Ford · 1932–1934

Ford Model B

The term 1932 Ford may refer to three models of automobile produced by Ford Motors between 1932 and 1934: the Model B, the Model 18, and the Model 40. These succeeded the Model A. The Model B had an updated four-cylinder engine and was available from 1932 to 1934. The Model 18 was the first Ford fitted with the flathead V-8, and it was available in the Model 40 too in 1933 and 1934. The company also replaced the Model AA truck with the Model BB, available with either the four- or eight-cylinder engine. The three car models were replaced by the streamlined Model 48 in 1935.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Ford Model A · Successor: Ford V8

All Ford Model B data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Technical

Rather than just updating the Model A, Ford launched a completely new vehicle for 1932. The V8 was marketed as the Model 18 in its initial year, but was commonly known as the Ford V‑8. It had the new flathead V8 engine. The Model 18 was the first low-priced, mass-marketed car to have a V8 engine -- an important milestone in the American automotive industry. The 221 cu in (3.6 L) V8 was rated at 65 horsepower (48 kW; 66 PS), but power increased significantly with improvements to the carburetor and ignition in succeeding years. The V8 was more popular than the four-cylinder, which was essentially a variant of the Model A engine with improvements to balancing and lubrication. The Model B was derived with as few technical changes as possible to keep cost low. It was virtually indistinguishable from the V-8, aside from the engine and the badging on the hub caps and headlamp support bar (later: grille). Its intention was to be a price leader, and, as it offered more than the popular Model A, this should have been a winning formula. In fact, the newer and only slightly more expensive V-8 stole the show, and made the Model B obsolete. The V8 engine was previously exclusive to Lincoln products, which, in 1932, switched to V12 engines only. Although there was a certain visual similarity with the predecessor Model A, the car was of new design. While the Model A had a simple frame with two straight longitudinal members, the new car received a longer wheelbase, along with an outward curved, double-dropped chassis. In both models, the fuel tank was relocated from the cowl, as it was in the Model A and late Model T (where the back of the tank formed the dashboard), to the lower rear of the car, as is typical in modern vehicles. This required Ford to include an engine-driven fuel pump,

1932

When Ford introduced the Model A in late 1927, there were several competitors also offering four-cylinder cars, among them Chevrolet, Dodge, Durant, and Willys. That changed within a few years, soon leaving the new Plymouth the sole major make in the Ford's price class with a four. Although sharing a common platform, Model Bs and Model 18s came not only in Standard and Deluxe trim, they were available in a large variety of body styles. Some of them, such as the commercial cars described below, were only available as Standards, and a few other came only in Deluxe trim. There were two-door roadster, two-door cabriolet, four-door phaeton, two and four-door sedans, four-door "woodie" station wagon, two-door convertible sedan, panel and sedan deliveries, five-window coupe, a sport coupe (stationary softtop), the three-window Deluxe Coupe, and pickup. The wooden panels were manufactured at the Ford Iron Mountain Plant in the Michigan Upper Peninsula from Ford owned lumber. One of the more well known and popular models was the two-door Victoria, which was largely designed by Edsel Ford. It was a smaller version of the Lincoln Victoria coupe, built on the Lincoln K-series chassis with a V8 engine; by 1933 Lincoln no longer used a V8 and only offered the V12, with the V8 now exclusive to Ford branded vehicles. Prices ranged from US$495 for the roadster, $490 for the coupés, and $650 for the convertible sedan. Production totals numbered from 12,597 for the roadster to 124,101 for the two-door sedan. Ford sold 298,647 V8-powered 18s in 1932, and except for the fact Ford could not keep up with V8 demand, the essentially identical four-cylinder B would have been a sales disaster: dealers switched customers to them from the V8, and even then sold only 133,539, in part because the V8

1933

When the Model 40 and the new B were introduced February 9, 1933, revisions of the car were substantial, especially considering how important the 1932 change had been. For its second year, the wheelbase was stretched, from 106 in (2692 mm) to 112 in (2845 mm) on a new crossmember frame. The grille was revised, gaining a pointed forward slope at the bottom which resembled either a spade, a Medieval shield, or possibly the 1932 Packard Light Eight in general outline anyway. Both the grille and hood louvers curved down and forward. The overall design and grille were inspired by the English Ford Model Y. Streamlining was further accentuated by the new hood which now covered the cowl, giving an impression of more length. In addition, there were more rounded and skirted fenders and new, elegantly bowed bumpers. Headlamp support bars were no longer in use, and there were new wire wheels. The cars got a new dashboard with instruments set in an oval insert in front of the driver. There was a glove box on the passenger side. Closed Deluxe models received heavy DI-NOC (PVC) woodgraining on dash and window frames, and there were deeper seat cushions. There were 10 body styles (14 if standard and Deluxe trim levels are counted separately). Now, all were available for V-8s and the Model B, which thus got Deluxe models, too. Convertible Coupes and Victoria came in Deluxe trim only, and the most expensive car in the line, the "woody", as a Standard only. It cost US$590 with the four-cylinder engine. The cars gained about 3 percent in weight, compensated for with more powerful engines, as on the V-8 with its 15 percent increase in power. "Model C". Power from the V8 rose to 75 hp (56 kW) with a revised ignition system. The four-cylinder engine continued unchanged, but was referred to (b

1934

The 1934 Ford (the Model 40B) was not as substantial a model year change as the previous two years had been. Noticeable changes included a flatter grille with a wider surround and fewer bars, straight hood louvers, two handles on each side of the hood, smaller head lights and cowl lamps, and a reworked logo. The bare metal dash insert was replaced by painted steel. V‑8 output was again increased, this time to 85 hp (63 kW), and the four-cylinder Model B engine was in its last year, as was the Victoria body style; nevertheless, there were fourteen body options, the Tudor being top-seller. The standard three-window coupe was deleted. Deluxes had pinstriping, again twin (chromed) horns, and twin back lights. Inside, they got more elaborate wood graining. The 1934 Ford V-8 is well-known for having been the vehicle in which the notorious Depression-era bandits Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and killed. Barrow preferred to steal the powerful Ford V-8, and was driving a 1934 sedan on May 23, 1934, when a heavily armed law enforcement posse opened fire and riddled the pair with bullets and buckshot in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster. Edsel Ford commissioned Ford's chief designer, E.T. "Bob" Gregorie to design and supervise the construction of a personal sports car based on a style of period sports car Mr. Ford had seen in Europe. A special two seat roadster was built from aluminum and installed with a flathead V8 engine. Only one was built and is currently at the Ford House museum.

Hot-rod variants

The 1932–1934 Fords are extremely popular with hot rodders. During the period after WWII, Model Bs and 18s were favored. This continued into the 1960s on a large scale. Today, the roadster and coupe are the most sought-after body styles, making unmodified examples rare. Since the 1970s, 1932 bodies and frames have been reproduced either in fiberglass or lately in steel, which has increased the number of cars being created or restored, typically as hot rods. These are often very expensive, and a typical show-quality car may sell for $60,000 or more. Deuce coupe. A deuce coupe (deuce indicating the year "2" in 1932) is a 1932 Ford coupe. The Model 18 coupe with its more powerful V8 engine was more popular than the four-cylinder Model B coupe. In the 1940s, the Model 18 was plentiful and cheap enough for young men to buy, becoming the basis for an ideal hot rod. Customizers would strip surplus weight off and "hop up" the engine for power - a metaphor drawing from one's behavior becoming more raucous when "hopped up" on beer. These "hot rods" came in two body styles, the more common 5-window and the rarer suicide door 3-window. The iconic stature of the 1932-vintage Ford in hot rodding inspired The Beach Boys to write their hit 1963 song "Little Deuce Coupe", which also was the name of the album it appeared on. The Deuce Coupe was also featured prominently in the 1973 hit film American Graffiti. The car is also famously referenced in the 1973 Bruce Springsteen song "Blinded by the Light", which was popularized by Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1977. Typical of builds from before World War Two were '35 Ford wire-spoke wheels. Immediately postwar, most hot rods changed from mechanical to hydraulic ("juice") brakes and from bulb to sealed-beam headlights. The "gow job" morphed i

Production

There were no specific plants for the Model B. It rolled side by side with the V-8 off the line. In 1932, Ford Motor Company had 32 plants in the US, one in Canada, seven in Europe (one for Fordson tractor production only), four in Central and South America, and one each in Turkey, Japan and Australia. Vehicles were manufactured at the Ford River Rouge Plant, then sent to the various assembly locations in "knock-down kits" by railroad, where they were locally assembled and sold. United States. === Canada === Toronto (Ontario) Winnipeg (Manitoba) Europe. Amsterdam (Netherlands) Antwerp (Belgium) Asnières-sur-Seine (France) Barcelona (Spain) Cologne (Germany) Copenhagen (Denmark) Dagenham (United Kingdom) Gorky (Soviet Union) Like the previous GAZ A (Ford A based), a heavily modified version of the 1934 Ford Model B 40A was also produced by GAZ in Gorky as the M1 model. Available only to high-ranking officials, the military, and various institutions, it served as the basis for the BA-20 military vehicle. In Germany a four-cylinder variation of the Model B with a somewhat more streamlined back end was produced called the Rheinland. The Ford V8 was also made by Ford in Britain in the 1930s. It was conservatively re-styled and relaunched as the post-war Ford Pilot which came with two V8 engine options. Mexico, Central and South America. Buenos Aires (Argentina) Mexico City (Mexico) Santiago (Chile) São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) Asia and Oceania. Istanbul (Turkey) Yokohama (Japan) Shanghai (China) Geelong (Australia)

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: 1932 Ford Model B
Manufacturer: Ford
Production: 1932–1934
Predecessor: Ford Model A
Successor: Ford Model 48
Class: Full-size Ford
Body style: 2-door roadster, 2-door coupe, 2-door sedan , 4-door sedan, 2-door cabriolet, 4-door phaeton, Pickup
Engine: 201 cuin L-head-I4 (Model B), 221 cuin "Flathead" V8 (Models 18 and 40)
Transmission: 3-speed sliding-mesh manual
Wheelbase: 1932: 2692 mm, 1933: 2845 mm, 1934: 2845 mm
Layout: FR layout
Assembly: Full list
Related: Ford Model Y, Ford Köln, Ford Rheinland, GAZ-M1
Designer: Edsel Ford

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1436903CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_FordCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1362359504 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%2734_Ford_Model_B_(Auto_classique).JPGPublic domain · Photo: Bull-Doser · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.