In my frequent perusals through the daily offerings that can be found on the local craigslist page, I see several of the same names in the advertisements, over and over. That coupled with the photos which were clearly taken with the subject vehicle sitting high on top of a trailer. Yep, clearly we’ll be dealing with a flipper.
Some would have us believe this is a problem, but it’s not and here’s why: This guy appears to have some skills. He continuously finds and offers a new-to-us inventory, and is good at pulling the collector vehicles out of the woodwork (or actual woods, as the case may be). I’ll let our Barn Finds commenters decide whether the asking price of $950 is anywhere near reality here; it’s a cool car, but is all kinds of rough. It’ll never be a candidate for full restoration, but as a parts car, patinaed rat rod, or full-on sled, as tatty as it looks, it has a a future.
The visor by itself is worth a couple of hundred bucks. The original radio from this particular model is worth a few dollars too. What other goodies are hidden in plain sight, or buried in the trunk? If patina is your thing, there are countless Marquis, Crown Vics and Town Cars more than willing to donate a 5.0 drivetrain to the cause.
As good as our seller is at finding the cars, his advertisements still have scads of room for improvement. More photos, and at least a brief description of the floors and trunk floors (or lack thereof) would be in order. Maybe in this car’s case, the less said, the better. What’s under the hood now? Your guess is as good as mine. If you’re interested in finding out, it can be found here on craigslist in St. Louis, Missouri. Let us know what you think. Parts car and then crush? Rod? Let us know your thoughts.
There is plenty of rust to fix, but it still deserves a look. Whoever wants it should have body skills
In my youth a neighbor hot rodder owned one of these with an Offenhauser in place of the flathead
The rear tires were those recapped slicks with the rear fender radiused to clear the tires
Extremely tidy and wickedly fast
I wouldn’t mind a restored one of these as this year / model was the car that brought me home from the hospital after my mom gave birth to me in 1953. My dad traded it in for a new 56 Chevy Belair but kept me.
My favorites of the shoeboxes are the ’52 to ’54 models. But I sure wouldn’t turn one of these down. Definitely a lot of work here but it isn’t impossible. The ad says that there is no motor so I don’t know if there are any related parts or not. I’ve got a ’53 Mercury motor that would drop in just fine but I also know of a guy who has a couple of 8BA’s that he might sell. Just plan to do some cutting and welding on this one….
Close up on the front end nose bullet. It “was” a six. But the clutch on the floor says “might be nothing”!
Frenchy,
I hate to tell you your neighbor didn’t put in an Offenhauser Motor in place of a Flathead. Unless, well maybe it was a 4-banger out of a midget race car. Offenhauser refers to the heads, high compression aluminum heads like, Edlebrock, Navaro, Thurston, and many more, its the name of speed equipment manufacture. Sorry to go off, but this is my history and my life, and I just don’t like statements that aren’t true, and I’m absolutely sure you are not the first person to say that, in fact I have people look right at some of my cars over the years, and say the very same thing. easy mistake, just not true!
Is it just me or is the sun visor on the windshield the coolest accessory you could put on these. Was that a factory option, dealer option or totally aftermarket? It’s like cool sunglasses for your car. It turns your car into Tom Cruise in Risky Business…..
I understand the Barn Finds contributors’ dismay at flippers, but on the upside, they put time and effort (and $ value) into finding interesting cars and making them available to the collecting/ restoration community, making them available to put back into circulation when they might otherwise be lost.
I live for bringing neglected cars to light and finding them a new home and yes I make a small amount doing it. The last one I turned around made the new owner very happy. It really is all about finding them more than flipping them. The money made just helps fund the next find. Yes there are some ripoff artists but I try to be fair with the seller on what I think I can get for the car on a resale.
My dad’s first new car was a 50 tudor, as Ford called them, flathead V8 and manual tranny. Somewhere in the house is the sales slip that I recall had a sales price of, wait for it, $950 from Nassar Ford in Lawrence, Mass. It joined our field find 39 Chevy woodie in the family fleet, with dad parking the 32 Chevy 5-window next to the garage. He eventually paid a neighbor $15 to tow that away around 1952, arrrgh! The 50 was only in the family for a year as a trip toPlum Island encountered a sand storm that removed all the gloss from the paint and most of the clarity from the glass. A 51, with overdrive replaced it.
That’s one ugly looking Ford .Could be used for some good parts though . Like that cool visor should be worth close to what he’s asking
Interesting. A car identical to this used to sit wedged between two trees near a old shot gun type house a couple miles outside my hometown. I doubt this particular car is the same one. It would be neat if it was.