Deucenberg

Doug Cooper of Oyster Bay Cove

A  head-turning burgundy 1932 Ford B400 took home top honors at Detroit's Autorama on Sunday, winning the coveted Ridler award over seven other finalists.

Dubbed the "Deucenberg V8," the car is designed to be an elegant hot rod, drawing on cues from the luxurious Duesenbergs of that era. It has an aluminum lift-off roof with cloth top, suicide doors, a stretched hood and leather interior. Power comes from a 405-hp LS6 engine.

The car took about four years to develop and build. It's loaded with a number of custom features, including a narrowed grille and cowls designed to look like the Ford's 1933 style--which sets off the front end; angled A- and B-pillars and even one-off bolts for the bumpers.

"This car is literally unique, and it has one-off parts from bumper to bumper," said owner Doug Cooper of Oyster Bay Cove, N.Y., who owns nine '32 Fords.

The Ford was built by Alan Johnson of Johnson's Hot Rod Shop of Gadsden, Ala. The win was especially sweet for him, as 12 years ago he built a 1932 Ford cabriolet that made it to Autorama's Great Eight but failed to win top honors. Ironically, it's now owned by Cooper.

HOT ROD Live From Cobo Hall
Doug Cooper's Deucenberg Wins the Ridler Award

Posted March 8 2009 07:19 PM by Bill McGuire

Doug Cooper (at left in photo) won the 2009 Ridler Award with the '32 Ford B400 he calls "Deucenberg." Bill Martens (right) of GM Performance Parts presented the victor with a jacket, a new ZZ4 crate engine, and a check for $10,000. Doug was visibly choked up while recieving the award.

Deucenberg's lead constructor, Alan Johnson of Johnson's Hot Rod Shop in Gadsden, Alabama, was honored with the Ridler Builder's Award, which includes a smaller version of the coveted flying bowl. The all-steel convertible sedan body features a stylized roofline and suicide doors, covered in a rich mahogany paint by BASF that appears to be a foot deep. Jon Wright Custom Chrome supplied the square yards of plating while Paul Atkins Interiors stitched the tasteful leather upholstery. The chassis is traditional in layout with a beam axle in front and a live axle with coilovers at the rear, but is flawlessly executed. We've included a few more photos below; simply click to enlarge.

2009 Street Rod of the Year!

http://www.goodguysforum.com/
Columbus, OH – It’s been quite a year for hot rodder Doug Cooper of Oyster Bay Cove, New York. Cooper’s prized ’32 Ford B-400 sedan “Deucenberg” has taken home hot rodding’s two signature awards this season beginning with the Don Ridler Memorial at the Detroit Autorama before being named the Goodguys/Classic Instruments 2009 Street Rod of the Year at the Goodguys 12th PPG Nationals in Columbus, OH.

The story of Cooper’s stunner is a tale of perseverance and pride. Built by the team at Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop in Gadsden, Alabama the project took four years to complete under the watchful eye of team leader Alan Johnson. Every panel, line and seam on the car has been meticulously reworked and hand crafted in true coach-built fashion . To accentuate the superior metal work on the car, the Rodder’s Journal recently published an entire layout of the car last year in bare metal.

The all-steel convertible sedan body features a stylized roofline (with an aluminum lift-off roof & cloth top) countless subtle body mods including suicide doors, a narrowed grille and cowls, angled A and B-pillars and even one-off bolts for the bumpers. It’s all covered in custom mixed BASF Glasurit "Bordeaux" that appears to be a foot deep. Jon Wright Custom Chrome supplied the heavy load of plating while Paul Atkins Interiors stitched the tasteful leather upholstery. The chassis is traditional in layout with a beam axle in front and a live axle with coilovers at the rear - all flawlessly executed. “Deucenberg” rolls on the Dayton Triple Cross wire wheels with rims and hubs painted to match the car with polished stainless spokes. Under the hood lies a plated and polished 405-hp LS6 engine.

Longtime client and friend Bob Johnson, who won the 2007 Street Machine of the Year crown with his Johnson’s-built “G-Force” ‘Cuda gets credit for the cars moniker which cleverly blends the hot rod connotation of the “Deuce” (a common reference to 1932 hot-rodded Fords) and the early 1900’s Deusenberg’s from which the team took a lot of styling cues.

For Cooper, the entire four year ride of “Deucenberg” has been a life changer. “I’m so proud of the team that made this car happen,” he said. “Alan’s family and the team are truly incredible. They worked a minimum of 16 hour days, sometimes even 18 or even 20 towards the end to finish the car. Alan’s wife Angie, his mother and the wives of the crew would bring us dinner while we all worked together. It was an amazing team effort.”

This marked the second Goodguys/Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year title for Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop. The shop also built the 2007 Goodguys/Air Ride Technologies Street Machine of the Year.

The five finalists’s for this year’s Street Rod of the Year competition included Marvin Bok, Auburn, IN 1939 Ford Convertible, Chris Conly, Milan, MI 1933 Ford Convertible, Don Smith, Mansfield, TX 1932 Ford Sedan, Doug Cooper, Oyster Bay Cove, NY 1932 Ford B 400 Sedan and Frank Tetro, Melbourne, FL 1932 Ford