Joe Smith, a noted flathead guru originally from Marietta, Georgia, and later operating in Glen Allen, Virginia, built a fine reputation honed through many years of great cars and satisfied customers. For those seeking a classic roadster with a lot of interesting old parts, look no further, as Munz owns a ’32 hi-boy that Smith built years ago. From its rare Pines Winterfront grille insert to the Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels and Buick finned aluminum drums, this deuce sits right and boasts minimal brightwork, just the way these cars were authentically built back in the day. Its 8BA late-’49-to-’53 three-quarter-race flathead block is topped with Offenhauser finned high-compression heads with reversed water inlets and a rare E&S “Blast Box” dual intake manifold. Other features include louvered hood sides, a chopped windshield, wind wings, shaved door handles, a dropped front axle and an early Halibrand Culver City quick-change rear end. It’s painted black with discrete red pinstriping. The Pines-modified grille and the wheels are red, as well. Munz noted that Smith built this car in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. His friend, the late David Rupp—who held an annual auto auction at the War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida—initially acquired the car and Munz saw it off and on for years. One year, when the Rupp sale was at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the ’32 was there and Munz asked Rupp about it. “The car was sitting there,” Munz recalled, and he wondered if it were for sale. “Of course,” he noted, “you could never get a straight answer out of David.” Munz asked, “Well, what’s the story? Are you going to run it through?” Rupp replied, “I don’t know.” Never one to stand around, Munz made an offer on a Ghia 450SS that RM Restorations had restored. Then, the man who was supposed to buy it to complete a deal that Rupp was doing on a motor coach, backed out of the arrangement. “David was frustrated,” Munz remembered. “He came to me and asked, ‘Would you buy this for what the guy offered?’” “I thought about it for a minute and said, well, here’s what I’ll do. Here’s what I’ll give you for the Ghia and the Roadster. And, he went for it,” Munz said. “So, I bought the pair. I think it was 1993 when I acquired that Roadster. It has a Culver City quick change and a 4-speed truck gearbox. Hank Young built the flatmotor, back in the day.” The result is a solid, well-proportioned ’32 hi-boy that will bring a smile to the face of any flathead enthusiast, particularly when they learn this car’s impressive pedigree.
