The 1937 Ford coupes collected together here are four of the best ’37s we’ve seen in the last few years. Each one of them made its mark at one or more prominent hot rod shows, soaking up awards along the way. Each one of them has earned attention inStreet Roddermagazine. Each one of them represents a unique way of combining high-tech contemporary and traditional classic style. And each one of them was built with a Ford engine under its hood. Take a look.

Jim Bridgewater’s 1937 Ford coupe was a rust-free stocker when it was turned over to brothers Randy and Mike Way from All Ways Hot Rods in Phoenix, who transformed it into this extraordinary street rod.

A brand-new chassis features all the good stuff you’d expect to find on a fresh Total Cost Involved chassis—IFS and a four-link rear, with Aldan coilovers and Wilwood disc brakes. The 16-inch EVOD wheels are one-offs, built especially for the car.

All Ways Hot Rods dressed up the Ford 5.0-liter Coyote engine with some retro-style coil covers, air boxes, and other custom fabricated pieces to add old-time flavor to the modern engine. Backing up the Coyote is a Ford 4R75W transmission and 9-inch rearend.

Inside, the factory seat frames were used as the foundation of a rebuilt bench, upholstered in brown leather and Streifen Braun cloth. The pushbutton shifter that retracts into the seat is a cool detail.

Jim’s 1937 Ford coupe, from Paradise Valley, Arizona, was at the 2019 Grand National Roadster Show, displayed in the main building up near the main stage. That primo parking spot saved a few steps on Sunday for owner Jim and builders Randy and Mike when they were called on stage to accept the award for Outstanding Custom Rod. A couple days earlier,Street Roddermagazine had selected the quicksand-colored Coyote-packed coupe as the winner of its Best Ford In A Ford award.

Dennis Cardellini’s brandywine 1937 Ford coupe was built in the style of a classic custom rod with many eye-catching modifications and a few that are not so apparent. Dennis’ cousin owned the car in the ’60s, and it ended up being stored for years until Dennis bought it and changed if from a completely stock car into an all-Ford street rod.

Frank Zucchi at FZ Restorations in Livermore, where Dennis lives, did the bodywork. He kept the top unchopped but modified the peak that begins at the moulded and smoothed factory hood, and complements the shaped of the V-ed one-piece windshield. Less apparent are the reshaped front fenders, extended downward in the front and widened. Trim and exterior handles were shaved to accentuate the shape of the body. In the rear, ’39 Ford taillights were frenched into the fenders. Zucchi provided the elegant paint finish, shooting House Of Kolor Kandy Brandywine.

The factory ‘rails were boxed and braced by an X-member. Total Cost Involved provided many of the Mustang II-style independent front suspension components and brakes, plus the anti-roll bar and parallel leaf springs in rear. The classic-looking big ‘n’ little tire and wheel combination was achieved with 195/60R15 and 235/75R15 BFGoodrich tires on 15-inch Boyd Coddington polished five-spokes.

The interior blends early and late looks. A Deco Gauge Cluster from DC Street Rods with Classic Instruments gauges fills the ’40 Ford dash. Two-tone leather and vinyl covers custom seats. Under the hood, a 351 Cleveland engine with a four-barrel carb is topped with an aluminum scoop from Summit Racing—backed up by a Ford AOD transmission.

Cardellini’s 1937 Ford coupe came home from the 2015 Sacramento Autorama with a well-deserved award in the Custom Rod Coupe category.

When Dan Wathor of Rio Linda, California, first teamed up with Kenny Welch of Kenny’s Rod Shop in Boise, Idaho, it was to build his 1937 Ford coupe into a nice driver. That goal was met and far exceeded.

Welch and his KRS builders fabricated a new frame from round chromoly tubing. They built the independent front and rear suspension working from Heidt’s suspension parts to create their own custom chassis, adding RideTech airbags front and rear, and Wilwood discs at each wheels. Those 18- and 20-inch wheels are custom carved from billet aluminum and roll on Pirelli tires. The body was customized with a one-off grille and two-off headlights, a fabricated hood, curved side glass, and cool covert touches like the double-wall fenders and running boards. Jeff DeVey added a subtle pinstripe to Kenny’s metallic gold paint job.

Open sides expose the 351 Windsor engine, built to displace 427 cubic inches, running Arias Hemi Heads and fed by a Hilborn four-port injection with an EFI system built by Kenny’s Rod Shop. The 351 is paired with a C4 transmission. The interior is finished in rich coffee-colored leather and painted woodgrain—with style details ranging from 1930s elegance to 1960s sportiness.

Wathor’s “nice driver” debuted at the 2016 Detroit Autorama, where impressed show judges named it one of the Great 8 finalists for the Ridler Award. It went on to winStreet Rodder Top 100 award.

To our eyes, Ryan Thomas’ high-tech 1937 Ford coupe is what a Ford designer from the late 1930s might have sketched if asked to imagine what cars would look like in the 21st century. It’s streamlined and sleek and loaded with modern details but still bears the lines of a late ’30s car, plus some interior elements that would have looked futuristic 80-plus years ago and look retro today.

Ryan, from Delano, Minnesota, heard about the car from Dave Tucci at Tucci Hot Rods in Marcy, New York. Tucci had already completed a lot of work on the coupe when its owner unexpectedly passed away. It hadn’t been touched for a few years, but Ryan purchased it sight unseen. The car ended up at Mike’s Auto Restoration & Customizing in Delano, Minnesota, where Mike Jenson and Ryan continued with the work started by Tucci.

The chopped and channeled body has been treated to countless additional modifications, including eliminated B-pillars, a handmade hood, reshaped doors with invisible pocket hinges, and Kawasaki Ninja headlights. The framerails were Z’d in the front and kicked up in the rear, and treated to Fatman Fabrications suspension components, plus RideTech ShockWaves. Owner-designed 17- and 20-inch Colorado Custom wheels and Pirelli tires fill the fenders. A custom engine cover and finned valve covers on the Ford 351W engine fits the car’s modern/classic style combo. In addition to handbuilt bucket seats and leather-and-aluminum-covered floor panels, the interior features milled bullet-shaped gauge pods and a cool hanging shifter ball.