Many cars of the 1930s used a fabric roof panel, and Ford’s 1937 sales brochures touted the strength and safety of the new all-steel body. This 1937 Ford Tudor Touring Sedan in Olympia, Washington looks barn-fresh and ready for a new owner. The listing here on BarnFinds.com, asks $4000 for this no-powertrain roller. Even with the grille busted up you can see how classy these Fords look from the front.
While the “humpback” two-door sedan may not thrill the hot-rod set, it has nice lines and room for a whole family of Ford enthusiasts to ride in comfort. They make great stock restorations or customs.
Maybe our Ford experts can comment on this car’s fine details, but the “V8” symbol on the steering wheel center is pure art deco gold. Mostly seen on tractors today, the spinner or “suicide knob” (legal in most states) made tight maneuvers easier. Despite the presence of a gear shifter there is no transmission in this car. That alone may not open the door to Hot Rod City but it’s at least a nudge in that direction. Of course others will lobby for this to become the 19,000th perfectly-restored 1937 Ford, also a valid option.
At first I thought those were hardware-store hinges on the back, but no, they are elegant stock pieces. Tip your hat to the seller for including many close-up shots of the completely missing interior, rust holes and other imperfections. I love the sound of a rowdy flathead V8, but given this starting point I’d settle for any engine made by Ford (1.6L Ecoboost, anyone?). How would you build this long forgotten Ford?
Windsor stroker with a Borla EFI set up (ITBs), Tremec, 9 inch Ford rear. Single stage flat white paint, simple and clean.
I like it! Only if it’s got artillery wheels.
Excellent street rod candidate but would definitely need more than a 4 banger lol. A built 300 6 would be an interesting powerplant for the dare to be different crowd.
If this was a four door, I would cut it in half, ditch the front part. Laser / plasma cut the trunk with a beehive patten to mount a radiator behind, fill in the centre section and then mount on a 1/2 ton ford ranger truck chassis COE style and then have a ford eco boost engine.
We call it a “Necker’s Knob” here in SoCal. Illegal, unfortunately.
It’s a neat car but that’s a lot of rust for a lot of dollars.
I like it. A lot of potential here. For me the best way is still a restoration. You can run a flathead right up to a ’53 Merc and it would take you anywhere you wanted to go and bring you back. And you could even install some go-faster stuff. I would try to source out an original style but for the time being, utilize an extra 59AB that I’ve got out in the shop. There’s lots of ’37s out there running 24 studs in them.
Hey Dusty! How ’bout a V-6 from a ’90s
Mustang along with an auto tranny. Yeah, the resto route is doable providing the tin worm hasn’t eaten more than his share of it. Sorry Geomechs, if I went the
resto route, everything would be period correct except for the juice brakes. Being
an old hot rodder at heart, I’d want my
investment to have upgraded stopping
power when some jackass cuts you off
going down Havendale Boulevard. I’d
even consider upgrading the tranny with
24 tooth Lincoln Zephyr gears the way
Bud Bryan did when he built his ’29
highboy roadster for Rod & Custom
Magazine in the early ’70s. Don’t hold
me to it, but I think he was running a
Halibrand quick change rear axle too.
So many ways to go with this car and so
few dollars to do it.
What’s left of that black finish must be about to become dust if something taped on the driver’s door can pull the paint off!
I have a nice grand national drive train that would be different
All steel with a slight dose of ferrous oxide maybe!
Have had several 37 Fords, wagon ,coupe, 2door 60 hp , way underpowered but fun anyway
With the costs of bringing this car back, either as a restoration or rod the costs would be 18,000 to 26,000 depending on how much personal elbow grease you want to put in it (and those estimates are conservative), so add 6,000 on top of that and a buying price of 1800 is more like it.