Chances are that when this tale finds you, the latest snowmageddon will be working its way across our great land. While most of us will be snuggled up in our jammies and abusing the internet, there will always be someone out on the roads for whatever reason. That person, if they are hunting old cars, will have an advantage over you and I. The snow changes how you see objects, forcing you to reprocess what you are seeing into shapes and contrasts. The advantage is that old cars have a distinctive shape we recognize, so car people like us now notice what we normally pass by. Take for example this 1937 Ford pickup, which is currently resting in snowy Polson, Montana. Thanks to alert reader Simon P., we don’t have to brave the icy roads to spot this $3,500 diamond in the rough. A simple click of the mouse on craigslist makes this find possible.
As you can see from the pictures, this is likely not the first snowfall this old Ford has ever seen. While the ad simply tells us that the truck was slated for a restoration, but the seller has no time to complete it. It has no motor though, and there is a cryptic insertion of the work “Cragar.” I am assuming that a set of Cragar mag wheels were purchased for the truck. Perhaps they are in a barn where the truck should be. What we can see is that the cab looks pretty solid compared to many other project trucks of this vintage. The grille and fenders are solid as well. Too bad the front bumper isn’t in as good condition. It may be useable though.
We can also see that the truck has not been subjected to the humiliating removal of its frame to replace it with one from an S-10. The brake drums you see look to be from a 1939 or later Ford with hydraulic brakes. While there is no engine in this truck, at least you have the makings of a pretty good driver. There is not much to these vehicles, and parts are plentiful. It would be nice to see more of the bed area in the pictures. We can observe that one of the bed sides is bent, and it is impossible to discern if the tailgate is present. It is times like this that we wish sellers would take advantage of all the free words they car write describing the vehicles they are selling on craigslist. More pictures of the interior, cab corners, and floors would be helpful as well.
Is this truck worth the asking price? I think so. Most of the parts you need to make a nice truck are there and in fairly good shape. Early Ford trucks like this one sell for a lot more than this in running and driving condition. If you can brave the Montana winter to pry it off the frozen ground, then I’d say you’d better get on the horn with the seller. Try to be the first one to make a deal during the storm. This truck might sell fast now that it has some national exposure.
Have winter conditions ever helped you find a project vehicle?
This is actually in better shape than my ’35 although my ’35 still sports all of its original goodies (minus the gas tank). This one looks like it was in the process of being changed over to hydraulic brakes (later than ’39). Personally I’d prefer to keep the mechanicals but if that’s already disappeared then you might as well continue. No motor? It would still end up with a flathead if I had this in my shop. I would always be tempted to warm it over a tad. The grill looks better than most I have seen, although there would still be a lot of work straightening up the few bent parts. Nice project. I’d better put the blinders on right now because Polson isn’t that far away.
This won’t last long at $3500. Lots of good things about this truck. Finding parts shouldn’t be hard considering the popularity prewar Fords. If it were closer I’d be sleeping on the couch.
The truck made famous by an appearance in the Star Trek Voyager episode “The 37s”.
Jeff, I can’t help but feel that you and the other writers on this site just make stuff up to see your words in print. Your comment about the front bumper is just one example of the crap you guys write to fill a page. “Too bad the front bumper isn’t in as good condition.” Did you look at the pictures, the front bumper is sitting on the brackets and it appears pretty solid and straight to me.
When you guys don’t have first hand knowledge of the listed vehicle how about you leave the creative writing to the six graders and let the viewer make their own decisions based on the description and pictures provided by the seller/poster.
Without being discourteous or argumentative, the bumper is bent…fixable but bent, consistent with what the author (Jeff) indicated.
Keep in mind, it is only a $3500 sell price, but as already noted in the article, some folks who sell these vehicles seem challenged to write more than a sentence and are further challenged to take more than 2-3 photos—if you get that many.
On that basis, this makes it difficult for Barn Finds to offer as much commentary (nor as accurate) as I am sure they would like.
How about you drive to Polson, MT, give the truck an extensive look-see and then you report back to us?
The idea as I see it is for Barn Finds to offer commentary based on what the ad provides, AND, then have viewers provide additional commentary based on their own unique expertise and/or experiences…So my expertise is calling-out folks who like to quibble. Give ‘em a break, for Pete’s sake…
Thanks for what you wrote.
I happen to know one of the writers personally, and it’s not an easy job. Many of these vehicles are new to the writers, and a considerable amount of research goes into every post, in addition to their day jobs. I think they do a great job, and Wikipedia fills in the rest. You think you can do a better job, they’re always looking for writers.
Purposefully insulting whiner…grow up.
This is a very good buy even though you would have to fix everything, I have a very nice 37 flat head to slide in , wish I was closer .
Love the 37 and that barrel grille. Would love to see More pics. Good start to a great project. Good luck to the new owner!!
Cheers
GPC
These are a great looking truck restored or restomod, Price seems fair for the age of the beast, Id expect to have to finesse every inch of it, so seems silly and petty to quibble over the front bumper. I thought the write up was a bit over the top but nothing serious here. Its an extreme project for the average person but I would just be happy to see it find a good home.
I heard from someone that Montanas gross per capita $$$$$$ is largely based on old vehicles. Dont now if thats true or not.
But Montana is deceptively large state. You can drive from Portland Oregon all the way to Idaho, and then into Montana such as Kalispell or Whitefish easily in 1 day. But it can take just as long to go from the border of Montana across to the far eastern side.