Deuce Gets Rubber in All Four Gears
Author(s): Mike Chase
Come for the photography, stay for everything else. In Deuce, the Original Hot Rod: 32x32, aptly named author and photographer, Mike Chase, leaves the competition at the starting line. From the beginning, the reader is introduced to Chase’s love affair with the 1932 Ford, a theme that carries through the entire book. He is passionate and genuine, and even the most modern or skeptical car enthusiast will be convinced before the book’s end.
Car Stories
A collection of vignettes, Deuce dives into the individual stories, owners, and races that make these cars so spectacular, especially the ones still running today. As we read about the restorations and customization projects that took years or sometimes decades to complete, we also learn about the history of the hot rod as a whole, and the subculture that grew into so much more. Interviews with owners past and present provide a human insight into the minds of hot rodders, way back to the beginning.
Chase is articulate in his storytelling, concise, but informative in the customization and restoration specifics, and consistently passionate about his subject. While each car, and there are many highlighted throughout the four sections of the book, has a thorough accounting of parts and restoration projects, the reading is fluid and easy, and Chase makes each page a treat full of history and information.
Car Pictures
Not to speak of the photography. Chase’s background as an automotive photographer, as discussed in the introduction, is on full display, highlighting the glorious lines on the Baur ‘32 and the remarkable engine compartment in the rare B-400 convertible sedan. In the case of this book, the stories are an important addendum to the full gallery of Chase’s photographic talent – spreads that any car – or art – enthusiast would be all too happy to hang on their wall. Each photograph, starkly empty, save for its singular model, is a testament of Chase’s love for the Deuce.
In this book, he makes it all too easy for the reader to fall in love with it too. Spanning Open Cars, Closed Cars, Racecars, and Commercial Vehicles, Chase highlights 32 32s, a stunning tribute from a car guy who was there, who saw the 1932 rise to glory and fall from grace.
Deuce is a history, brightly colored, intricately patterned, seemingly in motion, even on white pages before your eyes. It a history of the car, the people, and the world around all of them – a history still being written today, by enthusiasts all over the globe, vying for parts, restoring, creating, preserving to the best of their ability, one of the true treasures of the classic car world. Deuce is a must-have for any car enthusiast’s library, if for no other reason than because these cars are sure to bring a smile to your face.
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