By Steve Roberts Photos by Max Roberts
When I showed my wife the 1935 DeLuxe Touring Sedan on eBay, she said, "I thought you were looking for a Mustang." I was, but the car looked so good that it spoke to me. The color is Tacoma Cream, originally used as a wheel and pinstripe color. The more common colors are Gray, Black and Dark Green. It has the iconic Ford Flathead V-8 engine, which I had always wanted. Fortunately, the car was only 20 minutes from home, so I went to inspect it. Not knowing the owner, I drove my original 1952 Ford F-1 as my "credentials," to show that I would keep the car original and not hot rod it. A few days later, I took my wife over to show her the car and we bought it. The former Early Ford V-8er bought the car in New Hampshire in 1978, where it stayed until it was towed home to Delaware in 1983. The engine had a cracked block and it was 2001 before the car was on the road, but with a 1939 engine. Later, a 1935 engine was rebuilt by Schwalm's, in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, for the car. The restoration was begun before the internet was such a useful method to find and procure parts. He spent countless hours searching swap meets like the annual Hershey show and scanning Hemmings Motor News for parts. Self-addressed stamped envelopes,
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phone calls and personal checks were the common method for transactions in the early stage of the process, before credit card purchases by phone became standard. The car underwent a body-off restoration. However, was built to run, not for show, but it is very correct. The only deviations are a 1937 to 1941 distributor, rather than a 1935 distributor and a Stromberg “97” carburetor, rather than a "48" carburetor. Seat belts, turn signals, and an LED high mount brake in the back window have been installed as safety upgrades. The rear turn signals, of course, are incorporated in the tail lights, and the front turn signal bulbs are behind the metal screen of the horn "trumpets," so they don't change the look of the car; they just shine through the metal screen. An aftermarket Arvin heater was installed by the Last Chance Garage, in Unionville, PA, to make winter driving comfortable. I drive the car regularly in good weather, but we live in southeastern Pennsylvania, so for most of the winter the car is in the garage connected to a battery maintainer and under a cover. The retiring Early Ford V-8er sold the car to downsize and I have benefitted from his decision, and I am now the caretaker of the car. I have done minor maintenance and driven it 3,600 miles in the seven years I have owned it. I always get smiles and
V-8 TIMES MAGAZINE
