For that first Hot Rod rotogravure feature on the Woodard ‘32, simply titled, “Deuce-Chev,” the grille shell still bore the stock cap. Sometime later, it was expertly filled and peaked. Woodard’s ’32 retained a stock, ribbed front bumper in 1958, raised to better suit its function; curiously, the rear bumper was taken from a Mercury station wagon, and a trailer hitch had been installed. The license-plate light was a cut-down 1946-48 Ford unit, sans decklid handle. Additional bodywork included a filled trunk lid that was electrically actuated. Woodard also removed and filled the door handles. Hot Rod reported the body color-painted steel wheels were 15 inches in front and 16 inches in the rear for that “just-right rake.” The small hubcaps came from a 1947-48 Ford. Inside, white Naugahyde with black piping was used for the attractive tuck-and-roll seating; the carpeting was black, and so was the ’40 Ford steering wheel. Lou Penn, of Eagle Rock, was the trimmer. His name crisscrosses through vintage Hot Rod articles, and he must have been a talented man. The ‘32 dash panel was filled, and eight Stewart-Warner instruments were installed. A crossed, checkered-flag badge was centered between the tachometer and the speedometer, and a small radio was fitted beneath the flags. The ’39 shifter was plated and topped with a modest chromed knob. The running boards were covered with white rubber, and short, chromed “Bellflower stacks” protruded just in front of the rear wheels. This car would have been called a “custom Rod” in its day; it was a handsome, functional street cruiser that was quick and classy—a great everyday driver. Chevrolet V-8s in early Fords were becoming increasingly popular by 1958. That was the year Woodard decided to blow the car apart and redo it for local show competition. Rather than do more extensive, new bodywork, he focused on details like the undersides and the running gear. Virtually every driveline piece, right down to lock washers, received the chrome-plating treatment. The oil pan, transmission, front wishbone, drag link, driveshaft and rear end (to name just a few parts) all received the shiny dip. The firewall and the undersides of the fenders were painted gloss black. Woodard did the exterior himself. He apparently purchased a spray gun and subsequently shot the car in Chevrolet Sierra (possibly Aztec) Gold in his backyard. This was probably the time when the grille shell was filled and peaked. The roadster also received a new, black-and-white ’58 Impala steering wheel. Woodard’s choices were subtle, vis-à-vis more radical bodywork, but the effect, especially in the “mild” modifications class, was a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Thanks to George Barris, the Woodard roadster subsequently appeared in several Hot Rod and teen-oriented films. Woodard told Jerry Weesner (in a November 2002 Street Rodder Magazine article) that he was paid the princely sum of $35 per day for the use of his car by the film company rental departments. Woodard and his soon-to-be-wife, Joyce, had their first date in the roadster, which included driving home from San Diego in the rain without a top. The glittering gold/ bronze deuce subsequently served as transportation to bring the Woodard’s first child home from the hospital. Although it continually won its share of trophies, it was also the family car. Needing capital to buy a new home, Woodard sold the ’32 in 1959 to his friend Neal East. Improvements at this time included chromed Hedman “Hedders,” Corvette ignition, a polished three-carburetor Offenhauser intake manifold and finned Offy valve covers. When Rod & Custom went from “little book” to full-sized in 1961, the Woodard/East deuce shared cover honors with another full-fendered ’32: a flathead-powered, wire-wheeled version, then-owned by Murphy Tiffany. Just after the Rod & Custom cover story was completed, East had the opportunity to acquire the Doane Spencer ’32, and he jumped at the chance. He’d already placed an ad for his car in that same issue of Rod & Custom, where it was the cover feature (for $2,075). It wasn’t long before he received a call from the Washington D.C.-area 20-year-old Bill Moeller. While Moeller was a Hot Rod enthusiast with a relatively new Corvette, he flipped when he saw the gold ’32. “I kept looking at the pictures,” Moeller said, “and I thought, wow!” Moeller found a buddy who was planning to attend school on the West Coast. To get some extra cash, he pulled the Corvette’s 4-speed gearbox, sold it and replaced it with a cheaper 3-speed. Not unlike “Route 66,” a few years later, the two youngsters headed to California via a circuitous route that took them as far north as Boise, Idaho, and Yakima, Washington, and as far south as Yellowstone National Park. They headed south from Klamath Falls, Oregon, cruising through the high desert with the top down. “When we got to Pismo Beach,” Moeller said, “I knew I was finally in California.” When they arrived in Los Angeles, Moeller wholesaled his Corvette to a dealer on Washington Boulevard for $2,000, who told him, “If you’ve got any more of those, I’ll take all I can get.” Then he talked a patient East into taking just $1,975 for the roadster, so he’d have $25 gas money for the return trip. Remember gasoline was in the 25- to 30-cent range per gallon four decades ago. That $25 would buy as much as 80 to 100 gallons of gas. That was all Moeller needed. Before he left for his return coast-to-coast drive, to protect the 1932’s dazzling finish, Moeller wisely taped towels over the front fenders and the front bumper. “You know, the paint was a lot brighter when I had the car,” he said. “They must have toned it down a little when they restored it. When I owned it, it just popped. It was lower in the front, too. And it never had the side pipes after it was painted bronze.” “Whenever I’d stop in a town,” Woodard recalled of the drive home, “people would come out to look at the car. Usually, it would start with the one guy who had a cool car, and he’d tell everybody else. Meanwhile, I couldn’t wait to see the Grand Canyon. Then I headed east on Route 66. I remember crossing the Mississippi as the sun came out, having lived for a few days on a diet of coffee and Coke.” Conveniently, the NHRA Nationals and an accompanying car show were going on when Moeller arrived at Indy. He went to a nearby muffler shop, put the ’32 on a lift and cleaned all the chrome under the car. “I wiped it off and applied Vista wax,” he remembered. Moeller’s new purchase took second place in its class, behind a 1936 Ford Convertible that was a trailered show car. Moeller said wherever he drove
