Highlights

• One of the finest 1936 Ford Phaetons in existence. Only several hundred remain worldwide of the 5,555 originally built in 1936.
• Seven-time winner of the prestigious Dearborn Award and recipient of the Dearborn Emeritus Medallion from The Early Ford V-8 Club of America
• Twenty-seven-time winner of Antique Automobile Club of America awards including the top Senior Grand National First Prize
• Powered by Ford's iconic 221-cu.in. flathead V-8 engine rated at 85 hp
• Vineyard green over brown leather upholstery; tan soft-top and side curtains

Overview

As the depression eased in 1936, Ford introduced this stunningly good-looking phaeton (pronounced "fay-ton") at the incredibly reasonable price of $590, even offering monthly payments of $25 at an interest rate of ½%. Of the 792,000 Fords made in 1936, only 5,555 were Phaetons. By 1936, automotive tastes had shifted away from the great open cars of the previous decades. While most manufacturers were discontinuing their true open models, characterized by a lack of roll-up glass in the doors, Ford continued to offer a diverse product line, which included six different open body designs. Open cars had sold well for Henry Ford's firm, and he was hesitant to discontinue them. His gamble paid off as, despite what market trends may have indicated, and in a year when soft-top production at Chevrolet was less than 4,000, Ford managed to sell nearly 20,000 open cars.

Ford's design for 1936 was essentially the same as the 1935 but a restyled front end gave the impression of a more significant facelift. Styling cues which had begun with the debut the of V-8 engine in 1932 had been continually massaged with Art Deco influences. A long, flat hood capped a sharp, V-shaped radiator with a body-colored housing and thin vertical chrome bars extending around the hood sides. A double row of polished louvers along the sides of the hood carried the design to the doors while a chrome greyhound hood mascot brought a touch of Lincoln elegance. The absence of roll-up door glass and minimal top provisions helped give this Deluxe Phaeton a curb weight of just 2,641 pounds. Open-top flathead V-8 Fords are among the most revered American automobiles.

One of the owners of this car was Ringgold Wilmer and his wife, Annabelle, who, after purchasing it in the late-1990s, embarked on a three-year restoration with Steve Babinsky's Automotive Restorations Inc. of Lebanon, New Jersey, with a final cost of over $300,000. Babinsky's exquisite work has earned the car countless awards, including 26 Antique Automobile Club of America Junior and Senior prizes, culminating with the 2002 Senior Grand National First Prize. It has also won the prestigious Dearborn Award seven times, received the Dearborn Emeritus Medallion from The Early Ford V-8 Club of America, and earned class awards at numerous concours, including Meadow Brook, Concours d'Elegance of the Eastern U.S., and Radnor Hunt.

Provenance

1936-1944Bella Mittelman M.D. New York, New York
1944-1945Karl Kinscherf, Boonton, New Jersey
1945-1946A. Baldwin Krahmer, Boonton, New Jersey
1946David Sutton, Lake Parsippany, New Jersey
1946-1983Lawrence Barr, Parsippany, New Jersey
1983-1998Ken Segal, Wharton, New Jersey
1998-2021Ringgold Wilmer, Basking Ridge, New Jersey
2022-2025Mark and Lisa Canton, Patterson, New York
2025-presentBill & Linda Lillie, Gales Ferry, CT

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