Some Assembly Required: 1936 Ford Tudor
I got pretty excited when I first spied this 1936 Ford Tudor. The seller considers it a survivor and looking at the images, I initially agreed. Digging in further, however, I hesitated on that description and I will show you why. I’d be interested in your take as to how to best describe this rolling example of originality. This Ford is located in Dover, Delaware and is available, here on craigslist for $14,000. Thanks to Anthony M. for this tip!
I always thought Ford’s model description of “Tudor” and “Fordor” was brilliant in its obvious simplicity. Based on the lack of trim, I would suggest that this Ford is technically a “DeLuxe” Tudor sedan as opposed to a Tudor “Touring” sedan, but as always, I welcome input on matters of such. Ford was number one in 1936 production with 930K units, the Deluxe Tudor rang up about 20K copies (2.1%) while the Tudor Tourer saw a more robust production volume of 125K examples (13.4%).
The finish on this 785-year-old (more than three-quarters of a century!) sedan is said to be original and it does show quite well. Considered a barn find and a time capsule, it has obviously been well stored over the years. As a matter of fact, the seller mentions that the most recent registration is from 1987. There is some dullness here and there but what do you expect from a car of this age. Best of all, the beautiful grille shows as unscathed. Rust? None in sight.
The biggest attention-getter for me is the interior. Let’s face it, as fabric upholstery, be it mohair or whatever, ages, it just gives it up. Varmints like mice and moths are to be contended with too. As with the exterior, the interior is claimed as original. But even with 80K miles on its life clock, the driver’s seat shows no sign of use, remarkable! Ditto the door panels and back seat; meanwhile the headliner shows just a bit of aging. The seller does mention something about some wiring that may need to be replaced. OK, extra points, what’s that thing attached to the left side of the steering column?
Also stated is the availability of a “rare string wind clock-inside rearview mirror combination“, which could be “worked into the deal“. It is pretty much as described, a rearview mirror with an embedded clock/watch. He’ll probably want more than $9.75 for it would be my guess…
Where this car came off the rails for me was under the hood. Well, if you ever wanted to see the valve arrangement for an 85 HP, 221 CI flat-head V8 engine, here you go! The seller adds, ” Currently not running but should not take too much to get it there“. Also stated is, “Aluminum heads from the current engine were removed in 1987 and resurfaced but never reinstalled. As you can see in the pictures I have collected a lot of parts that go with the car, you will get ONE of everything you need for it. You can choose a set out of the many heads, etc“. Turns out that this Ford is a build-it-your-way sort of a deal.
There’s no denying this car’s originality and fine current condition. That said, I’m always leary of required engine projects, however. If it “should not take too much to get there“, then why not just do it and sell a running car? It seems that the marketability, and the resulting price, would be far improved. OK, back to my original question, considering the state of the engine, would you consider this Ford to be a survivor?
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Comments
The position of pistons cyl. 3 at approximately tdc and cyl.4 is looking strange in the photo..???
Maybe the angle of the photo makes it looking strange?
Perhaps a puddle of Liquid Wrench?
Price too high for what isn’t there and needs fixing. Sounds like wheelin’ and dealin’ with this guy isn’t going to be any fun either. Nice car if buying it doesn’t make it not worthwhile.
I’m very familiar with these cars – recently completed restoration of a 1936 Ford Cabriolet. Values have dropped at the generation that drove these when they were regular used cars is disappearing (I restored the car my father bought in 1948 when he was in high school). Parts are worth more than the car.
Standard had painted grille and 1 taillight, Deluxe had chrome grille and 2 taillights. Based on colors this one was probably built as a Standard model and had the 2nd taillight added at some point. Factory records of details don’t exist – there are ways to determine the month of manufacture if enough original parts are intact (check for date stamp on generator, interior trim colors, various mid-year changes).
Cars were manufactured with aluminum heads, many of those failed. Half-ton 1936 Ford pickups were mechanically similar (same thicker-gauge frame as convertibles) but had cast iron heads, and cars often had the cast-iron heads installed when the aluminum warped or cracked. Good aluminum 1936 heads are expensive but most require work (I had a new set re-cast by a foundry in San Jose).
During my restoration I learned the hard way… avoid repro parts on these unless necessary. All the soft parts are okay repro (window gaskets etc.) but the currently available repro hood ornament will not fit correctly and causes the entire hood to be misaligned. Repro running boards are too short and mal-formed, repro gas tanks have a massive BOB DRAKE logo stamped in the middle, and repro exhaust systems don’t fit without major re-bending and cussing. If you can touch up, repair or re-polish original parts on these, stay with the original.
-Kendra
The finish on this 75-year-old (three-quarters of a century!). Umm wouldn’t that be closer to 85 years? No worries I too would like to be a decade younger.
Oooops, you’re right!
JO
Did Bonnie and Clyde drive one of these?
Not hardly, Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed on May 23, 1934.
Survivor ,depends on YOUR definition. Not really that important. Kendra was absolutely correct on everything. I would say the price is to high, a 36 humpback is not the crown jewel of 36 Fords. It does have some interesting accessories’. However, the seller is over optimistic, about the condition of the engine. I would in vision nothing short of a total rebuild, but there are a lot of parts. The only way to get close to the asking, is the seller needs to include everything.
To look that good, given its age, yeah! it’s a survivor! a survivor like Sophia Loren! Looks very good! yeah, I’d just have patience with the engine, a build your own hot rod!
Noting the dual windshield wipers, I’d guess this was a Deluxe model from the get-go. Ford made two models of the Tudor – the hump-back (or bustle-back) like this one, with outside trunk storage, or the slant-back, which stored luggage behind the rear seat -loaded from the inside.
I’ve had three ’36s (all five-window coupes) over the years and all came with steel heads – in SoCal, we called the aluminum heads “Denver heads”, and they were sought after by the jalopy racers of the early 1950s. This seems a worthy example – $15K a value only in the eye of a buyer……
I don’t get the reference in ‘Denver’ heads — please enlighten me?
The item attached to the steering column was probably, at one time, a fan for defogging the windshield. Integrated heater and defroster systems came later.
I’m not certain on this closed-roof model but 1936 Deluxe convertibles shipped with a single Trico wiper. Dual wiper conversion was an accessory.
I like the fact that the heads are off. Not only can you see the cylinders, but there is nothing more depressing than pulling heads and finding out that coolant has seeped past the dried out head gaskets into a couple cylinders where it sat for half a century causing un-bore-able pits. Of course sleeving is not unknown on old motors but who wants to do that? :-) Terry J
Late 1936 had modern press-fit bearings. Early 1936 had babbitted bearings.
I think it looks pretty good for its age. To high$$ They should include all the parts at least
these engines can have all sorts of crazy stuff happen when sitting,mice get in and their urine is acidic and nasty and the poop isnt much better…Its 86 years old,has sat 29 years,many get seized badly or very pitted on the bores,this one has little carbon and doesnt seem to have much ring ridge,big plusses,as well as having oiled cylinders that look like that was done before they ever rusted…that still doesnt mean the valves are not stuck either..lol…you guys are talking like its a few years old and stored a matter of months..as someone else mentioned when head gaskets fail,coolant gets into the cylinders and causes problems,now i am guess you have never seen a block that is windowed from removing the pistons because they became welded to the block with corrosion and literally broke the block on exit..this one looks like it might be ok getting heads back on…that is rare in itself…with its great patina and interior a rodder will step up,throw a modern chassis under it and have a rod quickly and the rod boys will let him make a profit if he sells it!This is why so many clean old cars end up as Rods..the older guys still want the prices to be 1966 and the active ones realize a late model used car can be 20 grand and think something like this is very doable.