Words & Photos: John Gunnell

This jaw-dropping ’32 Ford fiberglass roadster squeezes 300 ponies out of an unusual six-banger engine. The 4.2-liter Vortec in-line six isn’t your typical hot rod motor, but has plenty of power to get from Point A to Point B. Performance is excellent because this orange and black buggy weighs just 1,850 lbs. These three factors – displacement, horsepower rating and curb weight – add up to one quick hot rod.

The car’s custom, hand-built exhaust system is an example of pipe bending art. It was engineered specifically for this car. The roadster also includes such brand name goodies as Wilwood brakes, Torque Thrust wheels with polished lips and K & N air filters.

The front end look is super clean, with no headlight tie bar, radiator badge or mascot. The open-sided hood shows off the engine and the exhaust system, which feeds into fat side pipes. There are no fenders and no running boards. At the rear is a clean-lined stainless steel bumper.

A clean-looking exterior is complimented by an equally clean interior with all of the necessary gauges strung out across the dashboard. The shifter is simple. It has a small piston-shaped handle and an LED shift indicator light on the bottom of the dashboard. There are custom stainless steel foot pedals, too. The bucket seats are upholstered in black vinyl with white piping.  Seat belts are fitted for the safety of the driver and passenger.

This is another car we ran across at Gateway Classic Cars in Kenosha, Wis., where it was on consignment. As most hot rodders know, it’s hard to get a handle on how much hot rods and custom cars are worth. Asking prices seem to be all over the place and there is no price guide for modified cars. This one had a $60,000 asking price. That at least gives us some idea of what a car like this one might go for.