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NUEMANN'S
OWN
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AS
YOU CAN TELL, by Bill Neumann's
introduction, he's been a hot rod innovator,
so it shouldn't come as a surprise that
his import car business, Neuspeed, would
influence him to blend his two loves-German
technology and street rodding. He has done
it but building a most unusual '32 Ford roadster,
powered by a 12-cylinder BMW engine tucked
neatly between the frame rails of the '32.
How fast is it? Let's put it this way: the
engine is out of a '96 BMW 750iL sedan that
weighs more than 4,500 pounds but covers
0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds. That's fast. Now
consider that Neumann's '32 weighs roughly
2,500 pounds less. Can you say really
fast.
Neumann has wanted to build a car like this
for the past 35 years, and now that he had
the time, resources and inclination to do
it exactly the way he envisioned it, he
could make certain it was done right. The
build started with the frame- a tube chassis,
which was acquired from Tri-C Engineering
in Valencia, California, and finished by
Terry Davis' Country Rod Shop in Camarillo,
California, and Neumann himself.
the fully custom tube chassis has a 112
inch wheel base and is painted silver with
a clear coat applied by Applied Powder Coating
in Oxnard, California. A Kugel independent
front suspension with Bilstein coil cover
shocks was installed on the rails, along
with Corvette disc brakes. The rear also
received the Kubel treatment, with an IRS
and more Bilstein coil covers and Corvette
discs.
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custom aluminum 20-gallon fuel tank uses
a BMW fuel pump and VDO sender to supply
the 12 hungry cylinders. The polishing Shop
in OXnard, California buffed the tank to
a mirror finish. The corners of the chassis
are decorated with HRE 18-inch rear and
17-inch front wheels and rubber from Michelin
with Pilot sport 255/45ZR18 in back and
215/45ZR17 in front. A Kugel rack-and-pinion
keeps the car pointed straight-when Nuemann
wants it that way-and once he get is on
the track, pointed in whatever direction
he desires. |
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The
V-12 engine uses an aluminum silicon allow
block, aluminum heads and manifold, and
displaces 5.4 liters. The crankshaft is
forged and resides in seven main bearings
with four-bolt main caps. Horsepower is
326 at 5,000 rpm, while torque is a stout
361 lb-ft at 3,900 rpm. The overhead valve
engine has needle-bearing rocker arms and
two valves per cylinder. Hose Techniques
in Torrance, California, supplied silicone
water and vacuum hoses. The aluminum radiator
was polished and then black-anodized by
Elite Metal Finishing in Oxnard, California.
A Nippondenso alternator was attached using
a custom billet mount, while Electromotive
in Manassas, Virginia, took care of the
ECU. TayolCable supplied the 8mm wires with
Beru ends. |
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the chassis ready to receive the BMW engine,
Nuemann made sure the parts were the quality
needed for this level of project. The
Polishing Shop went at each part, including
the stock BMW parts and the billet aluminum
units Nuemann supplied.
In case you're not familiar with the BMW
engine, here are a few specs to ponder.
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intake manifold was custom-fabricated
and uses a big-bore Corvette throttle
body. The headers were built by Tri-C Engineering and were polished and
coated by Xtreme Coating in Oxnard,
California. The exhaust system is
Neuspeed polished stainless steel.
Scott Morton of Camirillo, California
built an armful custom billet parts,
including the pulleys, covers, spark
plug wire looks, motor mounts and
more. The engine was set up by Fred
Schuettler of electromotive, Richard
Clewett of Clewett Engineering in
Manhattan Beach, California, and Nuemann's
son Aaron. Vis Sias of Sias Tuning
accomplished ECU wiring and programming,
with the benefit of dyno testing by
Aaron Nuemann. |
To
handle the power and torque, Bill
Nuemann had B&M modify a Chevy
700R4 transmission to BMW engine specs.
A billet aluminum adapter was made
by Scott Morton to hook the trans
to the BMW block. Lokar got the nod
when it came to the transmission and
other accessory items, as it supplied
a shifter, shift indicator, trans
dip stock and throttle valve cable.
The oil cooler, lines, and fittings
came from Goodridge, while the coil
cooler fan is from SPAL. After the
transmission and BMW engine were bolted
together, COast Driveline built a
drive shaft for the car.
The next phase of the buildup was
the steel '32 Ford Roadster body. |
Tri-C Engineering and Country Rod
Shop but got involved in the building
process.
The body was a chenneled6 inches,
the door hinges were hidden, the firewall
was smoothed and electric latches
were added to the doors and trunk.
INstalling the grille shell and bars
was a group effort, with COuntry Rod
SHop, Scott Morton and Nuemann getting
involved. The headwinds Cibie high-performance
lights include daytime driving lights.
LED signal and taillights are from
Hitech LED Products in Canoga Park,
California. Keith Northcott at Above
All Glass in Westlake Village, California,
customized a '61 Corvette one-piece curved
windshield, while Country Ros Shop
built the windshield frame. |
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 When
everything was in place Tim Burks, as House
of Customs in Lancaster, California, did
all the bodywork. Frank Dimambro of House
of Customs painted the final product using
PPG Cherry Red.
At this point, the car seemed close to being
on the road, but a knockout interior has
to be developed to go along with the rest
of the high-class parts. Starting with the
dash, Scott Morton built a custom billet
version that was finished off by Nuemann
and polished by the Polishing Shop. The
VDO Cockpit gauges have custom oval glass
that blends nicely with the rest of the
interior. A MOMO steering wheel tops a Flaming
River steering column. Allan Wray
at Conejop Upholstery in Thousand Oaks, California,
upholstered the custom bucket seats in pearl-gray
leather. Mercedes medium-gray carpet contrasts
just enough to make a difference. Ken Whitney
of Wire One supplied the wiring, which Nuemann
also helped complete. Stainless steel nuts,
bolts, washers and more were obtained from
RH Fasteners in Orange, California.
This unusual build took four years of painstaking
work, but we have to say the wait and all
the effort was well worth it. Not only is
this a one-of-a-kind roadster, but it's
also a fitting follow-up to the Nuemann
Special an is the roadster Bill Nuemann
has always wanted. |
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Thanks to Street Rod Builder's writer Jason
Hardman for creating this write up on this fabulous
car.
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