History 80 Years ago: Something iconic came along.

When I first got into Hot Rods, I had an issue of Rod Action that featured a chopped '34 sedan. I loved the grill shell and the over all look of the car. I kept that issue for a long time, due to that car being in it.

34's, IMO, were much cooler than 32's.

 

Love the '33-34 Fords. Most people clamor for the '34s, but I think the subtle differences of the '33 are better to my eye. I also prefer '60 Cadillacs, '56 Chevys, '39 Fords and '68 Chargers. I must be one tooth off.

 

I like the 34 much more than the 33 and the 4 door the most in the sedans, there's so much more of those cl***ic lines to look at. Nearly got 1 or 2 over the years but never had the money at the right time. JW

 

my 34

 

Make mine a '34 please! '33s really weren't popular until the end of the resto rod era and early high tech era. The grill on a '33 is just too dainty to my eye. My older buddies that were around in the fifties and sixties have told me on numerous occasions that '33 were quite regularly fitted with '34 front sheet metal first thing...

 

Someday I will take a picture of a '34 5 window near me
Owner always wanted one and bought a unfinished but driveable project.
Trailered it home,took it out once and put on 5 miles then stuffed it in a shed.
Hasn't seen the light of day in 12 years.

 

cant forget the delivery

 

I fell in love with Billy Gibbons' 1933 3-window coupe 30 some years ago. The '33-'34 coupes are my favorites. 3-window, 5-window, and roadsters are so perfect.

 

model 40s are just plain CL***Y!!

 

my 33 5 wdw . i found this car in October of 2012 . i had no idea what direction i would go with it so i let it sit for a year relatively untouched . then i got inspired by the Race of Gentlemen and decided that if mel had room for me , the boys and i would get it ready in the less than 7 weeks we had before the race and make it to jersey to have some beach racing fun . i grabbed a set of 4 really nice bent 40 spoke kelseys with 6.00x16 and 7.50x16 black stones and i scored a 59A flatty for it during the year it was sitting and it had been in a hot rod for most of its life and was equipped with eddie meyer high rise intake and some edlebrock heads . and i am not sure what the cam specs are but it runs like a scolded dog . with very little time and still no idea what direction i was going to end up going with the car just a quick motor swap and some brake lines , gl***, and wiring and some race numbers was all we decided to do ! 7 weeks later we ended up with the car in the last few pics and the first couple are the day i picked it up !!

 

Here is something to think about. I remember seeing several Model 40, 4dr sedans used as hotrods WAY back when I was young. And in hotrod magazines, one could see one occasionally, but only '33/'34 4 drs. No matter how many doors, those 2 years are, to me, the best-styled cars Henry(by way of Edsel) ever built. And, I drive a steel '32 Highboy and a '40 2dr. Wouldn't it have been great if Edsel could have outlived Henry ? Hope I don't sound too morbid.

 

I vividly remember being castigated by an Antique dude for "messing up all those coupes, sedans, or whatever. He owned several totally-stock Model A's. When I discovered that he had been a roundy-round racer, I temporarily forgot how I was raised by good parents, and reminded him that He and his ***hole buddies were responsible for the demise of countless coupes and sedans. I brought some pictures of old Fords upside-down, barrel-rolling, t-boned, etc., and reminded him that there was pictorial evidence of what these *****s did.

 

Fab 32, I totally agree with you about the '33 grille over the '34. I still freakout when I think of all the '33 hoods and grilles that were simply thrown away. By the way, I drive a steel '32 Highboy, too.

 

Dave Mc, you have probably heard this worn-out statement a thousand times, but I will repeat it. Henry really should have made your car. A beautiful job.

 

33-34's is my favorite too, altough a 32 3w isnt bad either

Yeah, my 33 roadster is a 4 banger car from the start that have been fitted a 34 hood, grille and radiator when they installed the '36 flathead.
I can't decide if that is good or bad...

 

Model 40, 770. Will die with mine!

 

Thank You for the compliment , but my car gets very little attention at the car events I have taken it to. even took it to the Ford V8 Grand Nationals and seemed it was invisible. it doe's make me smile when someone notices it and realizes it was not a production body style.

 

What? no love for the commercials? It seems like yesterday when I built my first 34 P/U and took it to it's 50th birthday. Hard to believe it was 30 years ago now. I'm so old!

 

I have one of those pickups , sitting and waiting for me to get around to it

 

To my eye, only the 39/40 can touch the 33/34. Beautiful.

 

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This 3w really does it for me. JW

 

Love all the extra lines of the 4dr. JW

 

I love the 33 5 window coupes. I have a 33 5wd and a 34 5wd, the 33 will most likely end up with a 34 grill and hood. I would much prefer the 33 front end, but the 34 stuff is easier to come by and I have it. I think everyone at the time considered the 34 to be a model year newer and whenever there was a need to repair the grill and hood they were switched out for the more "modern" parts. Also looks to me like the 34 parts were easier to fab.

By the way, my avatar photo is a 34 Plymouth, not a Ford! It was a B/A I raced in the mid 60s. The Plymouth has a big boxy firewall sticking out the front. Cut that off and I like the lines, but the styling will never come close to the Fords!!

 

On my third one and still in love!!! Sedan, roadster and now the cabrio. Tim

 

I've always thought the '34 was more "aggressive looking" than the popular '32 models. Especially the sedans. Good enough to take that last ride in.

 

The paperwork say 34 Roadster, but my brain says 33 Roadster. And its MINE ;-)

 

A couple of observations from the catalog art in the original post:
(1) The Tudor sedan isn't shown at all (only the Victoria). I think that was Ford's biggest seller; it's surprising that they would treat it as the red-headed stepchild in their advertising literature. Maybe it was on the cover.
(2) I think '34 was the first year that Ford painted the fenders in body color -- in '33 and earlier years the fenders were black, regardless of what color the body was. Am I mistaken?

 

I have read that Black Fenders were an option in 34 , otherwise the Fenders on the Deluxe models were body color in 34. The Book published by the Early Ford V8 Club mentions it
Below is a Quote from a Member on the FORDBARN Site
The v-8 Club book says " The body colors are used on the fenders of all De Luxe cars for 1934, and on the fenders of Standard green and grey cars.Black fenders are optional. Wheels on standard cars are also black."