Projects The Doublemint twins building some vertical grill customs

Here's what a 36 Ford should look like. Timeless style that is traditional hot rod all the way.

 

You have to see the updated grill in the context of the era. Fords were bread and butter and an exotic front style was to differentiate and update a standard, common car.
Yes I agree,, now we all love the standard front end cos these cars are not seen on the roads regularly, but equally I admire those who are recreating the look of the pioneers of customising ala Harry Westergard et al.
And don't tell me that the exotic European style didn't play a strong part in influencing it all.

 

On a '36 custom, I'm all for vertical grilles. If the idea was to mask, update, or upgrade the look of a 'mundane' Ford, then changing the most recognizable feature would be one of the first things to address.

 

Cadman, you made my point in a couple pic's, it makes an iconic American car look like an over the pond car.............................................

 

The point is exactly that Brigrat. If truth be known many of Detroit's design cues were coming straight out of the European coachworks. These hand formed cars had a much quicker gestation than the 3 or 4 year cycle for production cars. Publications would showcase the new trends.That was why customs initially came about. Later Harley Earl called his factory prototype customs Dream Cars. But the whole concept was the same. Tomorrow's car today. That's why it is important to look today, back on the designs and styles of the past, with a timeline of historical perspective and context.

 

That's not how I remember it and that's coming from a "Customs" lover that still has all his car mags he bought when he was 10 to 69 years old. In the '50s and '60s you couldn't buy a mag without it plum full of the latest greatest customs, I don't ever remember reading anybody thanking the Brits or anyone else for American customs especially out of CA. When I seen this thread starting I hesitated replying, was just wanting to follow Miguel's work, but in post #20 he himself say's "I feel we are on the right track, for me , the purpose of a thread is to motivate a conversation and opinion." Well nobody here is short on opinion's so let em fly! I judge all '36 Fords with non '35-'36 Grills by this build here http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/35-3w-build-off.163762/ Maybe after Miguel gets done with his project I will be drooling over his build like I still do over Chrisp's '35 Ford custom. Do you like this one Blue One? Smileyface!

 

the BLUE ONE has absolutely nothing to do with a traditional custom, it's not even a custom at all. It has the hotrod stance with unmodified body. I'm not saying the car is ugly, but clearly off topic and in the wrong forum, go back to the Ford Barn...

 

Love this car, reminds me of Rick Dore's Tangerine dream, anything you do to a stock 35 is an improvement, the stock grill always looks like somebody smacked the nose with a ping pong paddle.

 

The two coups we are building are prewar customs and I agree there was a euro influence on these customs. The vertical grills , The puffy wide pleat tuck and roll upholstery , the shorter windshield area, 37 desoto bumpers. Most high dollar customs were being built by coach builders for the rich and famous and the modified fords were built by the grunt kids that work for these guys. A perfect example is George Barris , he started working for Harry Westerguard and his personal car was a modified 36 ford. If you look at a 41 ford, it too was influenced by the vertical grills.

 

It, like me is a traditional hot rod / hot rodder and belongs here on the HAMB. Not the Ford Barn. In the traditional hot rod forum maybe, but I posted it to show how beautiful an un modified - un bastardized 36 Ford can be.
I usually avoid the custom forum altogether, but when the topic is 36 Fords I can't resist.

 

Great build you have going there. Anyone who knows how to pay tribute to a man like Harry Westergard is cool [emoji41] in my book. Awesome job gentleman and good luck with the next one.


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I'm looking forward to Miguel's build even though I own this

 

Here is the twin

 

Here is one for blue one. this is a 35 sed. delivery we are finishing up. Now this one you don't chop.

 

I couldn't disagree more. A '36 3w is one of my top favorite cars. I can't say I'm more of a "hot rod guy" or "custom guy", I love them both equally. And, as we all know different strokes for different folks, but there has never been a well built '36 hot rod that looks better then a well built '36 custom. Now, I ad well built in there because we all know there are hideous examples of both.

 

I gotta say I'm loving this thread. I too fell in love with 35 36 coupes at an impressionable age since there was one sitting for years nearby and I was always distracted with Cadillac projects and then one day it was gone. But I wasn't into customs at all until I understood the history. . . now I'm hooked. It's the early customs in that transition from coachbuilt's demise in the early forties till the uptake of the backyard hobbyist in the post war to 52 period that I love. After that the manufacturers caught up with post war buyer demand and by 53 with the advent of factory customs like Eldorado, Skylark Fiesta and Corvette.
But prior to that it was that wonderful period when Westergard, Barris and Summers et al created some timeless classics that even had Detroit playing catch-up. But all of that said regardless the Italians and French were away on their own doing some wild creative trendsetting one off cars that filtered ideas into the hobby for years. Look at the fade aways on this 1940 Alfa. Then look at Jimmy Summers car. Sorry Magoozi for the ramble. Keep it going.

 

I think 36 ford 3ws are the best looking kustom cars. I feel they are better looking than any other stock production car built. A 36-3w is my dream car. But there is no way I could own one and keep it stock. I would have to chop it. I would split the roof and make everything the same length, just lower, and it would be most likely a one inch lower in the rear than the front style chop. as if it came out on Henry's factory like that. I don't like when they are chopped and pulled forward as it's changes the profile of the windows,the top,and car. Then I would lower it to the ground. Next would be to build a nasty 304" flatty, fender skirts and column shift. Remember MY dream car!!! Lol. Then I would hit the streets and make everyone drool just like the kids back in the 40s did. I would leave the grill alone for a few years then I'm sure I would build my own kustom vertical grill. I will stop and look at any 35-36 no matter what it looks like as long as it's traditional. If it's got a funky paint job and billet wheels I would just walk on by. Miguel there was haters back in 2000 B.C. and there will be haters in the future. I think your doing a fine job and loved that you split the roof to get the right look. Keep us posted and keep on keepin on. P.s sorry for the rank/dream.

 

And yes guys, I am going chop my coupe

 

Rare bird, with less than 800 produced, this is one turkey you don't carve up

 

You nail it on the head, it's all aboat the history

 

I always liked the effort to do a trunk hatch that matched the rear shape as the square one seemed to break up the flow.

 

Another reason for doing the thread is that this style of cars are circa 1941, there was'nt any car magazines around and very few coverage was done. These cars and their builders were the foundation for the custom car culture we enjoy today, pretty much ,all we have to go on are old personal pictures, a few survivors and the excellent work Rik Hoving has done documenting their history.

 

Here are some pic's of my 35 chop. I have filled the roof, louvered the rear deck lid and hood side panels, opened up the cowl vent, 37 taillights on shortened stands, 40 dash, added front and rear bumpers. Will have rubber covered boards, and cast Bonneville saltflats wheels. Started with a smoothed out streetrod from the 70's.

 

Gotta get going on it; can't wait see how you go about it.

 

This seems to have turned into a general thread on '36 customs, so I'll jump in. This was my '36 during its "taildragger" phase (it had a couple of hot rod periods, too). It was chopped 1 1/2", headlights lowered a bit, and '37 front bumpers on both ends. The taillights were copied from Jack Calori's car: '41 Hudson, upside down and swapped side-for-side:


I did intend eventually to change the grille, and my choice was a '36 Studebaker Dictator part. I never found one that didn't have a whole Studebaker attached, so that change never happened:

 

Earlier this year there was one that went to the crusher over here, I learned about it 2 days too late, I would have love to save it and chop it despite the fact that it was badly rusted. I love Packard grilles on 36's. I especially like the 45/46 ones.

 

I like this one....

 

The Doublemint twins! we finished one coupe ,now it's time to chop the next one.

 

Here is the twins side by side, now you can compare them , one is a custom and the other stock.
So for a kid in the forties, which one would you want to drive to highschool.