or a young John Gagetta of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, discovering hot rods as a young teen in 1959 paved a path that led him on a lifelong journey—the pinnacle of which can be seen across our pages with his freshly completed 1932 Ford B-400.
His indoctrination started thanks to the sounds of a rumbling V-8 filled with a hot cam, leading him to a neighbor’s garage to discover a hopped-up 1932 Ford pickup packed with a 352ci Ford V-8 being worked on. Soon after, he fell under a spell of traditional hot rods that eventually led to weekly visits to Pittsburgh International Dragway. Once he earned his license he began racing there as well as becoming part of the local street racing scene. There was always plenty of action happening nightly running across the iconic Westinghouse Bridge since it had a perfect 1/2-mile stretch, making it a great platform to see who ruled the streets on a regular basis.
Having the car finally in his shop, John marveled at its originality and clean sheetmetal, only showing one repaint. After studying it he knew there was a need to refresh its personality. It was Wentker who recommended that he speak with the team at Bad Donkee Hot Rods in Hanover to evaluate the build with their special attention to traditional style. After meeting with Howard Kelly and team member Clark Bates the trio shared many of the same ideas of what it would take to give the vintage steel a newfound elegance. Not wasting any time the car was delivered and the build commenced.
Taking on the vintage steel was a feat handled by the entire team, starting with stripping the body, N.O.S. fenders, and all related panels to bare metal. Thankfully, the years and countries the B-400 lived in were kind to its existence. A number of subtle modifications were added to enhance the look of the car, starting with removing 1-1/2 inches from the rear top bow of the top to soften the roofline. From there, the windshield was flush-mounted in place, cowl lights were eliminated, and the stock headlights were mounted direct to the fenders. A custom hood top was fabricated by Rootlieb, with an intricate operating mechanism accented by a Dan Fink grille insert and custom front emblem from Greening Auto Company. From there the team added new floors, metal finished the body, and set all the gaps. To bring it all to life, a classic coating of Glasurit Black was added, complemented by maroon fine lines from Kevin Sweeney.
The combination of stance and style has brought a newfound allure to the B-400 and we’re sure that John is enjoying plenty of drive time now that his dream hot rod is on the road.