Casting : Classic '36 Ford Coupe
The 1936 Ford Coupe, as American as apple pie, was one of the first heavily modified hot rods of all time.
They have been chopped, channeled, lowered, tubed, flamed, blown - you name it!
And since 1969, the Ford Coupe has been immortalized in 1/64th scale as a part of the second-year line-up of Hot Wheels!
Mattel's version of the '36 Ford Coupe is based on the 1936 Ford 3-window Coupe (as opposed to the 5-window Coupe, which had two windows on each side). The Coupe was a popular model in it's time, and featured a V-8 engine and a rear rumble seat for additional riders. The '36 Coupe also is a favorite of restorers of classic cars and can be seen at auto shows in some very interesting configurations.
Above and below: '36 Coupes in light ("apple") green and lime.
All '36 Coupes were produced at Mattel's US plant. They feature clear windows, a black-painted roof, and an opening rumble seat in the rear. Standard US bearing wheels are small in front and large in the rear. Of specific interest to collectors is the number of "seat buttons" present on the rumble seat. According to a former Mattel employee, the factory used the number of seat buttons as an identifier for each cavity in the mold used to make the interior parts. His recollection was that there were cavaties for nine seat backs in the mold. Therefore, all nine should be present in equal numbers.
A red '36 Coupe showing the buttons on the rear rumble seat.
The '36 Coupe is easy to find in common colors like blue, aqua and green, but can be very hard to find in the more elusive colors like "apple" green, "ice" blue and true yellow. As with the McLaren M6A, the '36 Coupe was produced in many different shades of the various Spectraflame colors, leading to some occasional confusion as to the true color of the car. The Coupe is often difficult to find in truly mint condition, presumably because they were so well-loved by kids and thus more often played with!
A purple '36 Coupe with a white interior.
Color chart
| US COLORS: |
COMMENTS: |
| blue |
common |
| aqua | common |
| green | common |
| lime | common |
| gold | common |
| red | common |
| orange | uncommon |
| purple |
uncommon |
| antifreeze |
uncommon |
| rose |
uncommon |
| hot pink |
hard to find |
| brown |
hard to find |
| magenta |
hard to find |
| light blue |
hard to find |
| copper |
hard to find |
| olive |
rare |
| yellow |
rare |
| light (apple) green |
rare |
| ice blue |
rare |
A '36 Ford Coupe in hot pink!
'36 Ford Coupes in orange, olive and magenta.
Tough color: a '36 Coupe in ice blue!
An awesome group of '36 Ford Coupes!
A purple 6-button Coupe with the collector's button.
Photo & info credits: Jeff Henderson
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