Allan Fielding's 1932 Ford

A photo of the coupe taken in 1968, right before Arthur put it into storage. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Another photo from 1968. The headlights were still not installed when Eli English bought it 50 years later! Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

A photo of the coupe taken where it was found in January of 2018. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

The coupe had not seen daylight in 50 years when it was pulled out of storage. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

The bill of sale from when Allan sold it to Arthur. Arthur wouldn't stop bugging him about buying it, so he sold it to him without the engine and transmission. The rear end was still in. Arthur wasn't old enough to drive when he bought the car, so Arthur's mother is listed on the bill of sale. Arthur paid $300 for the coupe.

The coupe as it appeared when Eli bought it. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

This photo shows where the K member used to be before Arthur installed the Hemi. It was moved back for the B&M Hydrostick. The rear trans mount is the back of a 1939 Ford transmission. After moving the tubular K member Eli was able to verify that the car was once Flathead powered with a 1939 Ford transmission; "I moved the bolt in mounts forward to an existing set of holes, cut out the tubular K member and moved it forward to the spot on the frame where I could see that it was moved from, and the '39 trans landed perfectly on the K member again!" Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Eli swapped the Oldsmobile rear end with an early Ford banjo, just like the way it was prior to 1964. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

A photo taken after Eli installed the Banjo rear end and new wheels. He installed 750/16 tires in the rear, and 600/16 up front. Eli also installed an original filled Mor-Drop front axle by Kholer Custom up front. "I will be leaving the body and awkward rear wheel location as is..this is exactly the look I was going for, yet maintaining the integrity of a true New England Survivor Hot Rod!" Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

The coupe outside with the stance corrected, right tires, wheels and a dropped axle. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

After Allan had channeled the body on the coupe, he hung the gas tank from a piece of pipe that was welded across the frame. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

By February of 2018 Eli had installed a Flathead V8 engine in the coupe again. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

The coupe as it appeared in April of 2018. Photo courtesy of Eli English.

Photo courtesy of Eli English.

1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe owned by Allan Fielding of Burriville, Rhode Island. Allan traded a 1951 Oldsmobile for the coupe around 1955. It had already been hot rodded when Allan got it, and the coupe ran a channeled 1932 Ford chassis. The driveline was missing.

Channeled

In 2018 Allan tod later owner Eli English that he channeled the body down to a "cigarette" pack over a 1934 Ford chassis. When Eli bought the car, the body had been channeled 12 inches over the frame, and the frame was also Z'd 8 inches, giving it an East Coast stance. Allan put in a tubular K-member, sectioned the grille, recessed the firewall and added "add on headlights." The driprails were removed and the roof was filled before Allan put it in primer. Inside, it ran plywood floors. The fuel tank hung from a piece of pipe that was welded across the frame.

Hemi

Allan initially ran a Hemi in the coupe. It smoked and wouldn't get traction to race, so he replaced it with a .80 over 59L Flathead with a roller cam, Hilborn injection on Nitro, a LaSalle transmission and a quickchange on a banjo rear end. With this set up the coupe went 112 in the 1/4 at Colchester, Connecticut. The car was built with the help of his friends George Summers and Ronnie Bouchard. Ronnie, who went on to become a 1980s Nascar Champion, did also help Allan race the car.

Sold to Arthur Gobielle

June 10th, 1964 Allan sold the coupe to Arthur Gobielle of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Arthur wouldn't stop bugging him about buying it, so he sold it to him without the engine and transmission. The rear end was still in. Arthur wasn't old enough to drive when he bought the car, so Arthur's mother is listed on the bill of sale. Arthur paid $300 for the coupe.

Shoebox and Belvedere

Allan put the flathead in a 1949 Ford. He drove it to Loudon, New Hampshire in 1964, and raced it in the spectator race, which it won. The money from the coupe went towards a 1965 Plymouth Belvedere with a big Hemi in it.

From Flathead to Hemi

Arthur installed a 392 Hemi engine from a 1957 Imperial in the car. He also installed an Oldsmobile rear end, added Buick taillights and painted it blue. According to Eli English, Arthur only drove the coupe with the Hemi for about 10 miles before he put it in storage in 1968.

Sold to Eli English

In January of 2018 Eli English of Traditional Speed and Custom in Pittsfield, New Hampshire bought the car. When Eli bought it, it had not seen the light of day for 50 years. The old survivor came with three old photos from 1968, and after buying it, Eli told Kustomrama that the car looked unchanged when he got it, compared to the old photos; "The headlights were still not installed when pulled from storage 50 years later!"

Back to the Roots

After buying the coupe, Eli traced original owner Allan to get the rest of the history. Allan was surprised when Eli called, but would gladly share old storeis about his hot rod. The Hemi engine was stuck when Eli got the car out of storage. The cylinder walls were all rusted and it needed machining, so he decided to replace the Hemi with a rebuilt flathead that he has in his collection, building it back to how it appeared prior to 1964. Before the engine swap, Eli replaced the Oldsmobile rear end with a 1940 Ford rear end. He installed 750/16 tires in the rear, and 600/16 up front. Eli also installed an original filled Mor-Drop front axle by Kholer Custom. "I will be leaving the body and awkward rear wheel location as is..this is exactly the look I was going for, yet maintaining the integrity of a true New England Survivor Hot Rod!"

Do You Recognize This New England Survivor Hot Rod?

Eli English is currently looking for more info on his coupe. In particular info prior to Allan Fielding buying it in the mid 1950s. Please get in touch with Kustomrama at mail@kustomrama.com if you recognize the car and have more info or photos to share with Eli.