1937 Fords

[mercman from oz]

I have a question regarding the 1937 Fords. The attached pictures show the Covers of two Australian Sales brochures for the 1937 Ford V8. You will notice that the first Cover has a silver coloured grille while the Revised Cover has a body painted grille with three added chrome strips each side. The majority of 1937 Fords in Australia seem to have the silver coloured grille, however, there are quite a few with body coloured grille and added chrome strips around.
Were both grille styles available in the USA? Was the body coloured grille with the added strips a late styling change to attract extra customers? What are your thoughts?

[Snouts out]

Deluxe & standard ?

[TonyM]

For US Production, the chrome plated grill came with De Luxe cars and the painted grille came with the Standard. There were no three horizontal chrome strips on the Standard cars here in the states.

I just looked through my EFV-8 C/A 1937 Ford Book and could not find any reference to the horizontal strips. On page 33 of the club's current issue of the V-8 Times there is a photo of a 1937 Standard with body color grille and no chrome horizontal strips. This car won first place in its category, so it is correct.


The black car in the photo is a 1937 Standard and the green car is a 1937 De Luxe. No horizontal chrome strips on US produced Standards.

[51 MERC-CT]

And then there's this coupe. Probably the extra trim was an $1.95 optional add on.

[TonyM]

Thanks 51Merc.

I looked pretty careful before I shot off my mouth but these trim pieces do not appear in the 1937 Ford Accessories Catalog or in the V-8 Club's 1937 Book.

[felix37]

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I have never seen the chrome side strips on any American 37 grill.
I may be wrong, but I believe all the standard model 37's had black painted grills, not body color... Unless it was a black car.

[mercman from oz]

I am beginning to wonder if this is an Australian Option only, that was not offered in the USA? 51 MERC-CT, if you look at the picture of the 1937 Club Coupe that you submitted, you will see that it is Right Hand Drive, and judging by the other cars in the photo, this picture was taken in Australia.

[mercman from oz]

Just to prove that Australian 1937 Fords with the extra three chrome strips on a painted grille are not just a one-off, attached are three Australian 1937 Fords that came from the factory that way. If they were not Genuine Ford, the original Sales Brochures would not have illustrated them on the cover? Remember, the Cover picture on the original issue never had these strips, but they were added on the updated Cover.
Are any 1937 Fords in the USA with this different treatment?

[TonyM]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

I am beginning to wonder if this is an Australian Option only, that was not offered in the USA? .

I guess that is how it is shaping up. I think it looks sharp with it on there.





1937 Coupe at the EFV-8 C/A Central National Meet 2014.

I love the look of the 1937 Ford.

[mercman from oz]

Here are 2 pictures of Australian 1937 Ford Club Coupes. While this body style is rare in the USA, all Coupes sold in Australia were Club Coupes like these. The grille treatment on these 2 cars is how most of the 1937 Fords in Australia look. Neither has the added Chrome Trim on the grilles like some have.

[mercman from oz]

Here are some more pictures of Australian 1937 Fords. None of these cars have the added chrome trim on the grilles.

[tub1]

so has anyone in aus a set of those trims for sale my 37 needs them

[Mart]

Are the ones with the 3 chrome strips basically a fully chromed grille with all but the exposed strips painted over? Or are they a fully painted grille with chrome strips added?

I like the look.

Mart.

[mercman from oz]

Hi Mart, No the Grilles are painted and these Stainless Steel Strips are added.
They do make these 1937 Fords look great. It is very unusual that these Strips appear to be an Australian feature, not available on USA built 1937 Fords.
Here is a close up picture of the Grille with these SS Strips. Maybe, some enterprising Parts Producer could make them to sell to USA buyers wishing to enhance the looks of their 1937 Fords?

[mercman from oz]

Here is yet another 1937 Ford, this time a Club Coupe with these Stainless Steel Strips on the Grille. They sure do enhance the looks of the 1937 Fords.

[ford38v8]

Mercman, two of the pictures you've posted appear to be roadsters, and appear also to have back seats by the looks of the unusual tops? Stateside roadsters had a rumbleseat, while the 4 seater was a club cabriolet.

[mercman from oz]

Hi Alan, No Ford Roadsters from 1937 until the last in 1940 had a Rumble Seat.
Attached are photos from the Australian 1937 Ford Sales Brochure and you can see that they were advertised as Club Roadsters. Mention is made of combining the Roadster and Phaeton into one new model having the advantages of both.
By the way, the TailLamps illustrated in this Brochure never made it into production on Australian 1937 Fords. They all continued to use the 1933 thru 1936 Taillamps, albeit on a different Stem.

[mercman from oz]

Hi Alan, Here are pictures of two more Australian 1937 Ford Roadsters.
The two-tone Roadster had side windows installed many years ago, when this was the owners every day car, in an effort to make it more weather proof.
The blue one is a Concours Winner.

[mercman from oz]

In an earlier Post, I mentioned that the Taillamps on Australian 1937 Fords differed from their USA counterparts. For the benefit of our American friends, I am attaching pictures of these unique to Australia Taillamps. You will see that they use the painted buckets from the 35/36 Fords, mounted on a unique cast Bracket. The Standard models only got a single Taillamp on the Drivers side, while the Deluxe models got one on both sides.

[ford38v8]

Mercman, With the rear seat removable, that roadster would indeed pack a lot of luggage! With careful packing, my '38 Convertible Coupe can haul tons of luggage even with the rumble seat in place!

The brochure pic you posted describes a "flexible steering wheel". Would that be what we call a banjo wheel?