“Tommy Foster”

Young Michigan hot rodder and GM engineer Tommy Foster began building this 1932 Ford Roadster in 1949. Over a period of 15 months, he created a car that embodied all the best hot rod thinking of the day. He bought it as an abandoned project with a Z’d frame and a channeled body and not much else, and, by 1950, had turned the car into one of the most recognized and admired hot rods of the period. Working in his own garage, Foster performed the body work, the substantial suspension design and modification, and the installation of a 1939 Ford 24-stud flathead V8 with Edelbrock heads, intake and dual carburetors. He even painted the car himself. His ‘32 was very well received in hot rod circles, but Foster soon decided to swap out the engine for a new OHV 331 cubic-inch Cadillac V8, which he did in 1952. In this guise, the Foster ’32 won first place at the 1952 International Motor Show in New York, the Motor World Fair in Miami, the Mid-America Motor Show in Cincinnati, and second place at the 1952 Motorcade of America in Chicago. Other awards followed in 1953. Tommy Foster owned this car until he retired in 1978. Owned by several collectors over the years, it is now restored and joined our collection in 2025.