Classic Cars

Part 10

 Description

In the good old, bad old days, if you wanted a 1937 Ford cabriolet, you had to somehow find an original one. They were rare when they were new, and even rarer decades later. And most had already been restored, so if a stock one wasn’t quite to your liking, you were forced to spend a pile of money on a darned nice car, then endure the jeers and jibes you got from cutting up a restored piece. And ultimately, what you got was a car that wasn’t worth any more than what you paid for the original one you modified.

Well, that all changed once some of the fiberglass body makers learned how much pent-up demand there is for some of the more unusual body styles. Sure, they all make ’32 and ’34 roadsters and 3-window coupes, but in the past few months, we’ve had a ’34 cabriolet (cabriolets are different from roadsters in that they offer roll-up windows), a ’32 cabriolet, not to mention some pure fantasy cars like the pair of SpeedStars and the Zipper roadsters.

Next in line is this spectacular 1937 Ford “faux” cabriolet (it only looks like the top folds, but it is fixed) that that packs 460 cubic inches of Ford big block power, a pro-built suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a show-winning paint job that isn’t too wild, but definitely isn’t ordinary.

Body makers know that they can’t just churn out sub-standard product and let the body shops fix them like in the early days of the craft. No, today’s rodders are sophisticated and know what kind of work it takes to win awards, and paying a bodyshop $75/hour to perfect half-hearted fiberglass isn’t what they want to do. So when I tell you that the body on this cabriolet is AT LEAST as good as the original Henry steel, you know what I’m talking about. Panel gaps are excellent, the fit is first-rate, and it seals up tighter than a new cabriolet would have on the showroom floor.

Once you get the substrate in line, then it’s time for the paint. But if you’re gunning for a trophy, you need something special. This car carries a unique 2-tone paint scheme comprised of Silver Jade and Black, leaving you with a sophisticated and elegant cruiser that looks both vintage and state-of-the-art at the same time. The break between the colors follows a natural line in the body, almost as if the Ford designers nearly 80 years ago were expecting this. The black keeps the silver jade from being overpowering, while the charcoal gray pinstripe adjacent to the black adds interest. There’s a lot of pearl in the silver jade, and you’ll love the way the light plays over it, especially on those peaked fenders and faired-in headlights, which were a love-it-or-hate-it proposition in 1937. And as a hot rod, it was all finished to a standard that borders on artwork, with a ton of block sanding, polishing, and buffing to give it a distortion-free final finish.

There’s not a lot of trim on this car—anything that was chrome on an original car got a coat of black, and anything that wasn’t painted was removed. There are no bumpers, no door handles, and the only adornments are the slick stainless steel inserts in the hood vents and a pair of authentic-looking cowl lamps, which I love. The teardrop-shaped headlight lenses are very much original, concealing modern headlights that keep you safe at night and feature integrated parking/turn signal bulbs. Slender side-view mirrors have been added, and they look an awful lot like the King Bee mirrors that were popular in the ‘50s. Out back, the taillights have been frenched into the body, and a flush-fitting fuel door has been installed. The license plate, always a pesky necessity, hangs below the rear roll pan largely out of sight, but 100% legal. The black canvas top is beautifully made and looks awfully convincing—you can be forgiven for thinking this was a convertible, because it certainly fooled me the first time I saw it.

Show is worthless without the go, and this car delivers in the form of a 460 cubic inch Ford big block under the hood. It’s a tight squeeze in that narrow engine bay, but careful crafting of the firewall and hood have resulted in a tidy, show-worthy power-plant that moves this relatively light car with real authority. Topped by an Edelbrock Performer 460 intake and 4-barrel carburetor, and exhaling through a set of long-tube headers, there’s probably five or six times as much torque in this car as the original 85-horsepower flathead V8 could have generated. Up front there’s a giant aluminum radiator and several electric fans keeping it cool, and accessories include power steering. Red ignition wires and distributor cap add a little bit of flash to the largely monochromatic engine bay color palette.

A C6 3-speed automatic lives behind the thundering big block, and delivers crisp, positive shifts but is unobtrusive when you’re just cruising around town. Power is fed to a built and detailed Ford 9-inch rear that hangs off a trick 4-link suspension system that has been detailed and painted to match the body. The beautifully constructed frame really has to be seen to be fully appreciated, with the X-member being boxed with lightening windows that make it look like industrial art. A custom-built exhaust system snakes through the frame to maintain ground clearance, and uses Ultra-Flo mufflers for a deep, mellow tone. Four-wheel disc brakes handle the stopping, and it rolls on a set of custom-built Panther wheels with 185/65/15 front and 235/75/15 rear Cooper touring radials—perfect for comfortable cruising. There are definitely signs that the car has been driven, but all that means is that everything works and it is fully sorted, not some cantankerous trailer queen.

The interior perfectly matches the Silver Jade exterior, with custom-dyed leather and carpets that scream “show winner” every time you open the door. From the beautifully sculpted door panels to the white carbon-fiber-like weave that surrounds the gauges, it is as artistically designed an interior as I’ve ever seen. The steering wheel is a vintage banjo-style that looks right at home in a 1937 Ford, and the fat leather rim feels great in your hand. The shifter is a modern Lokar unit that looks almost exactly like the shifter for an original Ford’s 3-speed manual transmission. The center-mounted gauges from Classic Instruments are simple and elegant, while the accessory switches have been tucked down low on the dash to keep them out of sight. And if I’m not mistaken, that’s an original Ford accelerator pedal down there next to the billet brake pedal—my father’s ’34 Ford had a “spoon” just like that one. Things like the stereo and speakers have been cleverly hidden throughout the interior. And hey, here’s something you won’t find on a roadster—a back seat! Take three friends with you everywhere you go, and do it in style! The trunk is upholstered to match, including the side panels and matching carpeting on the floor.

The hot rodding hobby has grown up. With such a wide variety of options available to today’s builder, it’s not difficult to build something truly unique. This “faux” cabriolet is also practical, if a hot rod can be considered a practical thing, thanks to a back seat big enough for three. That sounds like a no-compromises situation to me. Add in killer, show-winning looks, a gorgeous interior, and a stack of awards and magazine features, and this is a car that couldn’t be duplicated for the asking price. If that appeals to you