Tom Gloy made a career out of sittin’ low and drivin’ fast.
In a racing career that spanned more than 25 years, Gloy collected a Trans Am World Championship as well as a Formula Atlantic title. He is no longer on the racetrack, but he won another award – Goodguys Tank’s Hot Rod of the Year Award as well.
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Far beyond his achievement of providing economical V-8 power to an impoverished nation, the last thing on the minds of Henry Ford’s newest customers in 1932, owners of his one-year-only Model B, was what profound impact those very automobiles would soon have—worldwide. Not even the visionary Henry himself could’ve predicted what a phenomenon that single vehicle was about to create. Much like the fabled AC Cobra, it’s safe to say that there are more “aftermarket” ’32 Fords on the road today than there are genuine FoMoCo ones! In the eyes of everyone, save for the restorative purists, that’s indeed a good thing.
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The Deuce is without question the staple of street rodding as we have all come to know it—whether we’re fans of ’32 Fords (or Fords period) or not. From the beginnings on the dry lakes to the big silver screen to the grass at Pebble Beach, many of our hobby’s milestones have been set behind the wheel of a Deuce. And rightfully so, as it’s hard to find fault with ol’ Hank’s venerable Model B, even if you’re a self-admitted Chevy addict. That said, for builders like Roy Brizio, the ’32 does have its boundaries beauty-wise.
Anyone familiar with Roy Brizio knows that, like fellow builders of his caliber, he’s particularly fond of ’32 Fords. Full-fendered or highboy, chopped or stock-topped, Brizio’s built ’em in pretty much every style you can think of—except channeled, that is. Altering the profile on the ’32 in such manner may have seemed too much like flirting with perfection for Brizio, a move unflattering in his mind, so to speak. At least until, when his fellow friend and Deuce roadster owner Tom Gloy presented him with enough of a challenge to pursue the flirtation.
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According to Tom, while he and Brizio were driving across Nevada en route to Bonneville, the topic of hot rods naturally came up. At some point during the discussion, Roy touched on the topic of ’32 roadsters—or more specifically, why Tom didn’t own one. Tom expressed his disinterest in having a car that “everyone else has”, so Brizio posed the question, “Well, IF you did have one, what would be different about it?”
Tom’s response that it be channeled was met with immediate defensiveness, with Brizio stating “They all seem to have something wrong with the look, both visually and physically.” The challenge was made—in order to make Tom a ’32 roadster owner like all the rest, all Brizio had to overcome were those two minor aesthetical hang-ups!
Agreeably, channeled roadsters aren’t for everyone, nor are they easy to pull off from an overall form-versus-function standpoint … especially when the prospective owner’s tall in the saddle, vertically speaking. Of all the framerail offerings from the ’20s and ’30s, undoubtedly the ’32 Ford is the sleekest of them all, with what has to be the most complementary, sweeping profile line that, when left exposed in highboy guise, is almost as recognizable as a signature “Deuce” marking as is their unmistakable, widely used grille.
So, why on earth would anyone want to conceal such a gorgeous beauty mark by channeling a body down over it? Herein likely lies the core to Brizio’s argument; the end result, however, is Tom’s victory statement, physical proof he not only won the argument, but that Brizio was more than able to meet the challenge at hand.
The proof of that is that Tom Gloy wins Goodguys Hot Rod Award with his 1932 Ford Roadster. And to prove the car is a driver, Gloy drove it more than 2000 miles from his home in Nevada to Indy for the show.
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