1937 FORD FORDOR SLANT BACK SEDAN

Description

Purchased this car back in 1974. The car was running and driving although the sweet purring old flathead did smoke some. It has been in storage ever since.

I did get the car out to update it some back in 1999. Put a new 8 volt battery in it but she didn't want to run. I consulted with an old flathead mechanic here in town. He recommended checking the valve stems to see if they had became dry in the guides and weren't operating. He loaned me a special tool to use, so I pulled the intake and sure enough he was right. After a week of using a special penetrating oil, letting them soak, using his tool to gently try and work the valve stems, repeating the process several times, they finally freed up. I installed new water pumps, new belt & hoses, new coil/distributor, new plugs and plug wires, fuel line filter and the old gal was purring again. Still smoking some but idled like she was new. I noticed a fine hairline crack (small) in the right head that would become moist after running a while. Anyway, I knew the old girl needed a rebuild but wasn't ready to undertake that endeavor at that time.

I did go ahead and put new glass and rubber all the way around except for the small opera windows. They open up but after 30 minutes of inspection I couldn't figure out how to easily remove them, Put down some new carpet (not original) and then turned my attention to installing new brake cylinders on all four wheels to get the brakes working (It has hydraulic brakes). Mounted 4 new tires. Rewired the headlights and taillights so they worked. Even serviced out the vacuum operated windshield wipers. The drivers side worked pretty good but the passenger side was a little "lazy". The doors shut nice and solid. Hood and trunk open and hinge right. The windshield cranks out. I drove her around the block a couple of times and then soon after put her back in storage till now. The transmission seemed to work fine.

Overall, this is a nice car for restoration or street rodding. I wish all my project cars would have been this nice to start with. You can see the original seats. Sadly, the door panels literally sagged until they fell off the doors. I started on new panels but did not finish. The sheet metal is amazingly straight and solid. I tapped around on the fenders and didn't find body filler. Looking underneath the fenders look good as well, and running boards although the have surface rust they too seem solid with no rust through and are not "beat" up. Amazingly straight. Trunk still has a spare under the original wood cover. I can't remember ever taking it out. There is rust in the rear apron (pictured). That is probably lighter metal than the main car.

That's all I can remember for now. She's a very nice builder. Buyer must pick up or arrange your own shipping.