by Frank
Colgoni
Introduction
While anytime is a good time to build a hot rod, we happen
to think that this is an exceptionally good time. As this
kickoff article is being written in January 2006, we are
a little less than a year away from 2007 and, more specifically,
the 75th. anniversary of the 1932 Ford.
We acknowledge that not everyone will be excited by this
anniversary but we don’t get many occasions to celebrate
in the hot rod world so why not not expand the scope of
this celebration and simply celebrate the hot rod? That
is essentially what we are going to do throughout this “odyssey”
although, being suckers for the ’32, we’re excited
about 2007 and look forward to the celebrations that will
occur that year. You’ll hear more about these celebrations
in future articles.
Our Theme
More than just a play on the book/movie title 2001: A Space
Odyssey, the term odyssey was selected because of the meaning
of the word in context of this project. It’s defined
as:
“a long trip or period involving a lot of different
and exciting activities, esp. while searching for something”.
Pulling from the definition, It is virtually inevitable
that this project will be filled with many “different
and exciting activities” (there’s exciting then
there’s exciting). In terms of the “searching”,
we’ll be searching for parts, solutions, and the meaning
of life. Well, not really the meaning of life as we already
know that hot rodding is the meaning of life. Right?
And, while our “long trip” is starting now
at square one of a build-up, it won’t stop when the
car is built. With plans to display the car then take it
across Canada from Ontario to British Columbia and back,
it will truly be an odyssey. You can see how “different
and exciting” will become our mantra.
Our Timetable
As I mentioned above, this introduction is being written
in January 2006 and we’re just underway. Our objective
is to essentially be finished 14 months from now and be
completely ready for a summer 2007 hot rod tour.
I’m sure you don’t believe everything you see
on TV about nothing-short-of-miracle builds, overhauls and
the like because, in the real world, parts aren’t
always available just in time and trades and services aren’t
sitting around waiting for you to come through the door.
Even with the cooperation of our quality partners and supporters,
this will be a tall order but we’re up for the challenge.
The Car
The series of articles that will chronicle our build will
portray a fairly straight ahead example of a ‘32 Ford
Hiboy Roadster. And while it will be fairly straight ahead,
it won’t be without some twists and turns –
it’s a hot rod after all.
Virtually all of the parts will be selected based upon
being readily available and custom work will be kept to
a minimum. If, during the build, we feel that some customization
or change will improve the overall look, performance or
distinctiveness of the car, we will pursue it.
The car will be based upon a fiberglass body (to keep costs
down - relatively speaking), and a fabricated-from-scratch
frame and we’ll be putting Ford in this Ford. There
simply wouldn’t be another acceptable option when
celebrating a Ford anniversary.
As we’ve said in material leading up to this introduction,
the ’32 Ford has become an icon in the hot rod world.
Hence, the 75 anniversary celebrations. Having said that,
many of the parts and techniques that we’ll use will
be applicable to many other applications.
In a future article we’ll also provide a rendering
of our car. So stay tuned for that also.
Our Supporters
We encourage you to look at our supporters page which is
accessible from the menus on all project pages and to visit
the respective web sites. They are all to be be thanked
for their participation, their belief in the worthiness
of this project and the support of our hobby. Canadian Rodder
is proud to represent them and utilize their products and
services. As we move through the project, the parts and
services utilized will be highlighted for your reference.
To Wrap Up This Introduction
In our previous project build-up of a Deuce 3-window coupe,
we started that series by providing articles covering planning
and various considerations as well as construction techniques
relating to fiberglass bodies. We encourage you to look
these articles over (up to article 10) as much of it will
apply here also. Article index HERE.
Finally, an email link is provided on all of the project
pages for questions and requests for additional information.
So, let’s get this party started - next article:
A foundation for our car |
