1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe – Morning Coffee in South City
We were out early last week to get fresh dibs on Scott Hawley’s never-driven-before 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe by Roy Brizio Street Rods. The dark brown hot rod is scheduled to make its debut at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona next weekend.
We swung by Scott’s a good hour before sunrise to grab him. We got some coffee then opened up Brizio’s shop and went out back to see how this all original Henry steel coupe looked in front of the camera at first light. It hadn’t even been put in gear before we drove it around the block and into Brizio’s spacious back lot four our shoot.
When we finished the shoot, we went for a spirited run up Spruce Ave in South San Francisco then up to the ol’ El Camino Real, Scott mashing the loud pedal. Onlookers flashed their customary thumbs up as we roared by. We drove past Gotelli Speed Shop, Ole’s carburetors and other old haunts making the morning seem like a trip back in time. The San Francisco peninsula speed community is tight knit.
Hawley has a knack for finding vintage tin. You might remember his V-Drive Sanger we featured last summer. This 5-window, his fifth 1932 Ford, was acquired from So-Cal hot rodders Dennis & Debbie Kyle. It was good tin, but the project was about half done. The body was sitting on a frame by Billy Venter with all the goodies already in place and a righteous rake. In place were the Pete & Jake’s hairpins, ladder bars, So-Cal Speed Shop brake covers, Pete & Jake’s shocks and a mild dropped & drilled axle. The Wheel Vintique steelies came later (16×4 ½” and 18×5”) and were painted “Vanilla Shake” by Darryl Hollenbeck of Vintage Color Studio. They’re shod with Excelsior tires ready for the coming summer road trips. The hubcaps are OE 1947 Ford items.
Scott isn’t one of those dudes who says “I’m gonna drive the wheels off this thing” and then doesn’t. That’s not his style. With a milder 330hp 350 crate motor with an Edelbrock 4 barrel carb underneath a Moon Equip Co air cleaner, it’s crying out for road trips. That small block sounds outstanding with Sanderson Headers leading to 2 /14” exhaust and quad pipes resting next to the quick change rear end.
Back to Darryl Hollenbeck. His Vintage Color Studio in Concord, California did all of the bodywork and paint on Scott’s hot rod. Darryl’s friend Dennis Barazza came up with the custom PPG dark brown color. We named it “Barazza Brown,” while hanging out in Brizio’s shop where Hollenbeck was detailing cars for next week’s GNRS in Pomona. It’s so dark it can look black but in the right light, it resembles Hershey’s chocolate. It’s beautiful, especially when matched with the Vanilla Shake grill and steelies.
The interior is nothing short of spectacular. The caramel brown leather was stitched by Bay Area hot rod upholstery king Sid Chavers. Those bitchin’ inserts are from a 1946 Dodge. Elegant Burlwood abounds on the garnish moldings as well as that killer dash housing one-off Rodder’s Journal gauges by Classic Instruments.
The entire package combines the talents of the Bay Area’s best hot rod craftsmen and it stacks up against any hi-boy 5-window we’ve seen. And it couldn’t have been put together for a better guy. Scott is so gracious with his cars and other go-fast machines. While some would balk at taking a brand new car out for a spirited drive and photo shoot before going to a major national car show, Scott didn’t bat an eye. He was all in and we’re stoked he shared his hot rod with us. Have fun this year brother!
