Cars with a backstory always stir up interest, especially when that story reaches far back in time. It can be a story about the car, its owner, places the car has been, who road in it, etc. That being the case, here’s one with a story, a 1935 Ford Cabriolet roadster, located in Silverado, California and available, here on eBay for $15,000, no bids tendered so far.
According to the seller, this Ford made the California trip that Bobby Troup sang about in his hit song, “Route 66” in 1966, traveling from Chicago to L.A. with the owner’s eight-year-old son along for the ride. No word regarding the purpose of the trip but I bet it was a pretty neat experience. Not long after its SoCal arrival, this roadster went into a garage in Cosa Mesa where it was disassembled and it has remained in a disassembled state for the last 54 years.
Well, this much is safe to say, this Ford didn’t remain in that Cosa Mesa garage the entire time it has been slumbering. The rust is extensive and the seller admits as much, “The lowest part of the body floors have rust issues.” The seller continues with, “The outer body behind the doors, at the bottom and the rear pan has been compromised and will need exterior metal. ” Well, that’s an understatement as this image shows the passenger floor is essentially missing – it wouldn’t have happened if the car was stored indoors. OK, so this is the sort of problem one encounters with a car of this nature and age and there are restorers who have taken on bigger challenges. The pictorial provided by the seller is appreciated, it paints a pretty complete picture of this Ford’s condition. The seller doesn’t specifically mention the frame but it would be reasonable to assume that it may need work too.
The seller mentions that this Ford does not have its original fenders and the ones in place are in rough shape. He further states that he would need another Ford to acquire the correct fenders. He does mention, however, that he has the bumpers and brackets. One of the neat features of this Ford is its rumble seat. I can’t imagine traveling a long distance at speed, packed into that small opening, but it is a great nod to the past automotive design. Unfortunately, the floor pan there will need attention too as it is showing signs of perforation. The folding top is present, but as would be expected, it needs to be replaced. The folding top frame is in place, however.
We have somewhat touched on the interior already and as is visible in this image, it’s pretty well trashed. The instrument panel is intact, gauges and steering wheel are present and accounted for and there is a “radiohead” in place but the radio itself is gone. The seat frame is still where it belongs, no telling if it is of any use or not. The entire interior environment will need to be completely redone.
Under the hood was a flathead V8 engine but it’s long gone. It would have been a 221 CI variant good for 85 HP and spinning through a three-speed manual transmission. The tranny appears to still be in place so that’s an advantage if the new owner wants to go for an original-style restoration. Since there is no engine, it opens up the breadth of what can be installed without the guilt of tossing out the original flathead motor. Sure a flathead can be reinstalled, stock or modified, but so can a small-block Chevrolet and I gather, a Ford Windsor too.
On the surface, this roadster looks like trouble. Yes, it needs a lot of work but it’s in such a condition that it is easier to envision a hot-rod or resto-mod without the nagging thought that it should have remained stock. Of course, a stock restoration is not out of the question either – the world’s your oyster with this Ford! My initial thought is that the price may be out of range for what this roadster is. I say that as this Ford it has been listed for three and a half days with no bids tendered so far. It would be special to put this Ford back together in some form and take the reverse road trip back to Chicago, though Route 66 is mostly out of question anymore. So what do you think, is this Ford Cabriolet worth saving, and if so, what ‘s the best direction to pursue?
The wording at the top gets a little confusing. It’s definitely a roadster. A cabriolet has integral A-pillars and rollup side windows. In a perfect world I sure wouldn’t turn a project like this one down. I’ve got flathead V8s in the shop that wold love to drop in and power it. I seldom say this but the asking price is so far out of my budget that it’s out of the question. I hope someone picks this up and restores it to its original glory; It’s got a lot more class as an original than a hot rod…
Geomechs:
I based the description on the attached.
Thx.
I”d go with a later flathead V-8, stuff the original tranny with
24-tooth Lincoln Zephyr gears, and add juice brakes for safety’s
sake. And maybe, just maybe, a Columbia 2-speed rear axle out
back to keep up with modern traffic. Then, I’d drive it while I
finished restoring it. I might consider a 12-volt conversion too as 6-volt batteries are hard to find here in Central Florida. It’s sad to see the price on this car is so high. I can’t think of anyone that’s fool enough to buy it. I can still recall the days when these cars could be had dirt cheap. Used to see ’em fixed
up in many different ways. In fact, I caught a ride with a guy to
the first Street Rod Nationals in Peoria, Ill. that had a ’35 Ford
pickup. It ran a 283 Chevy mated to a powerglide tranny. The thing I remember most about his truck was that it had exhaust
pipes that were made from old Buick torque tubes! I never saw
so many ’35 Fords in one place as I did there. Even saw one
running a wicked 389 Pontiac with an M-22 4-speed combo.
Someone with deep pockets will buy this car and call it a bargain. Oh yeah, nice ’37 slantback in the background too!
Hi Ken. I saw that ’37 too. I had a ’38 Std. that was boosted out practically from under my nose. Never forgot that…
Neat car but not enough left for that price. Will admit to not seeing a roadster in a long time but still….
Really? That sounds strange coming from you Geomechs. Didn’t your car have
a lockable steering column? I actually did
paint a picture of a ’35 Ford cabrolet for an older gentleman who lived in Winter.Haven in 2005. He had just sold his car a year or so earlier and regretted
having done so. Thankfully for me, I had
a decent photo to work from in a book
Retro Rides by Tony Swan. And like your
’38, one of my co workers stole my book
from me while I was working. Thankfully,
I had the old man’s car laid out on paper
before that happened. It was a dark red
with a tan or cream leather interior. Yes, I
still do artwork like that when I have time
to putt around my wirkshop when I’m not
caring for my 78 year old mother in law
who has dementia. I just finished a ’40
Ford DeLuxe ragtop, and I currently have a
’38 Buick Roadmaster 4 door convertible
on my workbench as we speak. Right now, U-m toying with the idea of selling my work again but don’t know how to
list it here on BF for all my friends here to
see it. I’ve got plans in the works to do a
’47 Chrysler Town & Country after the Buick is finished. Just thought I’d add my
.02 on the Cabrolet.
Yeah, Ken, my ’38 wasn’t running. At the time I didn’t have a place to work on it so I had it at a friend’s place 3 miles east of town. I was out working on it and had it up on blocks beside the shop. I left it one weekend and went back out the next to find it gone. My friend was somewhat of a drunk and he had a lot of old cars around, thus a lot of people came and went. The car was in fairly good sight from the house but the thieves came in with some timbers and a trailer. They winched it on and hauled it away. Truth be known, my friend actually knew who took it. I might add that I did too; the bum had been after it for a long time but I refused to sell it. He conned my friend under the guise that he was taking a very rough ’34 Chevy 4-door that was further across the yard. I was going to press charges but my friend would’ve been implicated and would’ve been charged too. I knew where these guys worked on their cars and tried to case out the shop but apparently they owed the landlord a bunch of back rent so they got locked out. By the time I was able to get to it, the fenders, hood and front clip were gone. The interior (which was in great shape before) was gone. They had attempted to chop the top and butchered it beyond recognition. I salvaged a few pieces but it was beyond fixing. The guy who conned my friend out of it headed for the coast. His wife came back but the guy had run off. Probably a good thing because I might’ve done something illegal…
Never had one stolen like that. I do,
however, have a BIL who is a professional
drunk though. As I recall, the ’38 Fords
were a bit on the homely side but were
good dependable cars nonetheless.
If you ever want a portrait of it, you know
where you can get it. Sounds like your poor Ford wound up looking like that Cord 810 further up the page. The only
’38 Ford that interests me is the convertible sedan, with the wagon coming in a close second. Since I don’t
have the space, time, or cash, I’ll just keep
working on our F-250 project which is now
a running and driving truck once more. Just got it tagged and insured the other
day so now it’s legal too. I’ve still got an
issue with the electrical system to address, but once you get it started, it
runs just fine. It may not be as fun as your ’38 was, but least I’ve got something
to work on.
It was my understanding that the guy who wrote “Route 66” drove a 1941 Buick,not a Ford.
Great story. Thanks.
As everyone knows now, it is a roadster, not a “CAB”. I think everyone would also agree, it’s too much money. If there is a plus, it’s there are not many roadsters left and I am sure many 35’s were built as 36’s, much more desireable. Factor in last roadster was 1937 for Ford and the are very rare. I suppose this is why the seller thinks his $ number is correct but I don’t and I don’t think there would be many that do.
These old Fords are great cars, that’s why I had to have this restored ’37 Cabriolet I picked up from an estate sale last fall. It’s amazing how well they drive for being 83 years old!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pfMuKjfOqhM-ytgCrbl0WnAR9LaJ9uz2LK-ZQuFSozTJne5vSrHuAYTKkLM2U-bwVSsHzsJVyir0yeF6MlnltYdQaE6mb8XZl24jcDWns2pLhr70U_4T7f87v2AgnS0gLs2nkbgp8ROXAeLQAOEx6NhhA-um6SOHBWGfqcVrJIGI6L_BtDuJ5bJWVqftgc2nxwWcJ_YWnM78_71uezE2eCee7VuUh0Ss8uJGAEOAvp-xI64t5VXaK9G1uRnu5SvQYEt1W83P0y_Waag4n0PAnwyI0vPf5GJNaXZdXe7hNcXuwJDxGiP9nPXCYz9XXCE_12SQZ4fE81iSLhtyZgNDBaEf43cH2RsMglJGFWtx8mNf6lsZBRO2lMAK103uJ9JwwVm_ZE6NGyYU5GnMrDr8U1Om0YcnnDRyAH6ND06NoIZ-MO1H3mUezL-deylcIEoROm-zZr8-5Wt8Z1Ulj7_nTUVFEWiG3c3jKd2xmhqBkTk4lP6DqjFtQE4Zb0dQne3g9rlXItmSNdFRLk-N5ZiUGTSggMcuh65pWN9DhIOAHEHD0CmVRO-U74bM7dyAE0syIfmCYmtxqBFuNm12LqV28K1b-hCXKwF7-NayRbHj3-lLFo2ayhnJMb_d9wo8sVnTjIV61J3FzrXXYybu4vsLLGnEhn3P3HwzNfTpHFST5VqMiX9FOgB3FKh1WGTKo2uwCA_9K_JmZoqH_6ritRvmqtyyXMv2e7pZxE54m7QWv1xpoGllpg=w1179-h663-no
Wow! That is NICE!
I lived in Costa Mesa for a number of years. Cars there rust from the top down not from the bottom. Best rust down from the top I’ve seen was on Wake Island. Cars were rusted 1/2 down. No tops.
Vintagehotrods, I’ve never seen a shine such as your car enjoys. WOW. It’s a beauty.
Thanks Kenn, I was pretty lucky to get it. My good friend Mike D. called me one afternoon and asked if I wanted to go look at some old cars that just came up for sale two hours earlier that day on an estate sale near me. I said “Sure!”, so he picked me up and we checked it out. Three cars of eight had already sold, but the ’37 and a ’34 roadster were still there so we each bought one, no dickering, buy it or step aside. When I got home, I said to my wife, “Honey, I bought a car!” and she thought I was kidding! Since this would be old car number 12, I thought I would get killed for sure, but when I showed her the pics, she was all for it, especially since it wasn’t a total project like the ones I usually buy (like the one in this thread). It needed a few things fixed but it’s a great car and was a bargain to boot. I just got a bundle of receipts, past registrations and documents from the estate that tells it’s history back to 1957. The grandfather of a family in Indiana bought the ’37 in 1957. His son inherited it in 1967 and did a complete restoration 1988 to 1990, until his death and it was then passed on to the grandson in Florida in 2003. It then left the family for its new owner in California, who eventually moved to Prescott, Arizona, until I bought it from his estate this fall. I’ll be its caretaker until death do us part!