.jpg)
HotCars contributor Michael Van Runkle recently reported from State Farm Stadium in beautiful Arizona at Mecum’s Glendale 2022 auction. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for HotCars YouTube channel, where we can bring you the latest in automotive news. On day two of the incredible journey of auctioning off over 1500 cars, they have everything from very classic one-off cars to stock Jeep Gladiators.
Speaking of One Offs
One of the highlights of the car auction is a 1937 Ford Custom barn find that surfaced during WWII to become one of the most interesting and beautiful cars ever to materialize. We learn around the 7:10 mark in the video, the car belonged to Baron Von Kuhl, who Michael, making the dad joke of the year, calls Baron of Cool.
We did a bit of research on the car at HotCars and found that the car is a Roadster D’elegance winner. Just look at those perfect lines that Michael shows off in the video. He even goes on to say that Chip Foose saw the car and claimed the paint job alone is worth $300,000. That’s supercar money!
The History Behind The Most Custom Ford Custom
The legend of this legend is all in the details. It began life as a custom coachbuilt 1937 Ford Cabriolet. The chassis went to Grue & Co., which is a Ford dealership in Copenhagen. It was immediately sent off to Deutsh, for a custom coachbuild for Baron Von Kuhl.
Once the Second World War started, Von Kuhl had been working with allies in aiding them to retrieve top secret maps and other important documents and information. Apparently, the Nazi Party did not enjoy Baron Von Kuhl’s car club, nicknamed Klub Schness Street Rods Germany because they “had too much fun” and because Baron Von Kuhl’s Ford Custom had won a Best of Show award over other Nazi Leader’s cars. In exchange for the information, France hid the car for the Baron and his wife, who was interestingly nicknamed the Ice Princess. Unfortunately, The Von Kuhls died in a bombing.
Second Chance At Life
.jpg&description=Super+Expensive+Paint+Job+On+This+Stunning+1937+Ford+Custom){kind=link}
YouTube – HotCars
A farmer who purchased the land, sold the car, and it went to Switzerland. This is where Steve’s Auto Repair, in Portland, Oregon, saw the car and bought it on the spot. David Brost redesigned the car, but kept true to what the car originally looked like. The work began in 2000 and was a labor of blood, sweat, and tears. The build took about 15 months to complete and estimated at $860,000.
The car is now in pristine condition. Sporting a 514 cubic inch Ford SVO V8 coupled to an automatic transmission, the old lady is no slouch. Not that we wouldn’t want to comfortably dig into those gorgeous, Italian leather seats.
Unfortunately, the car sold for only $96,250. We hope it goes to a museum, where all its history will be on display and everyone can enjoy the story of a man and his car, who stuck it to the Nazis.
Stunning Render Showcases Wild 1932 Ford Custom Hot Rod
readnext
About The Author
Pat Ficara
(5 Articles Published)
Pat is a licensed mechanic who has built everything from custom tent trailers to resto-modding a 1950’s all Canadian Princecraft boat and everything in between. Pat currently drives a modified ’05 Mustang, lifted ’08 F250 and a Mercedes E350 Coupe.
More From Pat Ficara