Retro: The first Ford V-8 Coupe

HENRY Ford is justly famed for having put America and much of the world on wheels, through his pared-down and production-designed Model T of 1908. But Ford deserves just as much credit for making the world on wheels go (and look) faster, through a landmark model launched in 1932, the Ford V-8 Coupe.

First published in the March 2017 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s most experienced and most trusted car magazine since 1953

Introducing Ford’s first V8 engine – known as the ‘flathead’ – the Coupe was sleek, stylish and technically advanced, especially from the driver’s point of view. Above all, it was extremely affordable: the V8 versions (known as Model 18) cost only $50 or so more than their four-cylinder (Model B) sisters in 1932, and as little as $15 more than
rival six-cylinder cars from Chevrolet.

The flathead V8’s birth was not without its problems, the main one being Henry Ford himself; the success of the Model T and subsequent Model A had made Henry into a very prickly individual.

Convinced of his own genius, he spent much of the 1920s pursuing the idea of an eight-cylinder radial engine, his so-called X8. Radial designs, while already common among aero engines, presented cooling and lubrication problems in cars that were eventually deemed too difficult to overcome.

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The V8 configuration was already in use, most popularly with Cadillac from 1914. Ford had green-lighted a V8 in 1928, but Chevrolet’s introduction of a powerful and efficient six-cylinder in 1929 was a catalyst. Ford faced significant challenges in cost-effectively casting a V8 block. Designers also had to overcome headstrong Henry’s peculiar demands; early on, he forbade the inclusion of an oil pump.

The original Ford V8 – which ran, with updates, until 1940 – was destined to be a runaway success. Early sales were boosted by the fact that Model A production had already ended, but the new two-door Fords (followed by four-doors and, famously, the Australian-designed coupe-utility – the ute) were wholly deserving.

They looked great, too. Most credit for the flowing, Lincoln-influenced lines goes to young designer Bob Gregorie (who would found Ford’s in-house studio in 1935). However, Gregorie worked closely with Edsel Ford, whose refined taste and collegiate approach made him the polar opposite (and some say, the scapegoat) of his hard-nosed father.

From this uneasy father-and-son relationship, however, came a car whose cool style and cheap performance have made it an enduring icon. Think ‘hot rod’ and chances are you’re thinking of a customised creation that started out life as Ford’s pretty little coupe.

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Five Fast Facts

1. Beaut Aussie ute
Aussie legend Lew Bandt designed the world’s first ‘coupe-utility’ in 1933, based on a 1932 Ford V8 five-window ‘dicky-seat’ Coupe

2. Movie star
The yellow ’32 Coupe in American Graffiti (1973) is today credited with saving hot-rodding. Yet after filming, the car failed to sell for $1500

3. Heist society
Bank robbers John Dillinger, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker enjoyed the Ford V8’s performance; the latter pair were shot to ribbons in one.

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4. Rodding life
The Ford ‘flattie’ ignited the smouldering hot-rod scene, with an industry of performance parts catering for cheap used cars post-WW2

5. Artistic license
The Beach Boys’ 1963 hit song ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ is about Brian Wilson’s imaginary ’32, “with
four on the floor”.

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