This 1932 Ford B79 Deluxe Panel Delivery is owned by Bill Josler, a VAE member from White River Junction, Vermont. See Bill’s Ford at the Vermont Antique and Classic Car Meet in Waterbury in August.
Thank you, VAE, and the staff of Wheel tracks for this opportunity to showcase the 1932 Ford B79 deluxe panel delivery. Happy Birthday to this special 1932, assembled in late August, now at age 93. Here is the “known” to me history.
It was purchased “new” in Hingham, MA, and acquired “used” by Robert Osborne sometime prior to 1994. It was this year I found the very first invoice pertaining to the start of the restoration. Mr. Osborne has a Model A which has received several awards from AACA, and prior to his death this would have been another such vehicle. If my “old fashioned” math is correct, the project took some 31 plus years. My friend, Peter Hersey, a fellow Great Racer, purchased the 1932 in 2021 and gifted it to me in appreciation for my efforts in restoring and maintaining his Great Race 1934 Ford Indy Speedster for many years; for this, I am very grateful.
Having said that, I come away with a deep respect and appreciation for those that choose a rare vehicle to restore, and this was really a challenge as I received it in boxes, boxes, and more boxes. Didn’t take it apart, so therefore I was uncertain just how it went together.
Before any further discussion, yes, I realize a 9132 Ford B79 is NOT as rare as many vehicles. However, this B79 had a total production of 6500 (of which 65 were manufactured with the new flathead V8 engine; this B79 came with the then “new” 4-cylinder Model Be and numbered 471 because of being a deluxe model). Not extremely rare! However, let’s look at some of the peculiar details of a 1932 Ford: a one-off frame 1932 only; a detached firewall, 1932 only; 18” spoke wheels, 1932 only; the grill and hood, 1932 only; first year of a cowl vent, first year of the Model B engine, first year of an engine with a fuel pump – both V8 and 4-cylinder; first year Ford w/o steering column spark advance and a special choke cable used only on the 1932 Model B engine installation, to name a few items. I’m sure there are many more.
As for the choke cable assembly, I found a used one in North Dakota for $200. Additionally, there is a lot of wood used in the early Ford panel delivery.
Most of the structure inside of the body and roof is wood, and of course the rubber material covering the roof leaked over time and rotted that wood, which added to the restoration project because either one end or another, or maybe the middle or both ends, were no longer in service. It took over 200 hours to manufacture those needed pieces from rough cut, kiln-dried maple, many of which have compound curves and angles.
The interior had an optional paint color in late 1932. Dealers could use whatever color they chose. The exterior panel of this 1932 is the actual red for the year, and because it is a deluxe, it is correctly painted with a gloss finish.
The rear body panels were produced by Briggs Body for Ford. The panel delivery used barn-type rear doors and were used primarily for the likes of bakery goods, flowers and light cargo, NOT a freight-designed utility vehicle.
The sedan delivery used only one rear door and was basically a two-door sedan with the rear window glass replaced with a steel panel.
I used two of the recommended restoration 1932 Ford books, Volumes 1 and 2, in this project, and whatever else I could get my hands on.
However, there was/is little resources for commercial vehicle restoration.
Even at the Ford archive, there was no help for the 1932 commercial vehicle. I will never have this vehicle judged as it was done to the best of my ability as an amateur restorer because it deserved to be saved in a “best attempt” of originality. There is not one Philips screw because pre-1933, all screws were slotted, although I’m sure Henry used slotted screws far beyond 1933.
Bill’s labor-of-love restoration will be on full display at the car meet in August.
Please take a moment to check this beauty out and say hi to Bill.
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