did. So,Is this the end of the story?
I would really hope that it isn't but if it is, I'm sure glad that I experienced this part of it.
To be continued ...
Fast forward to Tuesday, April 30, 2013....
After coming home from having coffee with some friends my wife ,Joan, said “ you had better listen to the phone messages” which I did. To my surprise, the message was from the lady who owned the ‘ 32 that let me take the pictures of it a few years ago. She remembered that I left her with “if you ever want to sell it, please call me as that car sure does mean a lot to me.”She told me that she had been saving it for her son but tragically he had passed away and asked if I was still interested......
A few days past and she had someone give her what they thought was a fair price and contacted me again. Naturally I accepted and now my first car will be my last. After selling it once , I cannot fathom selling it again.
Part of the original story mentions that if I had an older brother to guide me in Hot Rod 101 that I wouldn’t have had the Jug Head mentality that I had when I first bought the car when I was 15. With the ‘32 returning home after all of these years I just realized that now I am that “older brother”.
Ron Limbrick "