Classic Wheels Spotlight: 1937 Ford Slantback

Upon his retirement, John Zero, 76, was looking for a project to work on and he found this 1937 Ford Slantback gem on Craigslist. When he started out looking, he wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, but he came across the Slantback in his own backyard, less than 25 miles from home.

The car, which had been parked in a garage for about five years, came from a Minnesota family, passed down from brother to brother to son. Over the years, the car had not been driven much, with only about 55,000 miles on it.

When John took possession of the car, it was not running. With some coaxing and assistance from family members, he was able to get it running. He immediately changed out the fuel tank and lines, and it was converted to a 12-volt system.

With the 12-volt system, the generator was replaced with an alternator, and an electric cooling fan was installed behind the radiator, (the factory fan was part of the generator). Another upgrade was the single Stromberg 2-barrel carburetor, which was replaced with a 2-2 barrel Stromberg carburetor setup.

According to John, the engine has been cleaned up but is still untouched. It is a 221-cubic-inch “Flathead” V8, known as a “21 stud” in recognition of the 21 head bolt studs per head. In 1938, Ford went to a “24 stud” motor. The transmission is a 3-speed top loader type. It also has a 4.11 to 1 gear ratio differential.

The body and interior are all original, except for the addition of an updated radio that allows John to listen to AM/FM. He also has a port to use an MP3 unit. The Ford features vintage USA gauges out of Detroit, Michigan. None of the gauges worked properly, and with the upgrade to a 12-volt system, it’s the only way to go.

John says some of the interior trim has been cleaned up and repainted to factory specs, (a walnut wood grain effect). John replaced the windshield and back glass with safety glass. The door glass and the “smokers” windows are the ones that came with the car. The rear side windows, aka. “smokers windows” slide open a little to let the smoke out.

After having this classic on the road for about a year, John decided that it was time to upgrade the brake system because the Ford had the original cable brakes on it. He installed a manual hydraulic fluid brake system on the car. Ford started using hydraulic brakes just a couple years later, due to pressure from the auto industry and consumers.

Everything else under the car is still the way it rolled off the assembly line. Even the “lever action” shocks are there. John says they will be rebuilt in the future. All the steering components are original. The most recent improvement is that he had the factory pin striping redone by Greg Widaman, in Berwyn, Ill.

Recently, John and his wife of 46 years took a short road trip. He says they were very happy with the way the car ran and handled on the highway. John likes to go to car shows and cruise nights, usually with his brother-in-law, who also has an old sedan. John enjoys driving his Slantback because “it’s fun to drive.” Should you be at a car show, and see this awesome classic, stop by and say hello.

If you have a car you would like to see featured in Classic Wheels, contact Rudy Host, Jr. at Classic.Wheels.Rudy@gmail.com.