Bob Moloney

A photo of Bob’s first car, a 1936 Ford Five-Window Coupe. The coupe had no engine and a smashed front end when he got it, but Bob quickly converted the brakes to hydraulics using parts from a 1939 Ford, and installed a junkyard 59AB Flathead with dual carburetors and high-compression heads. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

Bob’s 1936 Ford after he had gotten it back on the road. At this stage, the coupe was running without front fenders and carried a temporary set of headlights. Powered by a 59AB Flathead with dual carburetors and high-compression heads, the car was Bob’s first true hot rod, driven on the streets of Boston before he even had his license. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

The 1936 Ford as it appeared after Bob had rebuilt it and gotten it back on the road. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

Bob with his '36 in 1957. By this time, the car had received a rebuilt front end and an upgraded engine. First bought as a wreck in 1955, the '36 became Bob’s first real hot rod and taught him many of the skills he would later apply to his long-term project, the 1932 Ford Five-Window Coupe. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

Bob’s second hot rod, a 1940 Ford Deluxe Two-Door Sedan. Originally a moonshine car from North Carolina, it came with a souped-up flathead in a stock body. In 1958, Bob installed a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette small-block that he had assembled with “Fuelie” heads, triple two-barrel carbs, and a Duntov 097 cam. This sleeper sedan became Bob’s daily driver until late 1960, when the engine was transplanted into his 1932 Ford Five-Window Coupe. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

Bob's 1932 Ford Five-Window Coupe as it appeared when he purchased it for $425 in 1960. Originally begun as a hot rod project by another local enthusiast in 1955 and abandoned two years later, Bob found the car in storage and took it on as his own. Expecting it to be 75% complete, he quickly discovered it was closer to 20%. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

By June of 1961, after 180 days of work, Bob had his '32 licensed, insured, and legally on the road. The small-block Chevrolet was in place, and the coupe now wore its full black lacquer paint job. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

Bob’s Coupe photographed in his Texas garage in 2025. By this time, the coupe had been with Bob for 65 years, still running strong with its Corvette LT-1 small-block, Jaguar XKE rear end, and decades of carefully engineered updates. Recent improvements included a 1965 Ford Mustang radiator, a reproduction 1949 Ford gas tank, and a Corvair steering box. Photo courtesy of Bob Moloney.

Bob Moloney also shares his passion for hot rodding on YouTube. Together with his friend Lou, he operates the channel Bob & Lou @ theTwo Old Guys Garage, where they began documenting the ground-up build of a 1948 English Ford Anglia ‘Popular’ street rod more than three years ago. Bob has also posted videos of maintenance and updates on his 1932 Ford Five-Window Coupe, along with links to additional historical information about the car. Click here to visit the channel and subscribe today.

Bob Moloney (born 1940) is an American hot rodder known for his ownership and long-term stewardship of a 1932 Ford Five-Window Coupe that he has continuously maintained since 1960. Moloney’s car is a surviving example of the East Coast hot rod style of the 1950s and 1960s, adapted and evolved through decades of modifications.

Early Life and Interest in Cars

Bob was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in the Dorchester suburb, and his interest in cars began in 1951 at the age of eleven, when he started reading magazines such as Hot Rod Magazine and Rod & Custom. In 1952, he began spending time with a group of teenagers in his Boston neighborhood, most of them a few years older than he was. Wanting to be more mobile, the group pooled money to buy a car, eventually acquiring two 1939 Ford Phaeton convertibles. The oldest member of the group, Frank T., was the only one with a driver’s license. Moloney quickly became the one maintaining the cars, learning skills such as bodywork, mechanical repair, and basic customization.

Together with his cousin, Moloney performed his first modifications by nosing and decking the 1939 Ford, installing dual exhausts, lowering the rear with longer shackles, and fitting blue dot taillights. Frank gave Moloney his first driving lesson in the Phaeton in 1952, and Moloney continued to maintain Frank’s subsequent cars, including a 1939 Ford Standard coupe with a modified flathead and a 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe powered by a 1949 Cadillac engine.

First Hot Rods

At age fifteen, in 1955, Moloney bought his first personal car, a 1936 Ford Five-Window Coupe with a damaged front end and no engine. He converted its brakes from mechanical to hydraulic using parts from a 1939 Ford coupe, installed a junkyard 59AB Flathead with dual carburetors and high-compression heads, and insured and drove the car with a false license until earning his legal license in 1956.

In 1957, Moloney sold the 1936 Ford and bought a 1940 Ford Deluxe Two-Door Sedan that had previously been used as a moonshine car in North Carolina. It retained a modified Flathead engine in an otherwise stock body. By 1956, he had acquired a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette small-block short block, which he assembled with Corvette “Fuelie” heads, triple two-barrel carburetors, and a Duntov 097 camshaft. In early 1958, this engine was installed in the 1940 Ford, making it Moloney’s daily-driven “sleeper” street machine until late 1960.

The 1932 Ford Coupe

In June 1960, Moloney and his fiancée purchased an abandoned 1932 Ford Model 18 Five-Window Coupe project for $425. The car had been disassembled in 1955 by another local hot rodder and left unfinished. Moloney expected the project to be nearly complete, but quickly realized it was only 20 percent finished.

Moloney began building the coupe in a backyard workshop, completing the chassis, installing the Corvette small-block engine from his 1940 Ford, and fabricating many custom details. By June 1961, the car was licensed and legally on the road. It has remained in Moloney’s possession ever since, following him through military service, cross-country moves, and decades of hot rodding.

The coupe evolved with each decade, including the installation of a Ford F1 rear end in 1965, a Jaguar XKE independent rear suspension in 1971, and countless refinements in the years that followed. Moloney relocated the car with him to California in 1966, where he joined the Obsoletes Ltd. of Orange County Car Club, and then to Texas in 1990, where it still resided in 2025. The coupe has been continuously registered and in use since 1965, making it a rare long-term survivor.