COLONEL MUSTARD
Classic American|October 2020
Steve Willsone has been a panel beater all his life and runs a paint and body shop, so when he decided to rebuild this 1932 Ford three-window coupe, he set himself very high standards of fit and finish.
Mike Renaut
COLONEL MUSTARD

They say old Fords never die. Well, this one has certainly been resurrected more than once. When you’ve worked around vehicles all your life and own a business dedicated to accident repairs, it can be difficult to find time to work on your personal car, let alone completely restore one from the ground up. But when your desire’s strong enough, you find away.

Steve Willsone of C&D Services (UK) Ltd in Basildon had always wanted a hot rod and finally took the plunge three years ago. “When I was 17 years old, I began training as a panel beater,” explains Steve. “I was taught the traditional methods, using an English wheel, beating out dents over sandbags and even learned lead loading joins and metal finishing. I was always into hot rods. When I first met my wife Julie, our first date was a visit to the Chelsea Cruise.” Despite that, this 1932 Ford three-window coupe is the first rod he’s owned. “It was definitely becoming time to buy one,” continues Steve. “I love Ford Pops and they were my dream car until I saw this ’32 for sale. I’d been looking for a black car, then it suddenly dawned on me we could repaint whatever I bought any colour I fancied. I originally wanted to build a car from scratch, but by the time I’d costed that I then realised it might be better to buy one I liked and then recondition it if necessary.”

This story is from the October 2020 edition of Classic American.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 2020 edition of Classic American.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CLASSIC AMERICANView All
On your Mark VII
Classic American

On your Mark VII

In our sixth instalment of the Continental story, we’re looking at the seventh iteration of the Continental Mark series: the evergreen Mark VII, a powerful, aerodynamic coupe that looks as fresh today as when the covers were first pulled off 37 years ago…

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2021
Mercury Cougar
Classic American

Mercury Cougar

A ‘posh’ Mustang? It could only be the Mercury Cougar …

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
Chrysler Concept 70X
Classic American

Chrysler Concept 70X

Safety as a marketing concept for cars? Well, Richard Heseltine reckons we have Ralph Nader to thank for that. This month Richard examines a concept vehicle that was a direct result of the sudden interest in vehicle safety after Nader’s campaigning…

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
Stock or modified?
Classic American

Stock or modified?

Evans debates the merits of keeping your classic in factory condition or adding upgrades to make it more suitable for today’s roads

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
HEAVY METAL COLLECTION
Classic American

HEAVY METAL COLLECTION

With a bit of luck we might be able to fly to the US again by the end of the summer. If Los Angeles is on your itinerary, then make sure you include the Petersen Museum for a very special exhibition that’s been extended due to the pandemic. Keith Harman explains why…

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
Patience is a BARRACUDA 1970 Plymouth Barracuda
Classic American

Patience is a BARRACUDA 1970 Plymouth Barracuda

We’re often reading about people who have an ideal car in their mind, and who wait decades until that dream becomes a reality. We meet another beautiful dreamer, Tom Aspinall, and his Detroit-inspired dream from Mother Mopar…

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2021
1960 Cadillac Sedan De Ville Johnny Cash's CADILLAC?
Classic American

1960 Cadillac Sedan De Ville Johnny Cash's CADILLAC?

Country crooner Johnny Cash famously sang about a Cadillac created by a worker at the Cadillac factory – One Piece at a Time – as he, errr… took bits of car home over a period of years to create a car… but was it a ’60 or a ’61 or a…?

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2021
1929 Lincoln Limousine NICE JAG MATE!
Classic American

1929 Lincoln Limousine NICE JAG MATE!

It’s not often we come across a Gatsby-era luxury car that has been in the UK since the roaring Twenties and with the same owner since 1966! Meet Derek Brown’s magnificent 1929 Model L seven-passenger Limousine…

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2021
Remembering The K-Car
Classic American

Remembering The K-Car

Evans looks back to the humble compacts that saved Chrysler…

time-read
3 mins  |
February 2021
Classic American

Idaho Red!

This early 1965 Ford Mustang still looks to be wearing most of its original paint and proves the point: it’s only original once!

time-read
7 mins  |
February 2021