The 1937 model year saw the end of the traditional Ford Roadster body style—in U.S. production, anyway.

From the earliest days of the Model T, through the Model A, and well into the V8 years, the roadster was Ford’s sportiest body style. Light, simple, and inexpensive, it was the favorite of racers, hot rodders (though they weren’t called that yet) and sporty drivers of all persuastions. A roadster can be defined many ways, but mainly, it can be distinguished from a convertible by its lack of window glass that rolls down into the doors. Instead, there are only snap-in side curtains to protect the passengers from the elements.

When the 1932 V8 was introduced, Ford’s most sophisticated car yet, the Roadster body style was continued, but its sales volume was soon outpaced by the Cabriolet (Ford’s term for a convertible coupe), which offered all-weather protection for just a few dollars more. By 1937 (above) sales had slowed to a trickle, and the roadster was cancelled with a mere 1,250 cars produced.

The ’37 Roadster (Model 78-710) was offered only in De Luxe trim, with a rumble seat and wind wings included as standard equipment for $696, only $24 less than a Cabriolet. The ’37 differed from previous Ford Roadsters in one noticeable way: The windshield frame was not a separate component that bolted onto the cowl, but integrated into the body shell and painted body color. And thus it was difficult to tell a ’37 Roadster from a Cabriolet on the outside, especially from any distance.

Due to the visual confusion over the ’37, many over the years have assumed that the ’36 Ford with its chrome-plated, bolt-on windshield frame was the final Ford V8 Roadster. Some purists will even assert that the ’36 was the last “true” Roadster. We don’t wish to take a side in that dispute; we’ll just note that in ’37, Ford offered both the Roadster and the Cabriolet, and that the Roadster lacks side door glass.

In any case, the matter was settled in 1938 (below), when the Roadster was dropped and the two open coupe styles were the Convertible Coupe with rumble seat and the Convertible Club Coupe, which offered passenger jump seats inside the cabin. Ford continued to offer the Phaeton and Convertible Sedan four-door open styles, but they’re another story. And in Europe and Australia, Ford roadster models carried on as before. The term “roadster” would appear years later in Ford sales materials—for the Thunderbird, for example—but these were modern body designs with roll-down glass.