http://www.oldcarsweekly.com August29, 2019 ❘ 37
blasted and started restoring it. The parts
collecting then began. We found many
parts at local swap meets but did travel
to some of the larger meets such as the
Iola swap meet and the Chickasha pre-
war meet to fi nd parts. Also, the internet
was a major help in fi nding parts. The
parts to this car probably came from
about 30 different states. The front axle,
wishbone and pedals came from Mis-
souri. The body came from California,
front fenders from Lincoln, Neb. The
driveshaft was picked up for us by a
friend from Texas at the Hershey swap
meet from a guy from Canada!
All the work on this car was done by
my father and myself, except the ma-
chine work on the engine and spraying
the color on the body (we did all other
body work). We both know this car in-
side and out. It took a little under three
years to restore, starting in May 2016
and fi nishing in December 2018. Dur-
ing that period, it seemed like every day
or every other day consisted of restoring
a part or looking for a part for the car.
I had lots of help from my high school
friend/college roommate Clayton Pavel-
ka who machined custom parts such as
the fan spacer, drag link and making the
transmission cover.
I wanted the car to be a mild hop-up
similar to what would have been done
in the 1940s and 1950s. The car has a
1946 59A Ford fl athead V-8 engine with
a 4-in. Merc crank, Isky Max 1 cam,
Edelbrock aluminum fi nned heads and
Offenhauser dual-port manifold topped
with two Stromberg 97s, all backed with
a 1939 Ford transmission. The car stops
with 1946 Ford hydraulic brakes and
has a 1940 Ford rear end. The wheels
are 1935 Ford with Firestone bias-ply
tires. The sheet metal remains stockwith exception to a fi lled roof. The body
is painted with single-stage urethane
in 1936 Ford Washington Blue and the
fenders are black. The steering gear is
out of a 1937 Hudson and has a 1937
Ford banjo steering wheel. The interior
is a LeBaron Bonney Co. kit that my
dad and I installed. We hydro-dipped
all the interior garnish mouldings with
burl grain fi lm. The gauges consist of
an original 1932 Ford Stewart-Warner
speedometer and 1936 Ford Deluxe oil,
fuel, temperature and ampere gauges.
The car also has a 2006 Ford Ranger
pickup bed mat that we cut down to use
in the trunk. We’ve got several hundred
miles on the car already and it is a head-
turner everywhere we go. I learned a lotabout ’32s through the process and now
have bragging rights for having built
two cars by age 20!Wacker and his father pose with
the 1932 Ford midway through the
build. That’s a ‘46 Ford V-8.The 1932 Ford now
sports juice brakes
and other hop-up
items that were
often installed in the
1940s.