Yes they did. Look in a good Ford manual. (looks like a convertible, but no roll up windows...no wings either. Most had rumble seat)
My first thought on the roadster was not even haveing a top. I cant drive the car to work. I run a landfill and every thing gets covered in dust. The only time i would drive it would be after work. And usualy here you can tell when it is going to rain.
Would I have more options on doors. Could I use sedan front doors sence I will not need the tops of them?
Here's a photo of a real '37 roadster done by Roy Brizio's back in 2008. It's not as hard as you think to turn the '37 coupe into a roadster. You would have to change the cowl from the belt line up, since an open car cowl is completely different. You would also need to change the door tops, and you would need to know where to cut the rear portion of the roof off since all open cars have a thick steal band around the rear opening in the body.
If you cut the coupe up you will kill the value for resale unless you invest the $$,$$$ to do it right. Save the coupe!!
Done correctly a roadster or carson style top would be great. These will also be the easiest to screw up and end up looking bad. I'd probably fix the top and keep it a coupe but that's just what I'd do. If you want a roadster build one. it's your car.
Just saying, I've seen a roadster conversion using a '36 looking rolled cowl and windshield frame that looked more like a roadster should than Henry's '37 roadster. It looked like it took a lot of planning and hard work to pull it off. Personally I would repair the roof, does not look that bad, and build it as a coupe.
Consider your skills. Consider the commitment to a project like this 37. If you have skills, money, and a commitment, do what makes YOU happy.
Blue One...love the color of those coupes...especially the burgundy?/maroon one..do you know what the paint code is?
I did a transfer from a 37 club coupe to a club cabriolet. I found a racht 38 club cabriolet and it had all the parts i needed. W/shield cowl section, exact fit, door tops transfered over to 37 doors, b pillars and tub section tranfered to coupe body. Even got the top bows. Worked out great. Unfortunatly i had to sell unfinished at the time but the car did get finished, complete with a traditional flatty
I did a cabrio conversion from a club coupe but i found a ratched cabrio for the vital parts. Was a easy swap if you can find the parts. Roadster is a tall order thou. opps duplicate wouldn't delete sorry
Remember if you cut the roof, you just lost the structural integrity of the body. The frame will have to be beefed up to prevent body flexing. My .02
Not so much on the frame on this one but the post area for sure At the base of the post there is a 'foot' style reinforcment welded to post and floor about 5 inches or so if memory serves me. Plus the upper rear tub section is fairly stout on the inside.
And just to upset the applecart, Ford made Roadsters up until 1940 here in Australia...a mate has one........supposedly 20 Roadsters and 70 Convertibles were made by Ford Australia. the body shell is the same as that used from 1937 with factory mods to allow the 40 fenders and no windup windows, only clip side curtains. He's had it for about 40 yrs.
on my 36 i have not done any roof repairs yet, my best advice to you is start from the bottom, front to back. do the work the car needs as you can , and by the time you really need to work the roof the car and the process will give you the answer. there's a heck of a lot of work ahead of you, and plans can change as the build progresses so i would not sweat it just yet...
Looked at this 37 conversion a few weeks ago. Fenderless drop top might be interesting if you don't have much to work with.
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