Laverne A. Stetzer's 1932 Ford

The coupe as it sat when Laverne owned it. Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

The York Coupe as it sat when Karl Nishwitz bought it in the early 1990s. Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

The trunk was untouched since 1957. Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Karl rebuilt the engine in 1996. Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

The coupe as it sat after it had been restored back to how it first appeared in 1957. Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Street.

The York Coupe as it sat when it was advertised for sale on eBay in August of 2014.

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1932 Ford 5-window coupe originally owned by Laverne A. Stetzer of York, Pennsylvania. The coupe was built by Glen "Rudy" Rudisill and his father at G.E. Rudisill & Sons in 1957. Laverne bought the 5-window body, frame and wheels for $225 at a junkyard in Marietta, Pennsylvania in 1957. The car came to the shop in pieces, and Laverne made payments on Rudy's 1956 Ford Victoria as work progressed on the coupe.

The body was channeled over a Z'd frame that Rudy and his dad fit with 1940s Ford brakes. The top was filled with a 1949 Plymouth station wagon rear roof section that took Stetz about two days to cut out by hand. Rear fenders that fit the contour of the rear wheel openings were fabricated by York Corrugating Co. The front fenders were motorcycle type fenders. The firewall was fabricated using 1/4" cold rolled steel and two master cylinders were attached for the clutch and brakes. All metal work was smoothed by Rudy and his father using lead. When the bodywork was done, the coupe received a GM Bahama Blue Metallic paint job. Power came from a 1952 Chrysler 332 cu. in. Hemi engine. The interior received a shortened 1949 Mercury dash and steering wheel. The steering box came from a 1937 Hudson Terraplane. Once completed, Laverne had a total of $10,000 in the car. Laverne had it for some years before he sold it to Bill Rousch of Violet Hills, York when he got married. In 2006 Laverne believed he got less than $1,000 for the coupe.

Bill owned the coupe for almost 30 years. After owning it for 3 or 4 years, he spun a bearing, and the engine was taken apart. It sat in dry storage for 26 years before Karl Nishwitz talked him into selling it in the early 1990s. Karl, an old drag racer, mechanic and body-man put the engine together and got it running. The front end was out from under the car at that time and Karl painted it and put that back in also. The rear end was rebuilt from one bought from Jerry Duncan. He did a lot of tinkering to get the car running good. Karl is a 50 year member of the Motor Menders. In September of 1996 he sold the car to a fellow in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Frank Class. In September of 2001 the old hot rod was sold to Bruce Smith. David Wiggins of Media, Pennsylvania bought the car from Bruce, but he never titled the car in his name. Wiggins sold the car to Rick Yocum of Lexington, Ohio in July of 2005. Rick never titled the car or did anything with it. November 23, 2006, Jim Kroll bought the car from Rick. Jim sold the coupe to Donald G. Meyer. Donald owned it for 3 years before he sold it to Bill Stacy.

In August of 2014 the coupe was advertised for sale on eBay. The auction ended without the reserve price being met.