Saturday, Oct. 10, was a perfect day for the 30th Pentwater Classic Car and Hot Rod show. Cars, trucks and motorcycles filled the streets and parking lots of the town.
Among what could be called ‘classic hot rods’ was the 1932 five-window Ford coupe rebuilt and owned by Pat McCann of Whitehall. Many young men, growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, dreamed of having one of these cars. They built AMT plastic models and painted them and used decals to dress them up. Someday, maybe, they would own a real one.
For McCann, his someday occurred in 2000. He bought the car in Michigan, but the previous owner said it may have come from California. Since the steel seal around the fabric top insert is original, warm weather may have helped preserve it.
“I have never seen another car with one of these intact,’ he said.
The car was solid, but had dents in many areas of the car. Three of the fenders had cracks that reached about half way across the top surface. The cause? McCann found a misalignment between the fender holes and the mounting bracket. He thought, during assembly, a worker would manually twist the fender a bit, so the holes lined up and the cars left the factory. In time, this stress may have led to the cracks. The left fender, without a crack, had many dents in it.
“It took me a full week working on that one fender to get it how I wanted it,” he said.
During the five-year build, he did all the work on the car except the upholstery. This was done by a man in Muskegon who “did a wonderful job” honoring his request making the bench seat resemble bucket seats.
The red paint was not a color picked out of a book. At Twin Cities Auto, in Whitehall, the paint was mixed with a little of this and a little of that until McCann approved of the color. It was a good choice, as it still looks like a new car after 26 years.
This car’s engine did not originate in Dearborn, but came from France. Ford of France was acquired by Simca in 1954 and produced flatheads long after the American production ended in 1953. These engines were a duplicate of 239 cubic-inch design, but were cast from stronger materials and had added strength with design changes. The primary vehicle using these engines during the 1960s and 1970s was a Simca tactical truck used in both the military and in industry. When production was halted in 1991, hot rod builders were after them and all surplus engines and parts were quickly sold. This engine came from Motor City Flatheads in Dundee, Michigan.
When McCann pulled the pistons out, he found he could not buy the special piston rings required for the French designed pistons. He had to buy a new set of pistons. He also added a set of Fenton heads, and a Fenton two-carburetor manifold to improve performance. The bumpers, taillights and exhaust pipe tips complete the proper look of the car.
The farthest distance McCann and his wife, Mary, have driven it was to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota two times to the annual Back to the 50s car show.
Old-timers at the Pentwater show appreciated the trip back in time provided by McCann’s treatment of his 94-year-old Ford.
