With all of the vintage and historic cars Munz owns, you wouldn't think he'd own too many 'glass cars, and you'd be right. He feels that Brookville Roadsters does such an authentic job of recreating the Ford roadster in steel, so why have a 'glass one? Besides that, certain other trickery on his roadster helps deceive the casual observer. With its chrome strip running down the middle of the hood, it may look like this car has a stock four-piece configuration, but it's really an aluminum three-piece hood (formed by Jack Hagemann Jr.), with each side filled with three rows of 3-inch louvers.
Once, while Munz was visiting Brizio's, he spied the three-window coupe being built for guitarist Jeff Beck. The coupe's color, a Sierra Gold, so intrigued Munz that he wanted his Deuce done in the same shade. Dan Laughlin, who had already done the required bodywork and prep on the roadster, sprayed the '32 the requisite hue, though the firewall was done in a PPG Vanilla Shake (which matches the color on the Firestone-wrapped 16-inch steel wheels). To set the color off, local pinstriper Rory added Tommy the Greek-style black-on-cream pinstripes to the dash, trunk, and beltline.
Part of the reason Brizio's cars always look so good is that he has had a long-standing relationship with upholsterer Sid Chavers (Santa Clara, CA). Chavers kept the look of a stock interior by using pleated, white German vinyl (with copper piping) while notching the custom bench seat for the Hurst floor shifter. Speaker holes for the Alpine stereo system were added to the interior's quarterpanels, an under-dash tray was installed, and custom pockets are found on each door. The rod's wiring was done at Brizio's, which included hooking up the SVO gauges that are set into an engine-turned, Haneline five-gauge panel (a separate tach is mounted off the Mullins polished aluminum column). To top everything off in the interior, a Juliano's '40 Ford, 15-inch steering wheel, done with copper spokes and a cream ring, was also added. Chavers also laid out copper-colored carpet to the floor as well as in the trunk. And, because Munz says he's had enough sun in his life, one of Chavers' collapsible Bop Tops was made for the car (the top is up most of time, but not always).
While a teen and before he had a driver's license, Munz remembers seeing a '32 three-window behind a local Shell gas station and, since then, has always liked the looks of a '32. He also had a '50 Cushman step-through scooter that he used to ride (when he delivered papers), eventually moving up to a Triumph Tiger. While in high school (during the Korean conflict), he'd bought a '36 Ford roadster for $25. All those toys are long gone but after a lifetime of building up his business, Munz is now able to revisit those special moments in his life by surrounding himself with the items he either once owned or wanted to own. And, just like a grandfather, Munz has no favorite car-he treats them all the same.
Richard MunzMadison, WI1932Ford roadster