One Man’s Obsession with the ‘32 Ford Coupe from American Graffiti
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Lobby card for American Graffiti, signed by cast members.
Jeff Hamrick is obsessed with American Graffiti, the 1973 George Lucas cult movie that pays tribute to teenagers cruising in their cars and listening to rock and roll. When his mom took him to see the movie in 1973, she had no idea that he would become an American Graffiti fanatic. Hamrick’s love of the film grew into an obsession with replicating the iconic yellow 1932 Ford “Milner” coupe.
Hamrick is not alone. A few months ago we told you about Ray Evernham - opens in new window or tab., the well-known crew chief for NASCAR star Jeff Gordon, who restored the exact 1958 Chevrolet Impala model used in the filming of American Graffiti.
In 1984, Hamrick became determined to find and restore a ’32 Ford into his own American Graffiti car. (In those pre-Internet days, he had no idea that the original car from the movie was being stored just a few hundred miles away from where he lived in Illinois.) After scouring local newspaper ads, he located and bought a ’32 coupe—a drag car with the nickname “Bad Hombre.” But as a young man lacking the time and finances to transform the vehicle into a movie replica, he sold that coupe and put his dream on hold.
Hamrick has big dreams for this '32 Ford coupe.
It was a full two decades later before Hamrick returned to his dream-car project. The Internet and eBay Motors was now available. He could conduct detailed research and scour eBay for parts and American Graffiti memorabilia, which he started to collect. His first eBay purchase was a set of finned valve covers - opens in new window or tab.. (When his research revealed those valve cover were not the authentic style, he re-sold them on eBay for a profit—and found a period-correct set on eBay.)
Hamrick obsessively started amassing parts. He figured out that others bidding against him were on the same mission. His fellow American Graffiti fanatics started trading information about the movie and its cars. He would later start the “Jeff All Graffiti All The Time” blog - opens in new window or tab. to collect and share facts about the movie. In fact, NASCAR’s Ray Evernham credits Hamrick and his blog for helping him keep the ’58 Impala from the movie true to the original.
Hamrick had a chance to see the actual movie car in person at a local car show.
Finally, in 2006—more than three decades after Hamrick’s mom took him to see the movie—he located just the right ’32 Ford Coupe frame on eBay. To help fund its purchase, he sold car parts he didn’t need for the replica project—while keeping the components he had collected over the years, one piece at a time. He traveled to Ohio to retrieve the frame and start the rebuild.
A good frame is a basis for the American Graffiti replica.
“The project is taking longer than expected,” he told us. Hamrick said that he probably could have finished the car years ago if hadn’t discovered that eBay also sells American Graffiti - opens in new window or tab. collectibles - opens in new window or tab.. Building his collection occupies a lot of his time.
With the roof chopped and the body painted, the car is getting closer to completion.
Hamrick said that his ’32 Ford, a work-in-progress, will be completed by the end of next year. “People have said that I should have just bought a fully restored car,” he explained. “I couldn’t afford that. And even if I could, I would have been robbed of everything this quest taught me, the lifelong friends I have made, and a feeling of accomplishment of having the car I’ve always wanted and just the way I want it.”
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