1932 Ford V-8 Model 18

With the financial capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, Henry Ford founded the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5th of 1899. The company produced a few vehicles before it was dissolved in January of 1901. Henry Ford's passion was with racing, and with assistance from C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October of 1901. This success sparked interest from Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company to form the Henry Ford Company on November 30th of 1901. Again, sales success was limited, and eventually, Henry M. Leland was hired as a consultant to evaluate the company's assets. Ford left, and Leland suggested they remain in business using engines of his design. The stockholders agreed, and the company was renamed the Cadillac Automobile Company.

With financial backing from Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit-area coal dealer, the duo formed the 'Ford & Malcomson, Ltd.' to manufacture automobiles. Unable to make payment for its factory and supplies, Malcomson brought in another group of investors. On June 16th of 1903, Ford & Malcomson was reincorporated as the Ford Motor Company, with $28,000 capital.

The Model A was the first production automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company. It was powered by an opposed two-cylinder engine with a 100.4 cubic-inch displacement delivering 8 horsepower. Its wheelbase measured 72-inches and the two-passenger runabout sold for $850. The Model A was followed by several more 'letter' models, including the AC and C powered by two-cylinder engines, and the four-cylinder Model B, all produced in 1904. The 1905 Ford lineup included the two-cylinder Model F whose 127 cubic-inch two-cylinder engine offered 16 horsepower and its wheelbase measured 84-inches.

Ford Model T - 1908 through 1927
The 1906 Ford Model lineup included the six-cylinder Model K priced at $2,500, the Model F, and the four-cylinder Model N, priced at $500. Four- and six-cylinder models made up the 1907 and 1908 model lineup, until the introduction of the Ford Model T in October of 1908. Using vanadium steel, it was stronger yet lighter than most of its competition, and its four-cylinder was cast enbloc with a removable cylinder head. Windshields and tops were optional, as were speedometers, robe rails, footrests, and many other components.

Production was streamlined, the price was affordable, and by 1914 sales had surpassed 250,000 units. The basic touring car sold for a mere $360 by 1916, and sales reached 472,000 units. Two years later, half of all the cars in the United States were Model Ts. Production continued as late as 1927 with the total production reaching 15,007,034 vehicles.

Ford Model A - 1927 through 1931
By the mid-1920s, sales of the Model T had slowed, convincing Ford a new model was needed. After months of anticipation by the motoring public, Ford introduced the Model A in December of 1927, following nearly 20 years of production of the venerable Model T. In comparison to the Model T, the Model A was more complex with approximately 6,800 different parts compared to the less than 5,000 components that made up the Model T. It had a new battery and ignition system and a conventional sliding gear manual transmission. It used four-wheel mechanical brakes, Houdaille-type shock absorbers, and welded wire wheels.

The Model A was produced through 1931, with a total output of more than 4 million. By this point in history, General Motors had recently pioneered an annual model change system, a system soon embraced by the Ford company.

Flathead V8 - 1932 through 1953
The Ford Model A was equipped with an inline, L-head, 200.5 cubic-inch engine with three main bearings, mechanical valve lifters, and delivered 20 horsepower at 2,000 RPM and 128 lb-ft of torque. It was backed by a three-speed sliding gear transmission with dry multiple disc clutch and floor shift controls.

Ford vehicles had relied on four-cylinder power for two dozen years, yet in 1932, they introduced the flathead Ford V8, the first low-price eight-cylinder engine. Variants of the flathead V8 would power Ford vehicles for the next 21-years.

Development work began in 1926 with designs initially exploring a radical X-8 engine design, before settling on a conventional configuration. It received its 'flathead' name from its flat cylinder head and this would be Henry Ford's last central contribution to the company's engineering. While most V-8s used five bearings to support the crankshaft, Ford's economical V8 used three. The crankcase and all 8 cylinders were cast in one 'monoblock' engine cast-iron block, a first for mass-produced V-8 blocks. Many V engines of the time used multiple cylinder blocks bolted directly to a common crankcase.

Similar to later pushrod-operated overhead-valve engines, the spur gear driven single camshaft was mounted above the crankshaft, and valves for each bank were mounted inside the 'vee' of cylinders. The exhaust ports passed between the cylinders before meeting with the outboard exhaust manifolds, causing excessive heat and requiring a larger radiator capacity and more coolant than traditional OHV V8 engines. As a result, excessive and extreme use often resulted in cracked blocks. Like modern vehicle combustion, the Ford V8s used high oil pressure for lubrication for the rod and main bearings. This system negated a complex oil jet system to lubricate the rod bearings in the oil pan.

The new V8 engine had a 3 1/16-inch bore and 3 3/4-inch stroke resulting in a 221 cubic-inch displacement. It produced 65 horsepower at 3,400 RPM and 130 lb-ft of torque at 1,250 RPM. In comparison, Ford's L-head inline-four cylinder engine, powering the 1932 Ford Model B, displaced 200.5 cubic-inches and developed 50 horsepower. Both engines were backed by a three-speed sliding gear transmission and braking was accomplished by mechanical, rod activated brakes on all four wheels.

Ford Model 18
The new Ford V8 engine was installed in the Model 18, with a 106-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 165.5-inches. (Period literature stated a wheelbase of 112-inches, but Ford had measured from the center position of the front spring to the center of the rear. Using traditional wheelbase measuring, the wheelbase was 106-inches). This was the same chassis used by its sibling, the Model B. Both models were offered in a range of fourteen factory body styles, including open and closed configuration, and two- and four-door variants. The Ford Model B prices ranged from $210 to $600, and the comparable Model 18 vehicles were just $50 more. The roadster was the least expensive in the lineup and priced at $460 for the Model 18. Although inexpensive, its production figures were one of the lowest, at just 520 units. The most popular body style was the two-door 'Tudor' Sedan, priced at $500, with 57,930 sales. This was followed by the $490 Coupe with 28,904 sales, and the $575 Deluxe Coupe with 20,506 sales. Both the Deluxe Tudor Sedan and Deluxe Fordor Sedan had similar sales figures, at slightly higher than 18,800 sales each.

The 1932 Fords encompassed a large area of the automotive market, with body styles that ranged from utilitarian coupes, roadsters, and two-door sedans to more luxurious and well-appointed four-door sedans and convertible sedans.

The introduction of a pioneering eight-cylinder, low-priced model was a bold move in the midst of the economic depression, but Henry Ford was determined, and 212,000 examples of the Model 18 were produced in 1932.

Styling of the 1932 Ford Model 18 was performed by Henry's son, Edsel Ford. This one-year-only model was similarly styled to the Lincoln of the same year, which also wore styling under the direction of Edsel Ford. The radiator shell was slightly v'eed and carried vertical bars, and both front and rear fenders were fully crowned. The curved headlight tie-bar carried the V-8 logo. The interior instrumentation and controls were contained within an engine-turned oval placed in the center of a mahogany-colored panel - later models had a walnut grained panel.

Due to insufficient cooling, subsequent changes were made throughout the year to address the problem, including a switch from 20 louvers to one with 25.

For 1933, Ford stretched the wheelbase to 112-inches and used an X-member double-drop frame for its new Model 40. It was given a streamlined appearance with angled side hood louvers, one-piece bumpers with a center dip, acorn-shaped headlight shells, and a new radiator design with vertical bars slanted back at an angle similar to the windshield.

Ford's new engine was instrumental in restoring its position atop of the sales charts, albeit briefly.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2021