Should you ever have opportunity to visit the west central Gulf Coast of Florida, there is one thing that must be included on your to do list, scratch that, is a mandatory activity. You will be required to join locals, at least once during your visit, for the daily celebration of sunset.

One of the premier locations to partake in this celebration is Fred Howard Park, a 155 acre facility located within the city limits of Tarpon Springs, Florida. The park offers all of the standard amenities like picnic areas, nature trails, and playgrounds for the kids, but without doubt, the park’s main attraction is the one-mile causeway extending into the Gulf of Mexico, that terminates in a beautiful, island beach complete with tall, mature palm trees, and warm, white, sugary sand; The perfect place to celebrate the sunset.

With this in mind, as you make your way along the causeway to join the celebration, there is a very good possibility you will see a gentleman and his lady, as Kenny Chesney would say, “with a cold drink chillin in their right hand.” Sitting next to a very pretty, little red hot rod, with yellow gold highlights, and depending on the angle of the sun, the pretty little hot rod might appear to be orange, with yellow gold highlights. Either way, you have found Doug Roeding and his wife Diana and their 1932 Ford resto-mod.

Doug Roeding is a personable type of guy; he seems to have a permanent ear to ear grin on his face, and a sense of humor that can only be described as engaging.  He resides, literally, around the corner from Fred Howard Park, which explains his daily sunset celebrations. He is originally from upstate New York, and spent a number of years on the west coast, before settling in Tarpon Springs. Roeding is a building contractor by trade and specializes in custom home building. His homes are known for having the finest materials, excellent craftsmanship, and remarkable attention to detail.

Roeding is not really sure where his love for the automobile came from; he didn’t grow up in a family of high performance enthusiasts, “my dad sold insurance.” Roeding laughed. “I’ve always had a desire to build things, woodworking, building furniture, that sort of thing, I’ve always been interested in fabricating and building things from scratch, and I finally got the opportunity to do it with a car.”

Roeding’s choice to build his hot rod came after a trip to the shops of Backdraft Racing in Boynton Beach, Florida where he purchased a very pretty blue and white AC Cobra, “I wanted something I could use right away, I didn’t want to rush into building something, I wanted to take my time and do it right.” Now that Roeding had the Cobra, or as he refers to it, his toy, in his garage, he started doing the necessary research into what was required to construct his hot rod.

After many hours of research, Roeding chose a 1932 Model B, Ford roadster as his vehicle of choice. He opted to start the build from scratch, rather than attempting to find and restore an existing piece.  It only made good economic sense for Roeding to build his hot rod from scratch, as he had a number of modern improvements and technologies in mind that he wanted to include with the build.

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With the drivetrain installed and properly fitted, Sparky is almost ready to come back down and head off to KMA Customs for paint.

Roeding started his project like any other project he had ever attempted, from the ground up.  He contacted the folks at BeBops Glassworks in Athens, Tennessee and ordered a ’32 Ford, High-Boy roadster body, and a rolling chassis matched to the body.  After insuring the chassis and body were properly matched, BeBops shipped the chassis and body to Roeding and delivered it directly to his garage. “They rolled the thing off their trailer, removed the wheels they were using to get it off the trailer, thanked me for my business, and were gone.” Roeding recalled. With the shell of the vehicle sitting on jack stands in Roeding’s garage, he started amassing parts and pieces to complete his newest project.

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The Gm HT383E Crate motor fits snugly between the frame rails and makes for a very neat, clean package.

The build began in earnest with the delivery of the major driveline components.  Roeding went the way of many before him and installed a GM HT383E 5.7 liter 350 cubic-inch crate engine between the frame rails of his ’32. “You know, I kind of broke ranks on that, I was concerned about it, but everyone does it, seems kind of natural to have a Chevy motor in a hot rod.” Roeding grinned.  An 870 Holley carburetor was installed to provide the fuel, and MSD supplies the fire.

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The 9-inch Ford differential houses a 3.73 gear, the SVO 11-inch discs provide the stopping power, and the Sanderson headers feature a gasket-less connection.

A four-speed, Turbo Hydra-Matic 700R4 transmission is coupled to the back of the small-block GM power plant, and the 340 horses are transferred to the pavement via the nine-inch Ford differential with a 3.73 rear gear. 18-inch two-piece cast Foose wheels wrapped with Vredestein Ultrac-Sessanta performance tires provide the necessary grip.

Once the driveline was in place, Roeding installed a set of Sanderson, aluminized ceramic coated, inch and five eighths, block hugger headers. Roeding custom fabricated the remainder of the exhaust system from the collectors to the chrome exhaust tips that protrude nicely from the back of the car, and help give the car that deep throaty rumble.

Once Roeding was satisfied with the form and fit of the drivetrain, suspension and related components, he took the car back down to the bare frame and sent it, along with the body, hood and radiator shell to KMA Customs in Tampa, Florida for the prep and paint work.  KMA owner, Chuck Outcalt and his crew proceeded to lay down a total of 12 coats of Valspar, Shimrin 2 FX Kameleon Series, Solar Flare Red paint.

The Kameleon Series paint creates a finish that changes color as you walk around the car, and provides the beautiful yellow gold highlights that dominate the body lines of the car in changing light conditions. The paint on this car is nothing short of outstanding, Kudos to the crew at KMA Customs.

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Custom seats by Mike's Mobile Upholstery and the hand fabricated center console highlight the interior of Roeding's hot rod.

When the car returned to Roeding’s garage, he began mocking up the interior, including the hand fabricated center console that would house the sound system, ignition switch, and the A/C controls. The seats and related upholstery was completed by Mike’s Mobile Upholstery in Tampa. After Roeding was happy with the interior, all that was left were some of the incidentals; wiring, lights, making sure all the nuts and bolts were tight, checking for leaks, and of course, the initial test drive to insure everything was functioning as planned. The final step? Bolt the “Sparky 32” license plate to the back and cruise.

When all was said and done, this beautiful Solar Flare Red hot rod is a testament to the skills and work ethic of its owner, What Doug Roeding is known for in the home building business also applies to this project, only the finest materials available, excellent craftsmanship, and remarkable attention to detail.

So if you ever get to Fred Howard Park to celebrate the sunset, look for the pretty little Solar Flare Red ’32 Ford roadster, stop by and introduce yourself, Doug will be happy to show you his ride, and walk you through the build. The only question that remains is, now that this beauty is on the road, what’s next, maybe a pretty in pink five-window coupe for Diana? Only time will tell.