1932 Ford Edsel Ford Custom Boattail Speedster
- Engine
- 3.6L (221 cu. in.) flathead V8, Stromberg 81 two-barrel carburetor, ~85 bhp
- Colour
- 1932 Ford Tunis Gray
The 1932 Edsel Ford Speedster is a unique hand-built custom roadster designed by Eugene 'Bob' Gregorie under the direction of Edsel B. Ford, then President of Ford Motor Company. Built on a shortened Ford Model 18 chassis, its body panels were hand-hammered from aluminum, featuring aircraft-inspired fenders, a boat-tail, and bullet-shaped headlights. Long presumed destroyed, the car was rediscovered in Connecticut, subsequently subjected to a meticulous five-year restoration, and won the Bob Gregorie Award for Design Excellence at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$770,000
- 1932 →Factory deliveryEdsel B. Fordpartial documentation
Original commissioner of the bespoke speedster, which was designed and built to his personal specifications at a Ford Lincoln plant. He occasionally drove it to work.
- Date unknownPrivate saleElmer Benzinpartial documentation
Indianapolis-based mechanic who acquired the car directly from Edsel Ford and subsequently sold it onward.
- Date unknownPrivate saleYoung GM designerpartial documentation
Junior GM styling employee who purchased the car from Benzin and was involved in a collision that caused significant damage to it.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownBody shop owner in Connecticutpartial documentation
Held the damaged vehicle for approximately fifty years without knowing its significance; replaced the original alloy fenders with adapted steel units from a mid-1930s Chevrolet.
- Date unknownPrivate saleConsignorpartial documentation
Acquired the car after the Connecticut owner's death and undertook a thorough five-year restoration to return it to its original appearance, including hand-crafted aluminum fenders and period-correct paintwork.
Competition
- 20132013 Amelia Island Concours d'EleganceWinner of the E.T. 'Bob' Gregorie Award for Design Excellence
Award presented by Moray Callum, Ford's VP of Design, on behalf of Edsel Ford II, making the recognition particularly fitting given the car's origins.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Modification
An updated Ford flathead V-8 was fitted in place of the original engine to improve performance, carried out at an undetermined point during early ownership.
Timing is unclear; described as having occurred while the car was still in original or near-original condition.
- —Repair
The Connecticut owner replaced damaged original aluminum fenders with steel fenders adapted from a 1935/36 Chevrolet following accident damage.
Original aluminum body and boattail were retained; only the fenders were substituted.
- —RestorationMike and Jim Barillaro (metalwork, Knoxville, Tennessee)
A comprehensive five-year restoration returned the car to its original 1932 appearance: the boattail bodywork was refinished, new hand-crafted aluminum fenders were fabricated, the car was repainted in 1932 Ford Tunis Gray matched to an original paint sample found under the cowl vent, and the interior was retrimmed in dark grey-brown leather. A period 1936 Ford flathead V-8 with a Stromberg 81 carburetor was installed, exhausting through straight pipes at the rear.
Paint color was matched by Jim Gombos from an original sample taken from the underside of the cowl vent.
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