Ed Dell’s ’36 Roadster

The ’36 Roadster just might be the most graceful design Ford has ever released. The wonderfully contoured fenders meeting the perfectly simple grille and, of course, those roadster stanchions… The damn things are just sexy. You can’t argue that.

Or maybe I’m just biased. I’ve always loved these cars and through the years I’ve kept tabs on many that were built in the day. And I guess that’s why I was a bit surprised when I stumbled upon a roadster that I’ve never seen before. Ed Dell’s ’36 was featured in the November, 1959 issue of Car Speed & Style.

Ed showed a lot of restraint. The stance is nice, level, and realistic, the body is cleaned up, but mostly stock, and a lot of attention was payed to the details. 1940 Packard headlights sit down in the fenders, ’48 Ford bumpers over-power the front and rear (maybe a little too powerful), and the running boards are upholstered in white. Despite how these black and white photos appear, the car was actually painted a deep red. And despite the laundry list of mods, the car remains to what it should – a 1936 Ford Roadster.

Enjoy the photos:

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