Glen Andrade has been fascinated with speed since he was only nine-years-old.  And, while his enthusiasm for fast things began with his interest in speedboats, it wasn’t long after first seeing American Graffiti, as a teenager, that he decided hot rodding was for him.

Glen says that he recalls that the well-known movie aired five nights a week when he was about 14-years-old, and by the age of 15, he and his father had moved on from race boats to fast cars, with the first being a 1967 Camaro. 

The father-son team worked on that first Camaro for about a year, and Glen says that each year, for the next 6 years, they’d work on a ‘new’ old car.  Their projects included four Camaros and three Chevy Vegas in which they’d take out the 4-cylinder engines to replace them with 350s.

The hobby was put on hold for Glen and his father, when his mother passed away.  And after his father remarried, their building hobby came to a complete halt.  But, Glen says that in 2003, he learned that his father was diagnosed with cancer, and within the 59 days that he was able to spend with his dad, Glen promised that he was going to build a hot rod.

“When he died, I said ‘To hell with it, I’m going to build a car,’” says Glen.

It wasn’t long after Glen did a little research, that he purchased a 1932 3-Window Ford and built it to be similar to the vehicle in the movie that started his initial interest in hot rodding.  Glen and his friend, Mark Brooks, worked as a two-man team to build the car from the ground up, he says, including the frame.  The project took them 22 months to complete.

“People couldn’t believe that we finished that quickly,” says Glen.  “And it’s a complete package… we didn’t skip any corners. We did it right.”

In those 22 months, among many other things, Glen and Mark added an engine that produces 650 horsepower, chromed out the underside of the vehicle and completely reupholstered the car. 

And, while those things may make the car appear to be unique in the eyes of other people, the reason this car is so special to Glen is that each time he opens the garage to see the vehicle, he is reminded of his father.

“The car looks unreal," remarks Mark.  It looks like the car in [American Graffiti], but a thousand times better.  And, I was only able to do it because of my parents.”

Glen plans on debuting the 1932 Ford at the Grand National Roadster Show next month.  He’s excited to bring the car to a show, as he has never truly showcased any of his vehicles in such a setting before.

More shows are sure to follow, and Glen plans on staying active in the hobby.  He’s currently working with his friend, Mark, on a 1932 5-Window, and the team has plans to work on one or two vehicles a year with hopes of selling.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin