PIECES OF THE 37s HISTORY

I received these pictures of the 37 taken by Bill Jansen from around the 1970s in either Bankstown or Roselands parking lot. At first I was not sure it was the same car, but if you look closely, you will see the wiper located above the windscreen. That is not the original position on 37 roadsters so its fairly conclusive its the same car.

NEW....I received some more photos of the 37 via email ( sorry, I forget who sent them, but thanks a lot in any case ) It seems to be the owner previous to who I bought the 37 off. It also possibly pre dates the photos above to some time in 1960s as well. In any case, it's good to have some more pieces to the puzzle coming together. I had heard that it may have been in a prang in the front in its life, that may be true looking at the front in primer. I was told it still had the flat head and the only upgrade to the mechanicals was hydraulic brakes.

UPDATE!!!Jan 2009...We went to a rod run a month ago and out of the crowd a guy and his wife walks up and shows me a framed picture of a 37 roadster. He then introduces himself as Gary, and was the owner of the 37 back in the 60s and 70s. He invited me around to go through his photo albums, so I took up the offer yesterday. With PC and scanner in tow we ventured out. The first pic is as Gary first got the 37, date is 1969. Apparently, his brother bought it the day before from a now defunct car yard called Capitol motors in Auburn. Gary traded his 56 Chev for it for it as soon as his brother bought it home. Gary was 17 I believe ( makes him the same age as me...hows that for a coincidence, also, he lived about 3 miles from where I lived at the time)

The second pic is the transformation into "the one piece car" Note the guards and running boards are all welded/brazed and bogged. Pretty unique back then.

Gary tells me that the "T" roadster parked beside the 37 was partly rodded, and til this day, sits in the same shed..unfinished. The owner won't part with it. Next pic is Gary behind the wheel, at the ripe old age of 17.

Transformation time. Colour change and new top. Looks nice. That was the same top that was on it when I got it, 30 years later.

OUCH!!!Gary told me that he pranged it some time in the 70s. He drove it into the rear of a Valiant. I did detect some repairs in the front, but going by the damage here, I am surprised there wasn't much more....especially to the chassis.

Last pics are Gary sitting back in the 37 today, in front of the house where the 37 lived for many years. It was like coming home I suppose...I should have asked Gary to smile, but I guess he had mixed feelings...I can understand that. Gary and his wife ( sorry, I forgot her name..I know she shared the same second name as my Margaret) were very friendly and obliging, so the look on Gary's face was not normal. Thanks Gary for your time, and I am glad you liked what I have done to your old rod.

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