A new Ford in my future

mrtexas

mrtexas

Well-known member
I've got an airplane ticket to go look see 2nd week in January this 36 Woodie survivor with all original wood. I suspect it's spent it's life in Cape Cod at a summer home. Alas, I had to agree to sell the newly painted 29 roadster and E28 open cab pickup in the spring. I do have space for 5 antique cars in my garage, but this is hobby getting ridiculous for me as I already have the 2 As and a 63 corvette verte. I told she who must be obeyed the 36 would cost what the 2 As are worth, only fibbing a little. First projects will be chrome for the bumpers, hydraulic brakes and moving my Mitchell OD and 39 transmission from the E28 PU to the woodie.

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love it and thankful it's been preserved all these years. keep us updated on the purchase.
 
surprising how those cars survive so well in what I assume is a salty coastal enviornment. our unrestored 37 Plymouth came from Martha's Vinyard and was almost completely rust-free. cars on the north Florida beaches are not that lucky......
 
There is quite a bit of value in leaving it alone. Be sure the wood is properly protected.

As for the brakes I firmly believe with the late 36 brake hardware that you are significantly better off staying mechanical. It has floating brakes and no fluid to lose or wheel cylinders to partly stop working. If you take the time to wander through the V8 service bulletins you will find the progression of brake technology and be surprised at what you find for the late 36 style mechanical brakes. The adjuster is allowed to slide back and forth, the adjuster links are thinner allowing up and down movement. So you do not need to center them, just be sure the shoes are arched to fit the drums (which you still need to do with hydraulic brakes). My brothers 36 conv sedan has the late 36 full floating mechanical brakes with all NOS parts as they are not that hard to find.

Why do I say they are safer then juice brakes. We owned a 39 Ford for years and it was always having a wheel cylinder problem. Go through the brakes and a year or two later we find a slight pull. You find 1/2 or a whole wheel cylinder was sticking some. We did not like the pull so we always fixed the problem. The problem is most guys at the shows never bothered to fix their brakes. It is very scary when you start asking about how cars brake at car shows.


Now for a sad 36 woody story.
I know of a woody in similar condition (well 30 years ago). A relative died and a fairly poor guy ended up with the car. The only bad wood was the header and the only rust was on the dash board from a battery that leaked in the glove box. The guy has some junk cars laying around his small farm, you know the rusty old car he bought cheap and will never restore cause he needs the money to feed his family.
So he drives the car to some shows and the woody guys go nuts offering him more than a years salary for the car. They even offer to just paint the wood to preserve it cause the paint was bad on the wood. He refuses all offers. One guy even offered him a fully restored car he had always wanted and cash for the car. He puts the woody in a leaking chicken coup and starts to restore it. Well he takes it apart some.
Last I checked, which was years ago, the roof looks broken on the area where the car was. The son, who does not have much money either, was going to do something with it. Keep in mind he has not finished the vinyl siding on his house in 10 years.
They have bought some more junk cars for their field of dreams.
 
First off, nice find! Hope you won't be disappointed upon inspection.

As for "tuning up" the appearance and function what you've proposed doesn't seem out of line to me. Preservation can include maintaining cosmetics much as a responsible "original" owner might have done. Depending on your goals though, new chrome might stand out a bit. You might want to look for some good take offs with aged chrome that's presentable just to maintain the overall look.

As for the brakes and overdrive, both can be done without "destroying" the car, and can be made reversible for the fanatic. Part of the point of having these is to enjoy driving them, and if those mods help you enjoy it more, make it happen. Keep the original parts to pass along when you finally let the car go.
 
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Uncle Bob said:
As for the brakes and overdrive, both can be done without "destroying" the car, and can be made reversible for the fanatic. Part of the point of having these is to enjoy driving them, and if those mods help you enjoy it more, make it happen. Keep the original parts to pass along when you finally let the car go.
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This is all true. However IF the car is as unmolested as it appears to be, it's important to decide first if dollar value is of any real importance. To some it's indeed more important to have things as they want and value is irrelevant. Truly unmolested cars have an ever increasing market and bring a premium from the right collector. Doing so much as repainting a rusty bumper bracket lessens the desirability of the car and therefore the market value. Painting the engine would be a HUGE detriment.

Choose wisely.
 
I have a suggestion here; crumple up a sheet of aluminum foil and rub it over the rusty chrome areas. You'll find the rust is removed and a bit of sheen comes back to the metal. Then apply a coat of wax and see if the results are to your liking. You may find the bumpers and hub caps will look good without re-plating and retain the patina that will blend with the rest of the vehicle. Try it on an old chrome piece first and see how you like it.
 
MrTexas, You said you are going to "look".... I sure hope you have put a reasonable deposit on it!! You just posted the plate # for the world to see...someone just may have it bought before you ever get near it!!!
 
34Fordtk said:
MrTexas, You said you are going to "look".... I sure hope you have put a reasonable deposit on it!! You just posted the plate # for the world to see...someone just may have it bought before you ever get near it!!!
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You are correct so I removed the tag numbers. I bought a ticket on Southwest just in case I have to change it and call it off. I offered him his asking price which I wouldn't consider to be low. A determined buyer could find out about it the same way as I did. I offered a deposit and he said it wasn't necessary. If not this one, there are others.
 
You find a beautiful, rare, original car that you yourself describe as a "survivor," and the first thing you want to do is change it so it is no longer a survivor? I just don't understand that thinking.
 
Okay, this seems to be drifting away from its intent. Obviously, Mr.Texas is proud of his car and rightly so. Yes, it is wonderful to have an unmolested car, but what is he to do with it, make a museum piece out of it?

He wants to drive it... safely. He wants it to look nice and bring back the shine. I agree, he should leave it as close to original as possible, but he also wants to be able to enjoy his car. "HIS" car, he is the one putting out the money for it and it is his car to do with as he pleases.

...and who of us has not taken an original, unmolested part and made it servicible and more attractive and put it back in use?

MrTexas, congratulations on your new car. Treat it well and drive it safely.

Richard
 
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