Dick Flynn's 1937 Ford Coupe

A photo of Dick's coupe from the second annual Rod and Custom Car Show in Seattle. The photo appeared in Custom Cars April 1960, and according to the captions, it won the best hot rod award at the show.

Flyin' Flivver. Dick's coupe was featured in Rod & Custom September 1960.

A photo of the coupe from the Rod & Custom story. Photo by Allan Carter.

Anothe photo from Rod & Custom. Notice the licensplate; AER037. Photo by Allan Carter.

Photo by Allan Carter.

Famed Pacific Northwest photographer Pete Sukalac shot the car for Hot Rod Magazine. The story appeared in Hot Rod May 1961.

Later caretaker Joseph Gallegos was able to locate and speak to a few of Dick's high school friends and Early Ford V8 Club colleagues, "some of whom helped Dick build the car. They described it as being so clean at any given time that "you could eat off the engine bay." Dick was known for his eccentricities and strict workspace cleanliness. He had a running bet among friends that tools in his garage would never be left out of place." These are photos of Dick's garage that Gallegos came across after he bought the car. Photo courtesy of Joseph Gallegos.

Dick was an active leader in the Seattle, Washington Early Ford V8 Club and published a book of nearly 70 Flathead "How To" articles, called "Technical Tips by Dick Flynn, Ford 1932 - 1953." Photo courtesy of Joseph Gallegos.

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1937 Ford Coupe owned and built by Richard "Dick" Flynn of Seattle, Washington. Richard, who was a Mercury mechanic and a Pipers of Kirkland car club member, bought the coupe as a second car in 1952. According to a featured story in Hot Rod May 1961, he needed a car while he rebuilt his 1949 Ford. The car, a 1937 Ford Model 60 Five Window Coupe, was originally purchased as a spare parts donor. After a failed attempt to sell the remains, Dick decided to build the coupe into a show car.

Jet Black

The engine from Dick's 1949 Ford, an 8BA Flathead, found its way into the '37. It was modified by a poke and stroke to 280 cubic inches before it received Offenhauser heads and a polished Super Dual intake-manifold, a 3/4 Millings race cam, Johnson adjustable lifters, Mallory dual point ignition, and Fenton headers and 1 3/4” straight pipes. Dick dressed it up with shorty side exhaust, and it ran a 1939 Ford rear end, steering gear, and transmission with 26 tooth Lincoln Zephyr gears. The bell housing and clutch were taken from a 1950 Mercury, and it featured 1948 Lincoln brakes and spindles and Columbus shocks. The radiator was a 1946 Ford truck brass radiator. It was completed with a Jet Black lacquer paint and a custom Black & white Naugahyde custom interior and headliner by Smitty of Seattle. The trunk area was carpeted in black. All stock chrome was replated during the build, and it was dressed up with Firestone whitewall tires. Except for chrome beading that Dick installed between the body and fender joints, the exterior appearance was kept stock, a theme that according to Pete Sukalac was becoming increasingly more popular with hot rodders.

Multiple Award-Winning Show Car

Once completed, Dick garnered plenty of regional attention with his multiple award-winning show car. He had built four other hot rods prior to the '37, and he told Pete Sukalac that the '37 was the best of them all. It was featured on the interior pages of Petersen Publications; Custom Cars April 1960, and Rod & Custom September 1960. Famed Pacific Northwest photographer, Pete Sukalac, wrote an article on the car for Hot Rod Magazine May 1961 titled: "The Word is Choice!!"

Current Caretaker

Joseph Gallegos of Glendale, California bought the old hot rod in the fall of 2017. Gallegos was born and raised in Washington State, and when he bought the car, it was very well preserved. "A true survivor, the Dick Flynn 37 Coupe currently has 90% of its original paint, engine, interior, transmission, and suspension still intact," Gallegos told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2019. Upon delivery to Joseph, he noticed that the frame had been covered in petroleum-based undercoating over the years. This was a common, and ugly, mid-century rust-proof practice. So one of his first projects was to clean and repaint the frame by hand.

When Joseph got the car, he began fixing some egregious fuel system issues, executing a valve job, lowering the stance, restoring the original 6-volt positive ground system, and replacing the missing signature side exhaust with a set of rare Fenton Shorty Ripple pipes. This work was all done with traditional methods and era-correct parts under the direction of Jim Lirones of Tujunga, California.

Keeping History Alive

Through Joseph's own research, he was able to locate and speak to a few of Dick Flynn’s high school friends and Early Ford V8 Club colleagues, "some of whom helped Dick build the car. They described it as being so clean at any given time that "you could eat off the engine bay." Dick was known for his eccentricities and strict workspace cleanliness. He had a running bet among friends that tools in his garage would never be left out of place." According to Joseph, Dick was an active leader in the Seattle, Washington Early Ford V8 Club and published a book of nearly 70 Flathead "How To" articles, called "Technical Tips by Dick Flynn, Ford 1932 - 1953."

Magazine Features and Appearances

Custom Cars April 1960
Rod & Custom September 1960
Hot Rod May 1961