ON THE MOTHER ROAD IN A '32.(News)

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON

Forget hot rodding and think about the original '32 flathead Ford. We hopped aboard a 1932 Ford Model 18 four-door sedan for a drive from Albuquerque to Flagstaff, incorporating large sections of historic Route 66. Owner Ron Ferris and navigator Rick Beattie were engaged in the 25th running of the Great American Race, so we couldn't really wrest the wheel away, but more than 400 miles in the back seat was instructive.

The car was roomy and fairly comfortable (except when the live axle encountered severe bumps at speed), and the flathead let the driver tackle varied terrain without a lot of excess shifting among the three gears.

Henry's V8 must have been a revelation to Ford motorists of 1932, or at least those with jobs and the wherewithal for a new car during the Great Depression. With 25 more hp and lots more torque than you got from the Model A four-banger, the first V8 for Everyman can hold its own on modern highways, let alone the more leisurely pace of life along the Mother Road. You can pass slower traffic on the old two-lane without scaring yourself silly, and continuous runs at more than 50 mph must have seriously reduced real-world travel times. You could get a lot more power in '32, but only in high-priced luxury cars (a Chrysler straight-eight made nearly twice as much power, for instance).

Today, you can build a brand-new 1932 Ford without using a single part built before the dawn of the 21st century, but for some insight into what the original was really like, it's worth running ...