Ford Model B (1932)

1932 Ford Model B
Owerview
Manufacturer	Ford
Production	1932–1934
Assembly	see list below
Bouk an chassis
Cless	Full-size Ford
Body style	2-door roadster 2-door coupe 2-door sedan 4-door sedan 2-door cabriolet 2-door phaeton Pickup
Layoot	FR layout
Relatit	Ford Model Y Ford Köln Ford Rheinland GAZ-M1
Powertrain
Ingine	201 cu in (3.3 L) L-head-4 I4 (Model B) 221 cu in (3.6 l) "Flathead" V8 (Models 18 and 40)
Dimensions
Wheelbase	1932: 2,692 mm (106.0 in) 1933: 2,845 mm (112.0 in) 1934: 2,845 mm (112.0 in)
Chronology
Predecessor	Ford Model A
Successor	Ford Model 48

The Model B wis a Ford automobile wi production startin wi model year 1932 an endin wi 1934. It wis a muckle updatit version o the Model A an wis replaced bi the 1935 Ford Model 48. Strictly speakin, the Model B wis a fower-cylinder caur wi an improved version o the ingine uised in the Model A, but Ford an aa began producin a very seemilar car wi Ford's new Flathead V‑8 engine. The V‑8 caur wis marketit as the Model 18, tho it is commonly cawed the Ford V‑8, an, ither than the ingine, is virtually indistinguishable frae the Model B.

Up tae this time, Ford haed produced anerlie ane "model" at each time wi range o body options an retained the idea o a single basic platform, despite the ingine choice an twa associatit model designations. (This explains why the colloquial name "Ford V‑8" bi itself wis sufficiently descriptive in the early 1930s; it wis the Ford wi a V‑8, unlik in later decades, when the paradigm o various models tae a mak became universal.) Model B an Model 18 Fords came in a lairge variety o body styles: twa-door roadster, twa-door cabriolet, fower-door phaeton, twa-door an fower-door sedans, fower-door 'woodie" station wagon, twa-door Victoria, twa-door convertible sedan, Panel an sedan deliveries, five-windae coupe, a sport coupe (stationary softtop) an the three-windae Deluxe Coupe. Prices ranged frae US$460 for the roadster an the coupe's $490 tae the $650 convertible sedan. Production totals numbered frae 12,597 for the roadster tae 124,101 for the twa-door sedan. Nouadays, the roadster an coupe ar maist sought efter, as thir body styles ar popular for streetrods an intact ensaumples hae acome rare.

The Model 18 wis the first law-priced, mass-marketit caur tae include a V‑8 ingine, an important milestone in American automotive heestory. The V‑8 wis ratit at 65 hp (48 kW) when introduced, but pouer increased significantly wi improvements tae the carburetor an ignition in later years. This ingine choice wis mair popular than the fower-cylinder, which wis essentially a variant o the Model A engine wi improvements tae balancing an lubrication. In baith models the fuel tank wis locatit in the lawer rear o the car, as is teepical in modren cars, rather than in the cowl as in the Model A an late Model T, requirin Ford tae include an engine-driven fuel pump rather than rely on gravity feed.

The day, the 1932 Model B is a hichtlie collectible caur that fowk will pey thoosans o dollars tae restore tae exact oreeginal style. Durin the WWII period the Model Bs an V‑8s wur frequently altered intae hot rods. This continued intae the 1960s on a lairge scale, bein notit in popular media o that time via a hit sang. Syne the 1970s, 1932 bodies an frames hae been reproduced aither in fiberglass or lately in steel, which haes helped resolve bodywork shortages, an increased the number o "rods" bein creatit or restored. Those that ar made ar aften vera expensive. A teepical auto-show hot rod mey be $60,000 or mair.