You have to admit, prewar V-8 Ford coupes are cool. Ford did a fantastic job styling these cars from 1932 through 1940. From bootleggers and early NASCAR to restorations and street rods, these cars are still coveted today. Take for example this black 1937 Ford standard coupe being sold on eBay. While Somerville, New Jersey isn’t quite Thunder Road, this coupe would look quite at home roaring down any back road. There are only two problems. The first is that bidding has surpassed $11,000. Second, you are going to need a set of rear fenders!
What happened to the rear fenders? The ad gives us no clues, but we are told that there is an extra set of front fenders among the trove of spare parts that go with the car. The trove also includes a hood, extra doors, a radiator, and a spare engine. According to the seller, this car is a barn find that sat for 42 years before discovery. That is a lot of time to collect parts, lose them, and have little accidents that cause damage. It won’t be easy to find a set of original rear fenders. Ads in the Early Ford V-8 Club newsletter and on their website would probably be the best place to start hustling a set up.
Other than the fender issue, this car appears to be very solid. Rust usually forms in the floors, trunk pan, and in the seams between body panels on early Fords. I can see no signs of rust whatsoever and the ad makes no mention of it either. Being that this is a car from the Northeast, a thorough inspection is warranted. While the ad insinuates that this car might be original in that it is a barn find, there is a problem with that theory. I believe that Ford didn’t use grey primer. Most of the undercarriage of Fords of this era is either gloss or semi-gloss black. The area seen here was probably painted body color. Ford loving reader Joe Haska might be able to confirm this for us.
This car may be an old partial restoration rather than original. The condition of the paint is very good and lacks the cracking that goes hand in hand with aged lacquer. Further inspection reveals perfect running board covers and chrome. It could be original, but the definition of original is different from person to person. What is certain is that this car was not updated to hydraulic brakes. The wheel and drum assembly are still stock mechanical brakes.
The interior in this car looks to be either a well cared for original or an older restoration. Being a car with standard trim, we see the black steering wheel instead of the chrome “banjo” wheel that collectors and customizers love. The wood grain on the dash is in very good shape, and the rubber floor mat looks very useable as well. It would be nice to see what the seats look like under the old Western Auto style seat covers. It would also be nice to know what is in the cigar box and on the floor. The circular objects wrapped in old newspaper might be the hubcaps.
Under the hood is the legendary Flathead V-8. Displacing 221 cubic inches and putting out 85 horsepower, this was the standard Ford engine from 1932 through 1953. Customers did have a choice in 1937 however. A smaller V-8 displacing just 136 cubic inches was installed in many standard trim level cars. Called the V-8 Sixty, these engines were designed to get better gas mileage and were weaker by 25 horsepower. They can be identified by their being smaller than a standard Flathead and the fact that they have 17 head studs instead of the bigger engine’s 21. Everything appears to be in place on this engine and this portion of the car looks to be as Henry built it.
This old coupe has a lot going for it. The engine may need some refurbishment, the brakes will surely need some adjustment, and the condition of the seats is a mystery. However, if you find a set of rear fenders, bolt on the spare front fenders, and spray them to match the rest of the car, then you will have one handsome Flathead Ford on your hands.
Would you be proud to park this handsome Ford coupe in your garage?
I would just put on a pair of fibreglass fenders and drive the car until a good set of steel ones could be found.
https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_mercury_early/exterior-parts-and-trim/body-parts/fiberglass-rear-fenders.html
Put a new set of whitewalls, this beauty has the look. Try the mech brakes, friend had a 34 woody that stopped on a dime, straight as an arrow. side view is drop dead gorgeous. Hard to tell, is that a v8-60?? Some speed equip out there for the 60, but still underpowered.
Good luck to the new owner–keep as stock as possible!!!
Too many head bolts for a 60
Looks like caked on mud in the inner fender wells. There is a place above the tire that’s been rubbed off, showing what looks like black paint.
Looks like a good project. Find a pair of fenders and get them all fixed and fitted in place. Fix up the front fenders and you’re off and running. Original steel fenders show up from time to time so I wouldn’t panic too much about having to buy a pair of glass fenders. I would run the mechanical brakes; they work just fine as long as they’re adjusted properly. Break an axle and you’ve still got your front brakes but if you’re running juice brakes you’ll have no brakes at all. Park this in my garage? Hell, I’d park it in my driveway!
Love the look of I’ve had a few and mechanical brakes were never a problem.
I find it interesting that they were concerned with fuel economy in 1937. ” V8 Sixty….designed to get better gas mileage”.
People have been worried about fuel economy ever since they’ve been driving cars. A lot of promotional material from the ’30s starts advertising towards economy due to (my guess) the Depression. Public interest, or at least advertising, touted fuel economy for a short time after the war, but the V8 craze of the ’50s killed that off until the 1958 recession. The big three then brought out their first compacts in 1960. From then until the muscle car craze, economy was a concern for many buyers. The first gas crisis, along with gov. regulations, brought economy back to the forefront of advertising, where it has stayed to this day.
That’s one I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on. A little fixing and you have a parade car there that impress most that see it.
Wonder what the reserve is on this one, $11K and reserve not yet me.
I would agree 100% with everything mentioned, including all the comments on this car. I don’t however, think that the rear fenders would be that hard to find and wouldn’t break the bank, unless you wanted NOS
It will be a crying shame that someone will buy this and put a GM crate engine in it! They usually do and claim it’s a Ford! Nope, just another half and half!
You don’t see 37 and 38 Fords like you do 36’s and 40’s but like their design. Had a 38 Ford Coupe.with a 265 Chevy and juice brakes but with stock trans and rearend. I would find some fenders, preferably steel, keep the flathead and enjoy.
Probably end in a no sale with this poor of a description, and no pictures of the so called extra parts along with not having hit reserve yet. On these Standards it’s absolutely critical to know if it’s the V8 60 or the 85 hp engine as it will make a minimum difference of 2 grand to the market value, higher on a better condition car. It would be nice to know if it had the tubular front axle as well, but based on the ad the seller probably doesn’t know much about these cars. Answers to those and other questions might be had in back channel correspondence, but a real seller would know that and include the info from the get go.
Somebody’s new street rod project. That’s the only way to get back the investment this is going to require, if you get it back then.