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In the collectible Flathead Ford market, one of the most desirable cars you can own is a 1935 or 1936 Ford 3-window coupe. In an interview with the American Hot Rod Foundation, recently deceased guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck declared the 1936 version as the apex of American automobile design. If you would like to have a beautiful car to drive and enjoy, take a look at this 1935 Ford 3-window coupe for sale on craigslist in Dallas, Texas. Described as all original and with just 55,000 miles on the odometer, is this coupe worth the $47,000 asking price? Thanks go to T.J. for helping us find this grey beauty!
There is no way to overstate the importance of the Flathead Ford V-8’s influence on hot rodding. If you want to get yourself a first-rate education on that phenomenon, from the first races on the dry lakebeds in California before World War II to the preservation of those cars today, you owe it to yourself to check out the American Hot Rod Foundation’s website. They also have a podcast that is filled with interviews of the pioneers of hot rodding. Many of the folks they interviewed are gone now, and listening to their stories paints pictures of a world that is gone. However, there are still relics from that amazing time, and we have the stories. Powering nearly all of those good times was the Flathead Ford engine.
This 1935 Ford is a window into the past, but one that was never altered. The seller advertises it as a nice, original car that he got from an 80-year-old man. The story he was given was that this was that fellow’s grandfather’s car. The odometer reads 53,000 miles and this may be the original mileage. Looking at the car, it seems that the definition of original here means unaltered. There are a few items that may have been redone, but this is a solid car that has seen a charmed life.
If I had to guess, and this is just a guess based upon the pictures seen in the ad, the car has been repainted at one time. The exterior is glossy and free from the cracks we often see in original paint jobs. As gorgeous as lacquer paint was back in the day when it was polished out, it eventually shows its age. The interior also appears to have been replaced at some time. The seat material has been there quite a while, but the door panels have that new look. After 88 years on the road, there is nothing wrong with that. Original is a good description for the car, given that it still looks, at first glance, as it did when it rolled off the showroom floor.
Under the hood, we see a more accurate representation of what an original 1935 Ford would look like after all these years. The aging you would expect shows on the firewall and on the surfaces of the engine. These cars originally left the factory with aluminum cylinder heads. Aluminum was used to help with the Flathead’s habit of running a little too warm, taking advantage of the metal’s ability to dissipate heat. The problem was that the material was prone to cracking and the expensive aluminum heads didn’t help that much anyway. Commercial aluminum production wasn’t as developed as it would be in a few short years, and impurities in the metal caused weak spots that exacerbated cracking issues brought on by heating and cooling cycles. So, when the aluminum heads cracked, Ford just replaced them with cast iron truck heads as you see here.
Looking over the whole car, it is obvious that Ford lovers would be hard pressed to find a better car to start with. There are no indications that rust is an issue anywhere, the body style is highly desirable, and everything is there, and likely Henry made. $47,000 may seem like a lot, but there is still a healthy demand for cars in this condition. I think marketing it through other channels would get the owner near this sum, but I don’t think a craigslist audience will get it done in this case. Have you ever owned a highly original car? Please share your experience in the comments.
