This 1936 Dodge has a great look and would make an awesome project car. It looks super solid and would make a fun restoration project or rat custom. It can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $6,500. Located in Santa Clara, Utah, there isn’t a ton of information in the ad, but we can piece together some things based on the photos. Let’s take a look.
The engine is the original straight-six. There’s no information regarding the condition, so a prospective buyer better plan on a full rebuild or replacement. How bout a small block Chevy? Or would you keep it a Dodge-in-a-Dodge and go with a Mopar powerplant? Unfortunately, there are no photos of the interior. You can see the windshield and door glass is missing. I would assume the interior is stripped and/or needs replacement. Hopefully, the dash is intact and perhaps the seat frames are usable.
As you can see the body is in amazing condition. The seller says other than a couple of dents on the front fenders, the body “…is as solid as they come.” Unfortunately, the ad does say that the floor pans need to be replaced. The running boards have some pitting also, but it doesn’t sound like they are too bad. Overall, this car needs a lot but would make a pretty neat project. What direction would you take with it if it was yours?
Great street rod candidate!
My BIL has a ‘36 and a ‘37, both are street rods. They look good but there is something missing. It seems you can do everything you want to make these look resto but they lack their original charm. The rumble of that flathead six and the clatter of the valve train; the whine of the transmission; they’re all gone. Put a V8 in it and all that nostalgia disappears. All you have is wind noise. JMHO.
Suspension drop…Hemi…Black paint with silver accents and striping…chopping off the roof. Not sorry.
I’m with geo..my wife’s grandfather has a 49 Ford with the flatty v8 and I love it when we floor it with those straight pipe duals..you can’t get that noise from a newer motor
I am part way through 1937 D6 coupe restomod project. I bought a 2004 Chrysler 300c for a donor car. The 5.7 liter hemi slid right into the Dodge (well, sort of…lol), as did the 4 speed automatic transmission, and the independent rear suspension and differential. I hope to have the engine running soon. It has been a wonderful project!
My shop teacher had one of these back in the day. Learning to work on cars with something like this was a great experience, but too bad he never let us drive it.
318 Poly makes it holy!
A slant six would be fun, but making it fit is probably impossible.
Yes if you could put it in “un slanted”-ha-ha. Great look and stance as is.
thats where you are dead wrong, get a early slant six the motor mount blot holes are in the block as chrysler industrial engines they sold to farm machinery companies use the same engine mounts as this car transmission is a direct bolt up! open drive shaft, it has hydrolic brakes, this car was miles ahead of any 1937 ford or chev ever hoped to be! all steel body too no wood! I put a 71 duster slant 6 4 gear and rear axle in a 35 plymouth coupe amazed how easy it went to gether!
Lot of cool finds today. This one’s the best, to me.
How about something totally different for a change? A Cummins 4B would probably fit right in there. It would make for an eccentric, if not economical, daily driver,
It’s interesting that when someone suggests a diesel conversion in a pickup most reactions are positive. But when someone suggests the same thing for a car, eyes start rolling. While I wouldn’t be so inclined to drop in a 4B myself, it would be a novel change for this car, and a lot easier to adapt than that ‘leaning tower of power that was suggested earlier…
I would cherry the body out, paint it black, tint all the windows, do the interior in a black leather & suede, add all the current convenience items, A/C, Cruise, power windows, hi end stereo, power steering and brakes, Mustang ll front suspension, Ford 9″ rear , 4:11 Locker, 340″ Mopar engine, 5 speed stick w/overdrive, and just drive it off into the sunset.
Bag, chop, and slam with a 24 valve Cummins. There, I said it (but I’d never do it).
Even though flat heads were before my time I’d probably keep and rebuild it if parts were available. Otherwise it would probably be a 318. Costs a lot to get these old ones updated enough to safely drive on the freeway. More modern brakes and possibly updated the front end suspension a bit if it’s not too dreadfully hard. Otherwise completely stock rebuild and use it in my town occasionally.
I agree. I learned how to drive in a ’36 dodge coupe just like this one. I was 14 years old & am now in my 80’s and I left the pasture in a mess. One couldn’t avoid the huge speedometer in the center of the dash. Don’t ruin this with later running gear, it would be tragic.
I also remember cruising my “48 dodge for miles at 80 MPH with no problems with the stock engine.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
You can still get just about everything you want for one of those. Chrysler built a variation to that engine right up until 1968. Lots of them were sold and thus lots of parts are available. I have a friend who restored a ’47 DeSoto and was even able to get the steel water baffle that goes into the block…
I bought the 4 door trunkless version of this car a few years ago and my son & I are bringing it back to driveable condition. Engine is now running but the brake and cooling systems need to be addressed before we can take her on the road.
I’m doing it all in stock form. I want to drive an old car for the old car feeling. I have newer cars to drive if I want a V8, fuel injection, automatic transmission, etc.
This could be a fun little stock appearing car, I’d go with a 230 ci flathead six, with a dual carb intake, split exhaust manifold, (both still fairly easy to find), shave the head to minimum safe limit, if the seat frame is gone put in some muscle era mopar buckets and have fun.
I just sold a ’35 Dodge Bros. Business Coupe for $22k. Fully restored. It was something to behold.
Is there a definitive conclusion on dark brown weathered cars regarding paint and body ? Here in NJ only our air and water is dark brown…but I see these out yonder and wonder how much work it is to sand and paint the metal. I’ve learned here about stressed metal bbq’d cars, but always wonder about theses beef jerky classics that sit in the sun rust free…needling TLC.
Funny that if this were a ’36 Ford, nobody would question keeping a flathead V-8 in it–probably upgraded from the 85-hp, 221-cu.in. version of 1936 to the 239-cu.in. version from a ’40s Ford or Merc and spiced up with some speed parts. But since it’s a Dodge, folks are in a hurry to ditch the 87-hp, 218-cu.in. straight six.
Why not get a 230-cu.in. version from a ’50s Plymouth or Dodge and bolt it in, along with a high-compression aluminum head and multiple carburetors? It already has Lockheed-type hydraulic brakes like a ’39-’48 Ford and the Chrysler floor-shift transmissions were the Borg-Warner three-speeds everyone remembers from the ’50s (T-86 in light-duty applications, T-85 in heavier).
This would be an excellent traditional hot rod that stands out from the crowd, no Mustang II IFS, disc brakes or small-block Chevrolet required.
Hi, David. It is interesting that there aren’t more people putting go-faster parts on those old sixes. On the industrial side, they went all the way up to 265 CID and with a little work they could perform with everything else. I met a couple from Portland, OR, at an antique car convention up in Edmonton, AB, some years ago. They were driving a beautiful ’33 Plymouth roadster and drove it over 900 miles to attend the meet. The engine was a warmed-over flathead six with a shaved head, split manifolds, and two carbs. A high-performance camshaft made it a little lumpy when cold but he told me it had no trouble maintaining freeway speeds.
The 265 was part of the 25-inch family of Mopar straight sixes. The 218 and 230 were from the 23-inch family. Very similar engines, but slightly different from an architectural standpoint. The 265 came in Chryslers before the Poly-head V-8 came out and the 25-inch engine series as a whole were intended for Chrysler, De Soto, Dodge truck, and all Canadian brands.
A lot of times, the motor- and radiator-mount holes are present on U.S. Dodges and Plymouths to install a 25-inch engine where a 23-incher once resided. So yes, lots of hop-up possibilities! The 23-inch engine went out of production after the 1960 model year (I personally have a ’60 Dodge D200 with a 230 in the driveway) and the 25-incher soldiered on into the ’70s, both as an industrial engine and in the old-style Power Wagon.
The biggest Dodge trucks used yet another family of straight sixes, the largest of which went up to something like 413-cu.in.! I have a friend building a car around one of those currently, but it wouldn’t be an easy swap into this Dodge.
Pics of that huge 413 six.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/big-six-flathead.236680/
I heard of that 413 but never saw one. I can only imagine what kind of a behemoth that is. I thought that the 330 inch Hercules in a Clark forklift was big….
And I believe there is also a 720 cu in Hall Scott six.
Thanks guys for your knowledge and info. I am currently working on a 36 D2sedan that is all stock. Would not want to go much faster than 60 mph or so surrounded by all that metal and older brake technology.
Im looking for 1936 dodge or Plymouth coupe only. I may even consider a ford coupe of the same year. I am willing to trade a complete 1956 studebaker super power hawk. The only thing missing is the bumpers. I bought this car to build a drag car but its just to clean to cut up. So i want a coupe to drive and im willing to trade and share transport duties to get it .