Last updated on November 26, 2025
Today’s car is a 1936 Dodge Business Coupe Series D2, owned by Pat Irvine and Richard Mandel, which I photographed at the Million Dollar Breakfast Club, a Cars & Coffee gathering in Marina del Rey, CA. Every once in a while, a car from the 1930s shows up and reminds you that America’s automakers were on their game long before the post-war boom. This Dodge is one of those cars. Understated, purposeful, and tougher than much of its competition, it was built for salesmen, shop owners, and anyone who needed a reliable machine that could take a beating and keep on ticking!. The 1936 Dodge Coupe stands out for its strong all-steel “safety-steel” body and its more modern aerodynamic shape, with a streamlined silhouette and rounded fenders. Dodge highlighted its dependability and rugged construction in period advertising, making it a practical choice for the working people of its era.
Designing the 1936 Dodge wasn’t the work of a single star stylist, but rather the product of Chrysler’s engineering-driven approach. Herbert “Doc” Skinner, the head of engineering, set the proportions and structure first, and the styling team worked within those boundaries to refine the details. Designers like Oliver Clark made the 1936 Dodge look clean and cohesive within those engineering limits, while Ray Dietrich influenced Chrysler by introducing a more elegant, sculptural design philosophy that filtered down even to the practical Dodge models. With no centralized styling chief at the time, Dodge cars emerged from an engineer-led philosophy with stylistic touches added afterward. That’s a big part of why the ’36 Dodge has such a rugged, no-nonsense presence, it was built from the inside out to be strong, practical, and modern for its day.
The car is finished in Toyota burgundy. The interior complements the exterior with beautiful oxblood upholstery, a color-matched headliner, ’66 Mustang buckets, custom door panels, trunk upholstery, and carpets. The dash is stock but fitted with a wide array of Stewart-Warner gauges and a Lokar floor shifter. The steering column is a polished Ididit topped with a Mooneyes banjo steering wheel.
Keeping with the bloodline, it’s powered by a Dodge 408 stroker engine estimated at 400–450 hp, fed by a Holley 750 carburetor and sending power through a 3-speed, manual-valve-body 727 TorqueFlite transmission to a Mopar 8¾-inch rear end. Bringing it to a stop are disc brakes on all four corners. Up front is a Heidts Mustang II suspension with a manual rack, paired with a two-link rear setup and an AirLift Performance 3H airbag system. It rides on Wheel Vintiques artillery-style wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich Silvertown whitewalls.
The top is chopped 4 inches in the front and 4½ in the rear, removing the reveal lines on the A-pillars and canting the B-pillars, with custom split windows in the rear. The door handles were shaved, the rear fenders widened 2 inches, and the car now wears custom flush-mounted skirts, custom running boards, and a hand-fabricated stainless grille.
This 1936 five window is more than a custom tail dragger it is a beautifully built custom, it’s a pre-war tribute to an era when American design and functionality found their stride. This custom’s attention to detail makes this the perfect car for custom car shows, local car meets, Cars & Coffee gatherings, or just hanging or cruising with like-minded friends.
Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Frank
