Wrap Your Ass in Fiberglass

I love fiberglass—it’s easy to work with and it smells really good. I’m okay as a steel fabricator, but when it comes to gluing a car together, my experience goes back to 1960 when I was 8 years old and built AMT’s 1⁄25 scale 1932 Ford 3-in-1 kit as a fenderless highboy with a blown 392 Chrysler for power— Hemi Firepower that is.

- John Gilbert

I still have a memento from building that Deuce roadster. I received a deep cut on my right index finger while cutting parts off the plastic trees, and it left a deep, enduring scar. The ’32 Ford has always been the ultimate hot rod to me and HOT ROD the ultimate car magazine. I’ve owned more than 200 cars in my life and worked for more than 30 car magazines, but it’s only been a few years since I bought my first full-scale ’32 Ford, and even more recently that I started working for HOT ROD.

Of course, some might say my Wescott-bodied ’32 Ford roadster isn’t real, but I say it’s like breast implants—it’s real on the outside. She’s every bit a ’32 Ford, even if the only part on the car Ford made is the ignition key. That brings me to the engine I’d love to have in it—an old 392 Hemi plucked from a ’58 Chrysler Imperial, like the one I passed up in 1995 for $50.00, but that ship sailed a long time ago.