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The Year in Cars: 1932


Guest Magoo

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Here's another series at Mac's Motor City Garage.com inspired by forum conversations here and elsewhere. Thanks sincerely for your guidance, appreciate your experience and insights.

This is called The Year in Cars -- instead of focusing on a particular make, theme, styling feature, mechanical topic, etc. we pick a model year. 1932, a seminal year for American cars, seemed like a good place to start. Tried to keep it short on historical blabbering, long on historical facts and photos.

The Year in Cars: 1932 | Mac's Motor City Garage.com

1932buickcoupeandfourdo.jpg

1932franklintwelveclubb.jpg

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1932 was the for the most part the final iteration on the open fender and many had perfected the curve. Also, the windshields were beginning to be angled back which helped.

At least for GM cars the brief change from louvered hood side vents to door vents ( door vents used only on a 32 Pontiac ) would end in 1932 and would completely change for 1933.

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Another way to approach 1932 as a pivotal year in American auto styling: Take out the 1932 model year for a moment and directly compare the 1931 and 1933 models to each other. It's an eye opener, really dramatizes the changes.

1931 vs. 1933 Fords:

1931fordcoupe.jpg

1933fordstandardfivewin.jpg

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For Graham you did not even have to change years....

post-67048-143139264097_thumb.jpg

1932 First Series Coupe...

post-67048-143139264102_thumb.jpg

1932 Graham Second Series Convertible Coupe

Interesting they even use the same front bumper, same engine, same transmission but the center of gravity dropped about 8 inches. Graham outboard mounted the springs to the frame and ran the rear axle through the frame to lower the center of gravity tremendously. Customers complained because the car did not lean in the corners. In 1934 came the 140hp Super Charged 8 but that is another story.

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Edited by Graham Man (see edit history)
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I am hoping to add a 1933 Ford 4 door sedan to may garage someday. I love the 33/34 body styles I think they are highly underrated... the hot rod guys seem to appreciate them, soon all the original car will be gone. I had my 1933 Graham in the Public Enemies movie a few years back they called over 200 1933/4 Ford owners before they found an original car.

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1932 Chrysler Imperial Custom 8, model CL, LeBaron Convertible Roadster

Great car, great photo, thanks!

A Chrysler ('33) won Best in Show at St. John's this year, if I recall.

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I have always thought 1932 was a watershed year for car styling and engineering, very few ugly cars in that year. I was lucky enough to own one of the prettiest for a short time...

1932 Cadillac is a great one for sure. Many of the body styles are that rare thing -- a car with no bad angles.

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Guest Bill Miller

Isn't the Franklin in Photo 2 a custom body by LeBaron rather than a factory production body? Maybe I'm thinking of the Pierce-Arrow company which commissioned a line of custom "salon" bodies from LeBaron, one of which sure looks a lot like this one. Bob Egle in Ohio, now deceased, had one of the 12-cylinder Franklins with this 2-door body which I saw at a CCCA Grand Classic in Indiana probably 20 years ago. He bought it at an IRS auction he saw in Old Cars Weekly and had gotten it running and then had an electrical fire from the original wiring which he had neglected to inspect closely. I've been looking for one ever since but they never show up for sale. A really beautiful car, coachbuilt or not.

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Thanks to all for the interesting comments on the 1932 Franklin Twelve.

I found this ad showing the Club Brougham body style (or very similar) with the comment that the body was "LeBaron styled." Which, in ad-speak, ast implies that the body was designed by Lebaron but not necessarily built by Briggs/LeBaron.

franklintwelve.jpg

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This is my favorite car, my 1932 Franklin series 16A Airman. I love it for its understated beauty. I think it is a great example of clean, classic style. It's a plain, five-wheel car. It had white walls when I got it, but when they wore out, I put on the blackwalls in a slightly larger size. It totally changed the car's appearance, I feel for the better.

post-48034-143139280564_thumb.jpg

post-48034-143139280566_thumb.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
This is my favorite car, my 1932 Franklin series 16A Airman. I love it for its understated beauty. I think it is a great example of clean, classic style. It's a plain, five-wheel car. It had white walls when I got it, but when they wore out, I put on the blackwalls in a slightly larger size. It totally changed the car's appearance, I feel for the better.

Beautiful car. Great engineering, too. Franklin always went its own way, which is to be respected.

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