Gil Stafford’s ’36 Ford Roadster
The original owner of this ’36 Ford Roadster was Gil Stafford a RI antique car luminary. Gil was a tinkerer, engineer, teacher, and avid car collector. Appearing mostly as a stock ’36 Ford, the car's most significant modification is under the hood, the rare McCollough supercharger that Mr. Stafford installed in 1939 remains in place and operates as originally intended. That modification was advertised to add horsepower to a flathead Ford engine, increasing its power 38% to 124hp and classifying this car as one New England’s very earliest hot rods.
Some of the additional modifications Mr. Stafford made over the years include Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads, a vacuum controlled Columbia dual range rear axle, hydraulic brakes, a 12-volt, negative-ground electric conversion and exhaust headers followed by dual glass pack mufflers.
Any 1936 Ford roadster is a rare model. Just 3,862 of the 711,385 cars in Ford's 1936 production were roadsters. Buying a two-seat roadster during the waning years of the depression was probably considered flamboyant. This was especially so in New England where raw winters made operating a car without roll-up windows much more challenging. Furthermore, a roadster with a rumble seat limited the taking on of additional passengers to strictly fair-weather driving. To satisfy Mr. Stafford’s curiosity about how his car was constructed, he took a train from Providence, RI to Ford’s famed Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan so he could witness his car being built and then driving it home.
Amazingly, it remains today just as it was when Gil Stafford owned it, including its rare supercharger. The McCulloch supercharger was one of the earliest superchargers available in the aftermarket and one of Robert Paxton McCulloch's first products. Indeed, the same McCulloch who later produced Paxton superchargers, McCulloch chainsaws, airplanes, and the founder of Lake Havasu City in Arizona.
After Mr. Stafford passed away his car went through several hands before Jeff Goldstein acquired it. Jeff first became acquainted with the car during his freshman year in college, when Mr. Stafford was his teacher. Jeff was invited to see Mr. Stafford’s antique car collection, including this ’36 Ford roadster where Mr. Stafford proudly described the benefits of supercharging. Nearly 40-years later, this same car, still with its supercharger and lineage was found at the Fall Hershey, PA swap meet and its now a part of the Piston Palace collection in Rhode Island.
On loan from Jeff Goldstein, The Piston Palace, Warwick, RI
Specifications:
Engine: 221 C.I V8
Horsepower: 125
Engine Modifications: McColluch supercharger, Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads, dual Glass Pack mufflers+
