At last! The long awaited first drive! Mart's 32 Ford Sedan hits the UK roads!

[@jacquikowalewsky7691]

Congratulations Martin, you can't beat the feeling of the first drive of a car you've built yourself.

[@MartsGarage]

You're right, Jacq. It's a great feeling. A mixture of dread, trepidation and pleasure.

[@markhutchins115]

Great job Mart !!......thanks for having us in the garage !...great first run!!.....Mark from Maine, USA.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Mark. Thanks for taking the time to follow along with the project.

[@MrBrendog67rat]

Mart, thanks for letting us come along with the build! i enjoyed watching it

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Brendan for sticking with it.

[@floridian7143]

Great job Mart! Thanks for taking me along on the first test ride and thanks for sharing!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Floridian. You're always very welcome.

[@IronHorseGarage]

Awesome Mart!!!!! Great moment!!! It always freaks me out when I see you fellers driving on the opposite side of the road!!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks IHG. Luckily for me everybody drives on that side here.

[@elistickband]

Looking good and sounding great Mart. Thanks for letting us come along for the ride. Steve

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Steve, glad you were able to ride along.

[@pappabob29]

Congrat's Mart!!! Great success and reward for lots of very thoughtful work!!! 👍👍👍😉🛠⚙️✌️

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Ron. Glad you appreciate the thought that goes into the job.

[@glennpm65]

What a fun ride Mart! Always nerve racking on first ride!

[@MartsGarage]

Yes, Glen, It was fun but you can never assume it will go problem free.

[@RobertJones-sb1if]

Bravo Mart! The flatty sounds great going down the road. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Robert. It does sound good.

[@garybuttery5673]

Excellent! Never seen you grin so much.

[@MartsGarage]

Cheers Gaz.

[@blownflatheaddeuce]

Well done Mart, as an owner of 2 Deuces, I've really enjoyed following your build, great stuff !!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks WiseGuy.

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Congratulations Mart... Very please to see it on the road...

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Paul. Great that you've been following. I appreciate the support.

[@flatheadronsgarage7345]

Well done Mart, 👍👍👍. First drive was trouble free. She looks and sounds good rolling down the road. Happy for you sir, congratulations, 🍻🍻. It’s an accomplishment to be proud of. Looking forward to the next chapter on the ol 32.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Ron. All in all things have gone well. I haven't got to the stage of planning what is next, yet. To be honest I could do with a break. It's been intense, lately. Roof and glass are the obvious contenders. Hope all is well with you.

[@flatheadronsgarage7345]

@@MartsGarage Maybe you can run it on the beach next year. All you need is a windshield. Thanks for keeping them alive

[@terylmadlem9558]

Thanks Mart for the great 32 build. See you on the next one

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Teryl. Thanks for following the series.

[@johngillmannz4800]

Awesome Mart, great to see the Tudor on the road, she sounds good on the drive bys !

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks John. I too was pleased with how it sounds. the straight through resonators take the edge of it just enough, but it still has a nice bark and rumble. It doesn't reverberate through the car, but that might change with windows and roof in place.

[@joell439]

Brilliant….. so glad the guy in the van was able to miss you. That sure looked like a close call. Cheers mate

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Joel. Distracted driving.

[@IowaMercMan]

Yay! Congrats to you Mart. Relatively trouble free, too. Well done!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Merc. I tried to not leave too many temporary things in place and it paid off. Having a "known" engine is a big plus, too. Thanks for following the series.

[@larsbr4519]

Big Milestone, Mart Awesome work, The test drive took me back to 1999 when you gave me a lift at Chelmsford :-)

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Lars. Blimey, was it that long ago? Wow. Take care, Mate.

[@dudley32]

Congratulations...great first run...it's always a bit of a shake down, but hardly any glitches at all...

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Dudley. Between the two drives I had changed the coil (twice) and adjusted the steering. With those things taken care of I had the confidence to take the longer motorway drive to Gaydon.

[@artpam]

Now that’s how you do a first drive! It’s a real car now. Think of the journey all those parts and pieces have taken… Your attention to detail paid off big time for you. I’m looking forward to future refinements and road trips.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks very much, Art. That's it now, just making improvements over time. Thanks for following along.

[@bobbooth4637]

Great stuff Mart , enjoyed following your build up ,well done mate...

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks for following along, Bob.

[@RAK402]

OUTSTANDING! CONGRATULATIONS! WELL DONE!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks RAK. It was a long slog, but what else is a newly retired fella gonna do during lockdowns.

[@805ROADKING]

Great Maiden Voyage Mate!! Looks like a few Wacky Brits tried taking you out on the Highway, be careful out there!!☺

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Roady. From what I could see, the driver appeared to be on a call.

[@gordonbrennan2678]

Absolutely brilliant Mart, congratulations on putting together such a good looking and sorted 32. I could feel that mix of excitement and trepidation, but your smile appeared pretty quickly so I relaxed! I have enjoyed every minute of the build, hope to see it at GOW. Thanks for taking us through and sharing the build. Gordon.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Gordon. I'm glad you've been enjoying watching the build. Fingers crossed, yes, should be at Gow!

[@scottmason2866]

Very good Mart. It turned out nice.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Scott.

[@maltmakers]

Very nice 👌 👍 Mart!!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Daniel.

[@chuckregan3621]

Congrats Mart! I want to party with you, Trev and Johnny Rust!!

[@MartsGarage]

Ha ha yeah, Chuck! That made me chuckle when I read it last night.

[@dickrichardson1588]

Great job, looks about finished to me. Good luck, Ron.

[@MartsGarage]

Yeah, me too, Ron. Thanks Mate.

[@ericerdmann17]

Looking good Mart. I can’t wait to see where you’ll go with the next installment(s). - Eric

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Eric. i have more to come, but I may have to drop the frequency. I need to recover after the build thrash.

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Well done Mart! What an excellent car!! I love the Patina; honest and well-earned. And your gauge surround on the column drop is excellent. I might have to borrow that one. Thanks for the great video.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Casey. I was hoping you might drop in. I didn't show making the column surround cluster, it's just fabbed sheet metal, from cardboard templates. I had too much footage and had to leave something out. It served a purpose as I was trying not to drill holes in anything original 32.

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Yeah, @@MartsGarage, I can understand that. It’s looks very clean.

[@jhorrocks8108]

Way to go Mart!!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks J. I'm very pleased with how relatively trouble free it has been (so far, fingers crossed).

[@MrBrendog67rat]

this is gonna be very KOOL!

[@MartsGarage]

It sure is!

[@patfrancis496]

Well done Mart, all those years of collecting and hoarding have really paid off. That white van was scary, I know it's a rod but just consider amber indicators and a brake light in the back window. Like hand signals and trafficators younger drivers don't recognise them. Loved the trip to Gaydon.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Pat. I'm hoping the van incident was a one-off and I won't need to add extra stuff. I have been looking at a high level brake light for the back window though.

[@patfrancis496]

@@MartsGarage I'm sure you could make a clever bracket for a high level brake light that could be removed on safe arrival at places like Pendine and Prescot. Happy Rod driving.

[@eastcoastuk9705]

Well done mart looks the part & sound it too👍 . definitely the best build to date patina everything about it I love it 👊bonus getting it to its first meet to .

[@MartsGarage]

Hey EC thanks for following along. Hope Mano didn't mind me mentioning the vid.

[@eastcoastuk9705]

@@MartsGarage I’m sure he wouldn’t of minded he was busy doing the carbs & it was only telling me you was dropping vid today 👍 . You will have to take it to show him one day I’m sure he would love to see build & meet you .

[@hotrodmyk]

EXCELLENT first run. I really have enjoyed this series. I hope plenty see it so they can understand what it takes to build one. First drive was quite an experience especially "white van" knucklehead. That is exactly why I put a ridiculously large 3rd stop light on my pickup. Did you discover the source of the transmission noise? Very odd. Thanks for sharing this with us, well done.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Mike. The driver of the van appeared to be on a video call. That's all I can say. No I have not found the source of the noise, I have it captured on another camera. It started suddenly and stopped when I selected neutral. I haven't heard it since, but have not done another "long" journey. That was only last Tuesday night. It might just be a bearing that needs to run in. (He says hopefully)

[@chunkyleejones3831]

Excellent jobby matey 👍

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Chunky.

[@marikaomenetto6906]

Real cool!i am a french hot rodder and i have a european 32 sedan !fantastic car!

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Marika. Is it running, or a project? What are your plans?

[@stuarteckersley8943]

Sounding great.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Stuart.

[@AliMackMechanical]

It's always nice one something works straight away. It sounds good to Mart. Been following a long not been commenting not had much time been quite busy. Close with little transit. Does sound nice Mart a great success a few small tinkering jobs but you will have it tip top. Nice jaguar sounded really nice.👍

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Ali. Sorry I haven't been dropping in on the chats. I've been very busy lately. Editing videos mostly. The wiring videos took ages.

[@AliMackMechanical]

@@MartsGarage Its all good I understand. 👍😀

[@belyear]

Your mate sounds like the guy from “Cruising the Cut” here on KZbin. Well done on the hot rod Mart.

[@belyear]

Love the annoying indicator blinker.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Dave. I'll check that out. Geoff and Trev both have stronger Brummie accents than me.

[@MartsGarage]

Yeah, Dave, actually having the bleeper built into the flasher unit is a good idea. It's meant for motorbikes. They can be loud but a couple of turns of electrical tape quietens them down.

[@DaveCook-n8t]

Love it.

[@CortinasAndClassics]

Hi Mart I subscribed :) cool car I like it.

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks for the Sub, Hooked on, I appreciate it.

[@andrewgray8131]

Great work Mart. Did I miss you sorting out a number plate light? Perhaps after the near miss rear ending by White Van Man a stop and tail plus number plate light might be worth considering (although a bit low in the current position)? There again no stop light will protect you from someone behind looking at their phone instead of the road! Glad he didn't rearrange the 32's bodywork.

[@MartsGarage]

Hi Andy. No number plate lights on first drive but small led light bolts were fitted before the Gaydon run. (just need connecting up!). I'm mulling over various ideas for improved lighting, but in reality I could put all the lights in the world on there and still encounter someone not paying attention. I think a high level brake light in the back window might be on the cards.

[@johnnypeter1835]

It has been a pleasure watching and following the build process, I have enjoyed it a lot, and waited impatiently for each new video. Do you have any construction process videos on your delicious coupe?

[@MartsGarage]

Hello Johnny. Thanks for watching the series. The coupe and truck builds were pre KZbin (for me) so only repair and tinkering videos exist for those. There were build threads on the hamb but all the pics disappeared when photobucket went non friendly. Hope you're recovering from the recent injury.

[@stefanlarsson1364]

Nice

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Stefan.

[@chrisrawlins8889]

Brilliant stuff Mart , I ve really enjoyed watching this build, It really sounds great going down the road ! I'm impressed that you had the confidence to take it on the motorway on the second ever drive !!! 👍 Tansmission noise was strange how it went away as quickly as it came ! Will you be taking it to Gow ?

[@MartsGarage]

Hi Chris and thanks. Trev's comment wasn't quite accurate. It wasn't the second drive, but it was the first long drive. I had been round the block locally and diagnosed a duff coil (twice) and I had made adjustments to the steering. Longest drive previously is what I call the long block which is about 8 miles. I hope to take the car to Gow.

[@Xynudu]

Very cool Mart. Will you paint it at any stage ? Cheers Rob

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Rob. No firm decision either way at the moment re paint.

[@lemchesher311]

Yeah !

[@MartsGarage]

Hell yeah!!

[@williambrown1031]

Mart looked around his garage and Mart said: "Let there be automobile" and there was automobile. From a pile of parts to a running driving auto--WELL DONE MART!! Enjoyed the journey. One question: Do you per chance know the rear end gear ratio?

[@MartsGarage]

Hi William. Thanks for the comment. The axle ratio is 3.78:1. It's the Pilot axle I checked the ratio on years ago in an early video.

[@williambrown1031]

@@MartsGarage Thanks Mart, was sure you had mentioned it, but I couldn't remember.

[@micregil]

Mart, I hope you went back through it to tighten up all those bolts you left loose while you were putting it together.

[@MartsGarage]

Hi Mic. Yes, been around a couple of times now. The only thing that wasn't tight was the driver's seat frame where it attaches to the floorboards. And the hub nuts needed a proper torquing.

[@micregil]

@@MartsGarage OK, I was worried that you might have forgotten something.

[@elkoposo686]

TOP TRUMP! Man builds car from chassis up and takes it out legally on the road! Did Clarkson ever do that? I think not! Tip for new build drivers - go and test your car on the road when it isn't mid-day rush, as your mind isn't entirely on the road traffic, more on the performance of 1001 small aspects of the car functioning safely & correctly and rear-ended conclusions aren't good! Loved the series Mart and very well done! It seems to have come together in a very short space of time. Looking forwards to a few more progressive development videos and a bit of GOW caning? Onwards... 🎬

[@MartsGarage]

Thanks Koops. Yeah things are getting very busy around here. HubNut has the right idea. (Wales).

[@trevorhutchinsth]

So mate what's next ...

[@MartsGarage]

That's a good question, Trev. I won't be launching into another big project, that's for sure. I'm looking at the roof wood at the moment.