Blue Angel or Eclipse - Ray Farhner's 1932 Ford

1932 Ford Roadster Pickup built by Ray Farhner and Doug Thompson. The car is also known as the Blue Angel, or the Eclipse. Ray decided that the best way to demonstrate what his shop could do was to build a car that would be a combination of a custom car and hot rod. A young Doug Thompson was hired to design and help build the car. Working out of Farhner's shop in Independence, Missouri the car took an estimated 4500 hours and $4400 to complete. The build was started in 1959.[4] The body of the 1932 Ford was Channeled 6 inches over the Z'ed frame. In order to lower it even more Ray and Doug also reversed the front spring and installed a 3 inch dropped ad chromed front axle. The front axle was hand-made. A 4 inch top chop was done to lower the truck even further. Up front the grille area was fabricated to house quad canted Lucas "Flamethrower" headlights and a grille made of 1958 Ford grille mesh and 1958 Cadillac grille spears. The headlight pods were set on either side of the grille and faired into the hood panels. The grille shell, hood, front fenders and running boards were molded in. A new hood opening was cut, and the louvers were smoothed over. Handmade L-shaped nerf bars and dual spotlights completed the front-end styling.[5] The cowl was also widened 4 inches.[6]

Doug originally designed the car with a plain box-shaped bed, but Ray had other plans. He modified a pair of 1959 Chevrolet quarter panels that he used as bed sides. A pair of molded 1929 Ford Model A fenders were turned backward and placed into the quarter panels. The back also incorporated a rolled pan with an inset license plate and wraparound bumperettes. The rear fascia was filled with even more 1958 Cadillac grille spears. Four DeSoto-like blinker were fit in the rear[6], these were later replaced by four 1959 Cadillac taillights. Exhaust tubing was grafted at the top of the bed to house twin antennas. Below the twin antennas ran exhaust pipes made from Ford Model A driveshafts. The bed floor was done in Philippine mahogany concealed by a tonneau cover.[5]

The interior was upholstered by Art West of Kansas City. It was done in white Naugahyde with blue buttons tuft up. The carpet was white. The dash, step pads on the running boards, bed and engine compartment were also padded and covered in white Naugahyde. Art also upholstered the custom made top.[5] The steering wheel used in the car was from a 1959 Oldsmobile, and the instrument panel was from a 1956 DeSoto.[6]

The Eclipse was powered by a 1954 Cadillac[4] V8 that was bored 1/8 inch over and fitted with an Iskenderian cam, Jahns pistons, Edelbrock Manifold, and triple Stromberg 97 carbs. The engine was hooked to a 1939 Ford transmission with Lincoln Zephyr gears. Once the bodywork was completed, the car was painted with 22 coats of Moon Glow Blue Pearl lacquer. The underside of the fenders were painted white and fit with scallops. [6] 1956 Chrysler chromed wire wheels with thin whitewalls gave the car a sporty appearance.[5]

The car was first dubbed the "Blue Angel" and competed at the 1960 NHRA Show in Detroit where it beat out the Ala Kart for best of show. Ray also brought the Blue Angel to Oakland to compete in the 1960 Grand National Roadster Show. Ray continually changed his truck to keep it show competitive[4] and within a couple of years Ray had changed the paint to a darker shade of blue and renamed the car the Eclipse. At the same time Ray started his own show series, using the Eclipse as a regular featured custom.[5]

In 1979 custom car collector Jack Walker bought the car from Ray Farhner. Ray sold the car to Jack if he promised to let Doug Thompson restore the car, and if he would let Ray use the car on his show circuit again. Jack agreed, and Doug was set to restore the car he had helped create years earlier. During the restoration Doug did some changes to the car. He removed the step pads and tonneau cover, made a walnut box for the inside of the bed, and cut a Plexiglas bed floor that would allow a view of the rear end. Inside the car received walnut trim, and the upholstery was updated with pure white Naugahyde. The running board strips replaced the pads and the top with its dramatic 4 inch front overhang was redone. [4] The Eclipse was also upgraded with modern components including a Ford 302 CID engine, a Jaguar independent rear suspension, a Super Bell front axle, and disc brakes. After the restoration was completed, Ray leased the car for two years. After that Jack took the car on a tour on his own. The tour included a trip to Europe, and six years at Darryl Starbird's National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame Museum in Afton, Oklahoma. The car was restored again in the mid 1990s. In 2005 Jack sold the car to Mark Moriarity of Mound, Minnesota.[5]

September 26, 2009 the Eclipse was sold at the Icons of Speed & Style Auction hosted by RM Auctions at the Petersen Automobile Museum in Los Angeles, California. The selling price of the car was $ 85,250 USD.



Magazine Features

Car Craft July 1960
Hot Rod Magazine December 1960
Rodding and Re-styling January 1961
Popular Mechanics January 1961



http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Ray_Farhner%27s_1932_Ford

The Eclipse custom hot rod came into existence thanks to Ray Farhner who, in the late 1950s, was a Midwest custom shop owner looking to make a splash. He decided the best way to demonstrate what his shop could do was to build a wild show vehicle that would straddle the line between ­custom and hot rod.


Farhner enlisted young Doug Thompson to design and help build an elaborate show vehicle based on a 1932 Ford roadster pickup. Working from Farhner's Independence, Missouri, shop, the pair put an estimated 4500 man hours and $4400 into a unique pickup that earned Ray Farhner Kustoms accolades as one of the country's top custom shops.

To lower the pickup, Ray channeled the body six inches over the frame, reversed the front spring, and installed a three-inch dropped front axle. A four-inch top chop helped visually and literally lower the truck further.


The Eclipse's unique grille includes a Ford grille mesh and Cadillac teeth.

Practically no body panel of the Eclipse was left unmodified. The grille area was completely fabricated to house quad canted Lucas headlights and a grille made of 1958 Ford grille mesh and '58 Cadillac teeth. Ray and Doug set the headlight pods on either side of the grille and faired them into the hood panels.

They also molded in the grille shell, hood, front fenders, and running boards; cut a new hood opening; and smoothed over the louvers. Handmade L-shaped nerf bars and dual spotlights completed the front-end styling.

Doug's original plans called for a box-shaped bed, but Ray used a pair of modified 1959 Chevy rear quarter panels as the bed sides for a more sculpted look. The duo molded a pair of 1929 Model A fenders (turned backward) into the Chevy quarters, and incorporated a rolled pan with an inset license plate.

The rear fascia was filled with 1958 Cadillac grille teeth and 1959 Caddy taillights, and wraparound bumperettes were set into the pan. At the top of the bed, Doug and Ray grafted in exhaust tubing to house twin antennas, and below that they ran exhaust pipes made from Ford Model A driveshafts.

The bed floor was done in Philippine mahogany, and Ray finished it off with a tonneau cover.

Art West of Kansas City stitched the white Naugahyde upholstery, adding blue buttons and carpeting. The upholstery extended beyond the custom bucket seats to the padded dash, padded step pads on the running boards, and even the bed and engine compartment. West also upholstered the custom top, which featured four-inch overhangs front and rear.

The upholstery of the Eclipse was done by Art West, who used white Naugahyde and blue buttons and carpeting.

Underhood, Ray installed a hot 1953 Cadillac V-8 bored 1/8-inch over and fitted with an Isky cam, Jahns pistons, Edel­brock manifold, triple Stromberg 97 carbs, and a 1939 Ford transmission with Lincoln Zephyr gears.

A set of 1956 Chrysler wire wheels and 22 coats of Moon­glow Pearl lacquer, a light blue color, completed the exterior.

Ray dubbed the hot rod pickup the Blue Angel and competed at the 1960 NHRA show in Detroit, where it beat out the Ala Kart for best of show. Ray even took the pickup to Oakland to compete in the 1960 Grand National Roadster Show.

Within a couple of years, Ray had changed the paint to a darker shade of blue and the name to Eclipse. At about this time, Ray started his own show series, and the Eclipse became a regular featured custom at Farhner's shows.

Eventually, the Eclipse was relegated to storage until custom collector Jack Walker bought it from Ray in 1979. Ray sold the hot rod pickup with the stipulation that Jack would have Doug Thompson restore it and let Ray use it on his show circuit again. Jack agreed, and Doug set to work on the pickup he had helped create years earlier.

The Eclipse's modified 1959 Chevy rear quarter panels give the custom hot rod a sculpted look.

Publications International, Ltd.

Doug made some changes along the way. He removed the step pads and tonneau cover, made a walnut box for the inside of the bed, and cut a Plexiglas bed floor that would allow a view of the rear end.

He also upgraded the truck with modern components, including a Ford 302-cid V-8, a Jaguar independent rear suspension, a Super Bell front axle, and disc brakes.

Jack leased the Eclipse to Farhner for two years, then took it on his own extended tour that included a trip to Europe and six years at Darryl Starbird's National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame Museum in Afton, Oklahoma.

The pickup was restored again in the mid 1990s, and Jack sold it to Mark Moriarity of Mound, Minnesota, in 2005, just weeks after Ray Farhner passed away.

Est. 300 bhp, 302 cu. in. Ford V8 engine, Super Bell front axle with semi-elliptic transverse leaf spring, Jaguar independent rear suspension, front and rear disc brakes. Wheelbase: 112"

Ray Farhner, owner of an Independence, MO, custom shop, was certain that the best way to advertise his work would be to build a radical show vehicle that, in the words of hot rod artist, Thom Taylor, could “...straddle the line between custom and hot rod.” Starting in 1959 with a ’32 Ford roadster pickup, Farhner and Doug Thompson spent $4,500 and over 4,400 hours (a period HRM feature says $5,000/5,000 hours) into a stunning truck that put Ray and his shop on the map virtually overnight.

To achieve a very low silhouette, the roadster pickup body was channeled some six inches over the Zee-ed ‘32 Ford frame and the convertible top was chopped four-inches. A three-inch dropped front axle and a reversed-eyed spring helped lower the front of the car to match the new rear end height. ’56 Chrysler chromed wire wheels with thin whitewalls, gave the car a sporty appearance.

Nearly every body panel element on this truck was significantly altered. A futuristic custom grille surround was flanked by quad Lucas “Flamethrower” headlights in pods that were faired into a sculpted vertical opening. Typical of the era, the grille itself was comprised of ’58 Ford grille mesh punctuated with ’58 Cadillac ‘teeth’. The grille itself, along with the hood, fenders and running boards, were all molded together. Further mixing rod and custom elements, a pair of handmade nerf bars and twin spotlights were also added.

A custom pickup bed was built, using ’59 Chevrolet rear quarter panels, and its flared rear section sported a quartet of ’58 Cadillac grille ‘teeth’ and ’59 Cadillac bullet taillights. The rear fenders were originally from a ’29 Model A, but they were rotated 180-degrees and molded in ‘floating’ form to enhance the illusion of speed. Wraparound bumperettes, twin radio antennas mounted in housings made from molded exhaust tubing, and a pair of flared exhaust pipes flanked the pickup bed. The bed flooring was Philippine mahogany, and a tonneau cover finished off the rear.

Art West, a Kansas City trimmer, created the white Naugahyde interior with blue buttons and matching carpets. Originally, the dash and running board steps were also padded and fitted with similar material. As a finishing touch, the truck received 22 coats of “Moonglow Pearl,” a light blue shade. Thus finished, and called the “Blue Angel,” the radical custom truck was shown at the 1960 NHRA Show in Detroit where it reportedly beat the famed “Ala Kart” for Best of Show. The truck was also shown at the 1960 Grand National Roadster Show and featured in Hot Rod magazine in December of that year. Ray Fahrner continually changed his truck to keep it ‘show competitive.’ In the mid-‘60’s, he repainted it a darker shade of blue and changed its name to “Eclipse.

Updated by Doug Thompson in the early ‘80’s, the pickup bed received a walnut interior and a Plexiglas floor so the rear end could better be seen. Originally, the truck was fitted with a 331 cubic inch ’54 Cadillac V8 with a Howard F5 cam, triple Stromberg carburetors on an Edelbrock manifold, tubular pushrods and magnesium rocker arms. Subsequently, Doug Thompson installed a 302 cubic inch Ford V8, along with Jaguar independent rear suspension, a Super Bell tubular dropped axle, four-bar front suspension and disc brakes. The upholstery was updated with pure white Naugahyde, and running board strips replaced the pads. The top, with its dramatic four-inch front overhang, was also redone at this time.

The “Eclipse” was subsequently shown in Europe, and it spent six years at Darryl Starbird’s Hall of Fame Museum in Afton, Oklahoma. Dramatically different, with a long, storied history, Ray Fahrner’s “Eclipse” still dazzles onlookers who can only imagine the impact this stunning truck caused on the show circuits, half a century ago.