From the Knox Kershaw Collection

1932 Ford Model 18 V-8 Drophead Coupe

Coachwork by the Carlton Carriage Company

221ci L-head V-8 Engine
65bhp
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Solid Front Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Live Rear Axle with Transverse Leaf Springs
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

*A distinctive Ford V-8 with handsome British custom coachwork
*Two-time Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance class award-winner
*Well-presented restoration in elegant, appropriate colors
*Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Full Classic®

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

At the time of its introduction in 1932, the new Ford Model 18 V-8 set the world on its ear with its combination of zippy performance and tasteful styling. It was produced exclusively in the United States and Canada at the time, forcing overseas buyers to purchase a chassis and then have it completed by a coachbuilder in their home country.

The example offered here is identified by its chassis number as being a Canadian-built example, which makes perfect sense; a British customer would likely have ordered a chassis from another part of the Realm. Upon arrival in England, the chassis was converted to right-hand-drive and bodied by the Carlton Carriage Company, a firm renowned at the time for its elegant drophead coupe bodies on numerous marques. The body's resemblance to a tiny Bentley or Rolls-Royce is, thus, no surprise; in fact, the curl of the beltline molding and the structure of the top call to mind the famous Gurney Nutting 'Owen' Drophead Sedanca Coupe on the Phantom II Continental!

In 1973 the car was brought to North America by Commander J.A. Kenniff of Southold, New York, who had acquired it from Oxfordshire dealer Malcolm C. Elder that autumn. The current owner, Mr. Knox Kershaw, purchased the coachbuilt Ford from Commander Kenniff in 1986, via an advertisement in Antique Automobile magazine, and had soon begun a complete restoration. With the original engine having been replaced by a later model, a correct 1932 unit was sourced; fortuitously, the remainder of the car was largely intact and complete. Woodwork was properly replaced throughout, and the body refinished in black with correct bright red English leather upholstery. The painted wire wheels were shod in blackwall tires, as was proper and correct for a British automobile of this period.

The restored car has been only selectively exhibited over the last three decades, most prominently at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it received an award in the special class for Pre-War Ford V-8 Custom Coachwork. Significantly, it returned to Pebble Beach in 2011, and again received a class award! The owner also applied to the Classic Car Club of America and was successful in having the car, by virtue of its Carlton coachwork, declared a Full Classic®. Afterward it was shown at the Club's Annual Meeting in 2011 and was scored at an impressive 96.75 points. Today the car remains in beautiful overall condition and, most importantly, runs and drives very strongly.

Every automobile collection really needs a proper V-8 Ford, but for the collector who desires something that is a little different than all the roadsters and phaetons, there is no better choice than this stylish coachbuilt machine. In its colors and well-maintained presentation, it is a striking Ford with coachwork that would be at home on any of the great marques of Europe – a wonderful combination!