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Cars in Taylor Swift Music VideosCool Car Find: 1937 Oldsmobile F-Series
The 1930s Oldsmobile F-Series is a classic of Art Deco design that still turns heads to this day.
Art Deco-dence
1937 Oldsmobile F-Series – carsforsale.com | Shop Oldsmobile F-Series on Carsforsale.com
The Great Depression of the 1930s might have been a drag on the automotive industry, just as it was in nearly every other sector, and yet automotive design and aesthetics evolved significantly over the decade. The Oldsmobile F-Series, the GM brand’s entry-level offering, is a perfect example of this, as the boxy stylings of the 1910s and 20s gave way to the Art Deco designs that came to dominate the 1930s and early 40s.
This Cool Car Find is a 1937 Oldsmobile F-Series coupe, an excellent example of GM’s mid-tier brand with a striking profile and eye-catching white walls. Let’s look back at the history behind the Olds F-Series and then consider our specific example.
First Generation (1928-32)
The first-generation Oldsmobile F-Series was the brand’s entry-level car, and as such a step up from GM’s Chevrolet brand and shared its platform with its Buick equivalent, the Buick Six. The Oldsmobile F-Series ran 197 cu-in flathead straight-six making an adequate 55 horsepower. Despite the small-ish engine, the F-Series was not a small car, measuring in at 113-inch wheelbase and 173 inches in total length. Like many cars of its day, the F-Series was offered in numerous body styles and variations including a roadster (with rumble seat), sedans, a coupe, and a landaulet. Naming followed the production year with the 1929 car called the F-29, the ’31 known as the F-31, and so on.
Second Generation (1933-38)
The Oldsmobile F-Series received a major redesign for its second generation starting in 1932 for the 1933 model year. Owing to design guru Harley Earl and his team at GM’s Art and Color Studio, the F-Series was given swooping new lines, muscular fenders, and an overall Art Deco aesthetic. The stodgy wood-spoke wheels were replaced with steel wheels clad in white wall tires.
Less change came under the hood where the straight-six remained the sole engine. It was, however, larger at 213 cu-inches, and more powerful with 74 horsepower. The same three-speed manual was retained as the transmission of choice. Brakes too remained the same style of four-wheel drums of the prior generation. Body styles continued to be diverse, with coupes, sedans, and a convertible all available.
The 1937 model F-Series received a significant refresh. The engine was bored out to 229.7 cu-in adding 20 horsepower. A new frame and revised body were also implemented. This allowed the engine to be moved forward four inches which in turn saw the cabin shifted slightly forward, meaning the rear seats no longer rode above the rear axle, thereby improving ride quality. Among the F-series’ options were an AM radio, front fender spare tire (very tasteful), cigar lighter, and windshield defroster. Despite the economically challenging times, the F-Series sold just over 200,000 units that year, 2/3rds of them Touring Sedans.
Apropos to the season, the F-Series received a cameo in the Christmas classic, A Christmas Story, as “the Old Man’s” ’37 Oldsmobile, a Touring Sedan in fact. That’s right, the car dad strapped the Christmas tree to, the one with the flat tire that elicits the “oh, fudge” from Ralphie that gets his mouth washed out with soap, that was a ’37 Olds F-Series. For more classic Christmas cars, click here.
1938 would be the F-Series’ final model year before being replaced by the Oldsmobile Series 60 and Series 70.
Our Cool Car Find
1937 Oldsmobile F-Series – carsforsale.com | Shop Oldsmobile F-Series on Carsforsale.com
This example is a 1937 Oldsmobile F-Series two-seat “business” coupe. The Art Deco design is evident in the front end, the script used in the badging and gauges, and the lovely flowing of those prominent fenders. To really appreciate this car, it needs to be seen in profile with the coupe’s roof precipitously sloping to the bustle-back trunk. This car is all atmosphere, all style. It’s transportive in both senses of the word. To drive it is to feel like private-eye Philip Marlowe in a Raymond Chandler novel. If your life needs more intrigue or classic cars, consider acquiring this 1937 Oldsmobile F-Series coupe.
beautiful, ty for the write up.