The Early Years of Hot Rodding in the UK

With the American magazine 'Hot Rod' being readily available in Britain in the late 50's the inspiration was there for many to build a '32 Ford hot rod. However this was easier said than done. The main factor at that point was being able to find a suitable car to start with.

In 1932 Ford in Britain had announced that five models would be available to buy. This may have been true, however they were only manufacturing two models at the Dagenham plant. This was the 2 door and the 4 door sedans. The other models listed were Cabriolet, a Deluxe Coupe, and Victoria all of which were imported. Those imports turned out to be a very limited amount.

By the 60's the availability of the British '32 had become limited due to a few factors. There was the 50's British stock car racing, which had come from France and was often referred to as 'Smash n Bash'. Then there was the American version, although not so much contact but never the less would still result in accidents. Between both sports many '32's were lost. Those that had survived that period had become prone to the wet British climate and had rusted out with the interior wood having rotted away.

What a British hot rodder wanted was a roadster or coupe. The roadster had never been offered here by Ford and only a few coupes had been imported so even finding a coupe would be difficult. However, the Cabriolet with it's fold down roof had proved to be popular with the public. With patience and some searching something might turn up....and they did, along with a couple of coupes.

In the years to come we would see more original '32's being imported along with fibreglass and steel replicas to finally have a base to work with. Whilst hot rodding a '32 Ford had started in the USA it is now presence in all counties of the world, none more so then here in Britain.

We may have been late to the party in comparison to the States but the '32 Ford hot rod in Britain is now a firm favourite with hot rodders. That trend continues to grow in numbers and as of 2024 a British built 1932 Ford hot rod has appeared on a magazine cover 85 times.

Note: Many of the photos in this article have been taken from internet and thus has not been credited. If any of these are yours, or you know who took them please let me know and will attach a credit. Thanks to Brian Lucas for additional facts.