There are a handful of awards that cause any rodder to stop and look. America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) trophy, awarded at the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS), is both prestigious and is the longest running. The 2024 show was once again filled with cars that could have easily won. But there can be only one winner, and that was the ’32 Ford lowboy phaeton belonging to Beth Myers out of Pennsylvania and built at Roy Brizio Street Rods (RBSR) in South San Francisco. We should also point out that Beth is the first woman to win the AMBR … good going, Beth.
Where to start? It’s not often that we see a phaeton in AMBR competition. The last one was Wes Rydell’s ’35 Chevy phaeton (Rad Rides by Troy) back in 2014. And we must return to 1985 to find a Ford, which was Larry Murray’s ’33 phaeton. In fact, counting Beth’s phaeton, there are the only three Ford phaetons to have won the AMBR. (However, several Model T Tourings have won the coveted award.)
The ’32 Ford phaeton body began its life as an all-steel Brookville Roadster body. It was built in a channeled (lowboy) form, eliminating the need for fenders, running boards, aprons, and so on. While that may seem like less work is required, the fact is that the RBSR team had plenty as they wanted to give this Deuce lowboy phaeton a distinctive appearance. The body was narrowed 1-1/2 inches in the cowl area, necessitating the narrowing of the cowl vent itself by 1 inch, and the original grille shell was then narrowed 2 inches. Andrik Albor of RBSR was instrumental in shaping the three-piece aluminum hood (a bonnet and two side panels with three rows of hot rod-style 3-inch louvers). Mounted in front of the grille is the always-proper attire of a Moon tank (this time purely decorative) neatly positioned between the SO-CAL Speed Shop 7-inch sealed beam headlights resting on RBSR stands. Albor and Carry Buck, more of the RBSR team, were responsible for the metalshaping and bodywork. To keep proportions between the doors and rear quarter-panels in line, the doors were shortened by 2 inches while the rear quarters were lengthened by 2 inches. Now for the obligatory “hot rod” mods: the top was chopped 3 inches while the body was channeled over the frame 6 inches, the rear wheelwells were raised 3 inches, and custom wheeltubs were inserted to allow the wheel/tire combo to sit tight to the body. Possibly the most difficult and time-consuming sheetmetal work revolved around the reshaping of the rear (back panel) of the body. The rear of the body was reshaped to look more like that of a ’32 sedan, having a convex (bubble) shape rather than a flat panel appearance across the rear. At first, you may not see this modification as the evocative pinstriping by Eric Reyes of Eric Reyes Design is “kool” and draws your eyes to the lines. The ’striping gives the illusion that the rear panel is smaller and at the same time the pinstriping is absorbing, taking your eye to a different “place.” After Albor completed the bodywork, it was off to Vintage Color, where Darryl Hollenbeck applied the PPG black (no metallic). Once this was accomplished, the longtime “guru of paint,” Art Himsl, laid out the traditional flames and painted them, and once more, Reyes handled the pinstriping masterfully. Once this was accomplished, Himsl laid out the traditional flames and painted them, and once more Reyes handled the pinstriping masterfully. Once completed, it was back to Vintage Color, where Hollenbeck applied the clear and “rubbed” out the completed paintjob. When it came time to assemble this great-looking phaeton, it was Dan Hall of the RBSR team who did much of the heavy lifting, and his efforts were clearly visible.
Inside, it’s an unmistakable hot rod in its presentation. The required black leather upholstery wraps the forward bench-style seating and the custom rear luggage area (now sans seating). The custom luggage area provides space for a compartment that houses the stainless steel Rick’s Tank and the Optima RedTop battery. As is the standard for a Brizio-built hot rod, Sid Chavers of Sid Chavers Company performed his craft masterfully stitching the interior, including the top and fabricating the custom rear storage area. Other required appointments include the three pedals (Lokar throttle and Moal Coachbuilders swing-pedal brake and clutch), a Bell four-spoke wheel that rides atop the LimeWorks hot rod steering column, the Lokar manual shifter functions in its traditional position, and the body-colored The custom wiring handled by Jim Vickery of the RBSR team is bringing the instrumentation and the remainder of the hot rod electrics to life.
The front braking is based on the Alan Johnson Kinmont-style brakes with internal Wilwood disc calipers. In the back, the Winters quick-change, spinning 3.78 gears, is outfitted with Wilwood calipers and rotors that are pressed into service through a Wilwood master cylinder. Wilwood also receives the nod for the hydraulic clutch package.