The "Big Sister" and "Little Sister" '32 Ford roadsters have been drawing some attention to the shop where they were built, Hollywood Hot Rods in Burbank, California. If you didn't see the pair of Deuces at the Grand National Roadster Show, the L.A. Roadster Show, the March Meet, or any of the other big events where they've been drawing crowds, you might have seen them on the tube--the buildup was featured on the "RIDES" television program. Stick around and you'll see them spread across the pages of R&C in the not-too-distant future. Our final question to builder Troy Ladd was: "What are you going to do for an encore?"
As usual, when you ask a builder that question, the answer is just a few feet away in his shop. Sure enough, Troy is busy on another topless '32. For all the work and imagination that went into the previous cars, he's looking to best himself with this effort, starting with a severe sectioning job that puts the body height at about belt buckle level.
The toughest part of the bodywork involved relocating the rear wheelwells upward as the car heads downward. As if to complicate matters, Troy decided to kick up the framerails in the rear approximately 5 inches. In addition, he chose Firestone 8.90-16 dirt track tires for the rear-a perfect choice style wise, but getting that tall rubber positioned just right in the wheelwells presented a real challenge. We wanted to see how he'd meet that challenge. This month we'll show you some of the steps Troy came up with to rework the wheelwells so those tall tires will fit perfectly on the shrinking body. In the next installment, we'll follow up on the doors and making it all work together.
