While we lament the overall decline in values for prewar cars, there are a few bright spots.  Garages are opening up and some fascinating and rare automobiles are hitting the marketplace.  One of the most shocking is the emergence of this incredibly rare 1936 Ford club cabriolet for sale at the Antique Automobile Club of America’s forum in Monmouth County, New Jersey after 60 years of storage.  According to Ford historians, only 4,416 of these four-passenger convertible coupes were produced that year.  While this isn’t quite the rarest body style Ford made in 1936, club cabriolet survival rates are extremely low.  This rough but mostly complete example is now on the market for a reasonable price of $11,000.  It will need a full restoration, but when was the last time you saw one of these?  What do you think it would be valued at fully restored?

On a car this rare, we take what we can get when it comes to finding one.  The ad at the AACA forum doesn’t reveal a lot and the pictures are rather small.  The good news is that this is likely not a scam.  If you look at the seller’s history on the site it appears that they are an established contributor and that selling old cars is at least a side hustle of some sort.  We are told that the car has been in storage for 60 years and that it would need a “lot of love.”  While that qualifies as an understatement of the year, we are assured that the metal is in great condition.  That is vitally important given the difficult-to-procure nature of spare parts that are specific to this body.

It is that rarity that makes this find special.  Ford presented the public with an almost all-new car in 1935 with a multitude of body styles.  The styling was updated in 1936 only to be replaced in 1937 with yet another new lineup.  Every single body style from 1935 carried over to 1936.  Yet, in early April of 1936, Ford dealers were notified that a new body style was being added.  This four-passenger convertible would have a small bench seat behind the driver and passenger and the traditional rumble seat would be jettisoned and replaced with a proper trunk.  If Ford managed to start production on this car in May, that would leave just eight months of production until the 1937 models took over.  This indicates that Ford’s gamble on a more useable convertible paid off with 4,416 of these cars rolling off the assembly line.

It is anyone’s guess as to why so few club cabriolets are seen today at shows.  More of this body style were produced than roadsters, but they are not regarded as particularly rare.  Perhaps it was that this configuration was much more useable for families than either a roadster or a cabriolet.  Perhaps people simply wore them out.  Factor in the issues with leaking tops and the moth to a flame migration of young drivers to open cars and you have a recipe for rarity.  Add to that the fact that many Ford lovers have never heard of this version of the 1936 Ford yet it doesn’t seem to have the draw of a roadster, cabriolet, phaeton, or a station wagon.

Going back to this example, we see that sixty years of storage wasn’t kind to the car.  Surface rust covers every square inch of metal and the top and trim didn’t escape nature’s wrath either.  Yet the car is completely original from what we can see in the pictures.  It still wears its original wheels which indicates that the mechanical brakes are still there.  Under the hood, we can see a correct for-the-year Flathead V-8 complete with possibly the original spark plug wires.  The only things missing are the air cleaner and the sheet metal around the spare tire at the rear of the car.

Would it be a major endeavor to restore this rare Ford?  Absolutely.  The good news is that parts for 1935-1936 Fords are plentiful and the support Flathead Ford owners receive from the Early Ford V-8 Club of America is extensive.  Will it be worth the cost of restoration when it is complete?  Probably.  These are fantastic cars with a strong following.  It would be nice to see one at a car show someday as well.  Hopefully, this one will find itself back on the road soon.

Do you think this club cabriolet is priced fairly?  Have you ever seen one?  Why do you think so few of them survive today?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.