1935 Ford Cabriolet-images GM LS1 Crate 350 CID V8 GM 4l65E

In 1935, this body style helped Ford outsell Chevrolet for the first time using style and value alone – with roughly 820,000 built that year. The flathead V8 that originally powered it made just 85 horsepower; this particular car swapped that out for a modern LS1 crate engine, keeping the Depression-era looks and losing none of the drivability.

There were 820,000 of the Model 48 produced in 1935, which put Ford at the top for sales that year. The models offered in ’35 were a two door coupe, 4 door sedan, 4 door convertible, 4 door wagon and the Roadster pictured here. Under the hood is a 221 CID (3.6 L) Flathead V8 in the factory produced model.

Our thanks to Gateway Classic Cars for the images displayed here.

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In 1935, Ford built 820,000 examples of a car that finally beat Chevrolet at its own game, using a formula of styling and value that competitors couldn’t match that year. Under the hood sat a flathead V8 making a modest 85 horsepower — plenty for the era, laughably little by any modern standard. This particular Roadster still wears the body Ford designed to win that sales war, but the drivetrain underneath tells a completely different story now. So what happens when a car built to out-sell its rivals in the Depression gets a modern GM crate engine instead of the flathead it left the factory with?

The Body Style That Beat Chevrolet

Ford’s 1935 lineup, badged the Model 48, moved the engine forward eight inches compared to the previous year, which let engineers push the rear seat ahead of the axle and open up the cabin without stretching the 112-inch wheelbase. The restyled grille and more integrated fenders gave the car an Art Deco look that read as thoroughly modern for 1935, and a new club cabriolet variant — fully framed windshield, weatherproof top — joined the lineup alongside the sedan and wagon body styles.

Swapping Flathead Nostalgia for LS Power

The flathead V8 that originally powered this car displaced 221 cubic inches and made a period-correct 85 horsepower — appropriate for narrow tires and mechanical brakes, but a serious limiting factor for anyone who wants to actually drive a car like this regularly. Dropping in a 350-cubic-inch LS1 crate engine paired with a 4L65E automatic overdrive transmission solves that problem without touching the body panels or the styling that made this car famous in the first place. It’s a swap philosophy plenty of resto-mod builders lean on: keep everything a period judge would recognize on the outside, and give the driver a car that can actually keep up with modern traffic underneath.

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