It wasn't until 1998 that I began the quest for a 37 Cabriolet. I kept looking in all the usual papers and magazines but I quickly discovered their rarity. I started to contemplate either building one in a fiber glass or importing one from overseas. I located a 38 convertable over in Argentina and was close to finalising a deal but at the last minute, I backed out due to shipping cost and dollar conversion sums. It was not going to be cheap.
Other rodders knew I was searching and at one run I was told of a 37 Roadster that was for sale. The definition was " well its rough, but its all there". I had already taken a video a couple of years earlier at the Hot Rod Nationals and I knew basically what it looked like...yeah, it was rough, but it was a 37, and by any untrained eye, looked like a Cabriolet. I began the quest to locate the owner. I finally contacted him after he had moved up to Tweed Heads ( far north NSW ). We struck a deal over the phone and I sent up a deposit. The final transaction was to take place at the 1999 Valla Rod Run. That was approximately equal distance for both of us.....he drives down, we drive up. I envisaged that my wife and I would both drive up in the 34 and she drive the 37 back....I soon changed those plans after a drive of the 37. It was too damn dangerous, even for an experienced rodder, especially since there was so much rain about. You could literally get in this thing, take off at a reasonable rate, then plant the accelerator, just to have it crab walk across the road...and that was in the dry!. The main reason was the twisting of the chassis with a bit contributed by the sloppy steering. The brakes felt OK, but the brake line getting slowly cut by the inner guard looked less than assuring. I booked a ride on the back of a semi car trailer....a bit of peace of mind.
While at Valla, I had my first crash course in 37 body styles, thanks to Bill Jensen. He told me of the subtle differences between roadsters and cabriolets, and what I actually had was a roadster. The definition of a roadster confused me now. How can a roadster have a useable back seat?. Well it appears in 1937, Ford did in fact label them as such. Contrary to the purists wishes, they do exists. There is still debate whether they built them in the US the same as here in Australia. The Encyclopedia of American car does in fact mention their existence. It even states they built 1250 of them. I have a picture sent to me by someone over in the US that shows they are in fact there. Some purists even doubt that, explaining them as Australian imports. That's hard to believe that someone would import a roadster when there is an abundant ( comparably ) supply of cabriolets over there. The difference to most would be un noticed. Here is the picture of the US 37 roadster. It must be noted though that their roadsters were more of the traditional style, dickey seat and a small rear seat section. The Australian models are really Club Roadsters. We didn't get the US styles here. You could say they were a "poverty pack" Club Cabriolet.
