Solid Potential: 1937 Terraplane Coupe
It is always heart breaking to find a nice car living outside in the elements as this Hudson Terraplane is doing. Although it is great to see when these outdoor cars are still in solid condition with hope of hitting the streets once again. This ’37 Terraplane has no drivetrain, but looks to be a very solid car with a lot of original paint still present. With a $3,000 asking price we think this Hudson based Terraplane may be worth a gamble. Find it here on craigslist out of Plainsboro, New Jersey.
The interior of this Terraplane looks like a basket case, but the seller claims to have most, if not all, of the original interior. Although the condition of the interior is not described. The steering wheel looks very nice in this American made coupe, and the interior of the car appears to not be rusty, wearing black paint. The exterior of this Terraplane breaks your heart just a little bit. It appears that this Terraplane wears original paint that is not half bad really. Granted there is some minor surface rust developing on the roof, but look at the driver side of this car. Most of the paint is still quite shiny although slightly hazy. You can see where this Terraplane has been covered with a tarp, as there is a dirt line on the rear fender. We are willing to bet the paint would clean up nicely. There is no evidence of any rot, and what little rust there is, appears to be superficial. So what happened with this Terraplane?! The condition seems nice enough that it would have been treasured more than a fence prop. Sadly it appears there are no windshields, and no headlights. We are hoping that the seller just wasn’t very descriptive, and in fact has more than what he described. Fortunately the cool and unique grill is there, and is in good shape!
So what could be done with this Terraplane? If you had a terribly rusty coupe you were trying to restore, this roller would be awesome and save a lot of time and money. On the other hand, we think this Terraplane would make a great resto-mod type of project with an engine of your choice, and the exterior maintained in its current state where the car appears original. Either way, someone save this beauty! What would you do with this Terraplane?
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Comments
Resto-mod. No question. And that’s exactly what someone will do. Looks like someone started. Fact is, I bet someone has been waiting for something like this to surface. Note to customizer’s: leave the Franklin alone, but go nuts on this. Some really cool hot rods can be made from these. http://tenwheel.com/view/35079-1937__hudson__terraplane__streetrod__hotrod__ratrod__muscle.html
Howard, I have no problem with modding this one, but the red one in your link…hate the top chop (although the workmanship is excellent). It makes all of the proportions wrong. It looks like it has a hydrocephalic head and buck teeth :-). In the NJ car, what happened to all of the windows? Just a great body line, front and back. I do worry a bit about the underside with a NJ car and no pics.
Wow, I’m surprised someone hasn’t snapped this car up yet at $3000.
That thing is sweet. Would make a great hot rod.
No glass? No mas.
Flat glass all around. Very easy and cheap to replace with appropriate glass (probably laminated). Original glass would probably need replacing anyway for anything but a driver.
Terraplane Blues. That might not be about the car though…. lol.
Woke up and poured coffee, opened barnfinds.com on the phone and found this. It’s going to be a great day.
Kick Ass Restomod please.
my neibour talked of having a terraplane in his shop. last week its been pulled out and sitting in his field. better shape but looks like a 4 door. I will ask soon
What a find ! Everyday would feel like Christmas seeing that in my shop.
I love this face! I don’t know if I’d restore it or rod it, but leave that face alone
I agree with Howard, resto mod.
Never give a thought to how cool a Terraplane would look with the headlights off. Just imagine LEDs in the bumper slots! The future owner can thank me for the great idea!
In the day, these were the ultimate POS cars. No one would ever be seen in one.