Today’s car is a Customized 1935 Ford Roadster Cabriolet owned by Doyle Gammell. I photographed this car at the annual Seal Beach Classic Car Show held in Seal Beach,CA. It is finished in PPG Tru Black, the interior was created by Azteca Customs that is covered in black leather and Tuxedo Gray Mercedes wool, and the Carson Style convertible top is covered in Mercedes black cloth. It is powered by a built 327 cu in, Chevrolet V8, with 2-4bbl Edelbrock carburetors. Mated to a GM TM350 3-speed auto transmission with Jaguar rear axle with 3.79:1 gear ratio. Slowing this beauty down are Ford discs brakes in the front and Jaguar discs in the rear. The car features Mustang II front independent suspension and Jaguar independent rear suspension equipped Alden coil springs and Bilstein shocks.
The total Ford production for 1935 was 820,253 units with 786,730 being Model 48 Eight and 14,448 of them being Roadsters. The MSRP was $625,00 and a published top speed of 84 mph. 1935 was the last year for wire wheels and the only year for the water fall grill.
Some of the stand out details for me are the frenched 1937 Ford headlights, the peaking on the fenders, the one piece mini sun visor, The removable hood inserts for easy access to the engine, the custom grill and the stainless steel spears on the fender skirts and picking up that same theme on the running boards. The reason it is a roadster/ cabriolet is that Doyle add roll up windows to his roadster and it now can be classified a cabriolet!
This is a beautiful example of a traditionally styled contemporary custom that is just striking. Doyle’s eye for style and his automotive skills are just amazing. This is automotive art that will stop you in your tracks wherever you are lucky enough to see it. Thanks for riding along. Frank
