Franklin Mint 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe Rockin' Rod

This little thirty-two-deuce is just plain Cool! Born from the American Graffiti tooling, this is a wonderful rendition of something new from something old. Franklin has made Ford three window coupes and five window coupes in 1932 vintage. They have built a ‘rat rod’ from the stock three window coupe and the Boyd Coddington version as well as the original five window, "American Graffiti" deuce to honor the famous movie-star car. They later took that same five window tooling and made it into a limited edition in purple with flames. But this variant pushes my buttons for some reason.

Maybe it is the color scheme that is so uniquely different while being executed so well. The top half features charcoal gray metallic over a deep candy burgundy separated by jazzy graphics in blue, red, orange and yellow. Did I just say, ‘jazzy’? Well, hey, wasn’t that the jargon just about the time frame that this hot rod encapsulates? TFM switched out a ton of things from the AG car and added some newbie items.

There are no longer exhaust extensions and tail pipes. The side headers dump into a collector and don’t you know how sweet THAT sound is! The wheels have been changed to custom chromies with color-coordinated spinners. The tires have become more substantial and the engine modified. The valve covers are new, so is the air scoop and wiring. The headlights are now bullet versions and the coupe sports small motorcycle outside rearview mirrors. The front chassis rails are cropped, there’s no rear bumper bar, and a completely new interior and trunk display has been fashioned.

The rear suspension works and the outside door hinges are now body colored. Call this a repaint if you must, I certainly cannot; so much has changed and been updated and the total appearance of the hot rod is new, fresh and clean. In today’s parlance, the model rocks!

-Tony F Perrone