As wonderful as it was for its time, the Model T was no beauty queen. By the time the last of these landmark cars were rolling off the assembly lines in late May, 1927, it was obvious to even Henry Ford that the public wanted more than utilitarian transportation. Their needs were met in 1928 by the arrival of the Model A. With styling similar to Lincolns of the time, these new Fords wowed the millions of potential customers that invaded advanced showings of the car in the major cities of America. This 1928 Model A Tudor, currently for sale on eBay with bidding at $6,200 as of this writing, is one of the 713,528 cars that came off the assembly line that year. Looking like an older restoration that found itself to be a barn find yet again, this beautiful flivver is sitting in Safety Harbor, Florida waiting for another trip down the backroads of America. Thanks to Darrun for the tip!
As it sits, this one looks like it lacks only a good cleaning and buffing to be presentable. The color combination of Dark Niagara Blue on the main part of the body with Light Niagara Blue on the moldings is an attractive one. While the trend is to advertise “barn finds” by showing them covered with dust, I think the practice hurts this car. A good detailer could have this A looking very presentable with bit of work. With the popularity of restoring Model A Fords on the wane, offering buyers the chance at a fairly attractive and reliable car seems to be the better marketing strategy these days.
The seller tells us that the car was running when it was parked a decade ago. It doesn’t run now, and we haven’t been told if the engine is locked up. I doubt that is the case, but getting it running will probably involve removing the gas tank and cleaning out the old gas inside. The tank is literally part of the cowl, and removing it is quite a chore. Once they are running, Model A engines are quite reliable and easy to maintain. Once the car is back on the road, the seller suggests that you replace the dry rotted tires that it is currently wearing.
The grey cloth upholstery inside the car looks to be near perfect. It may need a new rubber front floor mat, but everything else is totally useable. I am not sure that the trim strip stretching across the top of the door panel and the rear panel is Henry original, but it does add a bit of flair to the otherwise businesslike interior. The condition of the interior is a big plus to a prospective buyer. Just an interior kit alone would run you about $2,300. That number doesn’t include installation.
Under the hood, this Model A needs some TLC. The head gasket may be leaking, the ignition has been taking apart, and other photos in the ad show the carburetor to be missing. None of these obstacles are insurmountable if you have a slightly higher than average mechanical ability. A plus is an opening in the cowl for a hot air heater. The seller doesn’t mention if there is even a heater that comes with the car, but you can find them fairly easily on eBay or from one of the many Model A Ford parts vendors.
Overall, this car is very tempting for someone who wants to get into the antique car hobby. Model As are easy to care for, parts are readily available, and club support through MAFCA and MARC is second to none. The car already has a great interior, and the paint looks to be salvageable. Don’t let the looks fool you. This is a diamond in the rough.
If you’re into this era of automobiles it is a deal. After a weekend of work you could have it at the ice cream shop in town attracting people. Nice driver, honest looking car.
I’ve have a 60 year love affair Model A’s, this doesn’t look too bad,a decent shade tree mechanic could rebuild the engine, save for the Babbitt bearings. My uncle John bought a 30 5 window rumble seat coupe, Won First at Hershey. I would do tours with the Philadelphia made A club. Sealed my fate as a Car lover. By thr time l was 13 l was crew chief only the road. Fond memories. That’s a late 27 early 28 with the red steering wheel if it’s original
By the vin it’s a later March 1928 production car, and has a lot of what I and some call AR features. Red steering wheel, park brake to the left of driver instead of by the shifter, powerhouse (shorter and taller) generator, beaver tail rear fenders, and the front fenders a little different too. There are other things to look for that only close inspection will tell, such as multi disc clutch etc, bumper bolts etc, though many features were changing as production cranked up and on. Can’t quite tell if that motor number matches the Vin but if it does that will make DMV work in another state a whole lot easier and not get it an assigned vin #. There’s workarounds for that tho. Overall a pretty neat car for what appears will be a fairly reasonable entry cost. I’m a Coupe and Roadster guy, but sedans are pretty hard to beat for cost and hauling a few friends, kids or grandkids. :-)
I watched one just like this, but a little better mechanically sell at an estate sale for around $6500. Some of the people I talked to at the sale told me several years ago the same car would have brought 12K.
Wait a minute, you’re saying 1928-1931 Model As are _losing_ value as time passes…?!? Seems unlikely!
Afraid so, Andrew. As we old guys die off, there are fewer and fewer of those that feel an affinity for these vintage cars. Now if it was a post-WW2 car, price might be into 5 figures and up.
Bob, I agree with you on the existence of that phenomenon (demand peaking then going down as the next generation doesn’t care as much about things that were never familiar to them) and I would be worried for the future value of things like this, for sure:
https://barnfinds.com/426-hemi-and-a-4-speed-1966-plymouth-satellite/
But I figured, a Model A is already old enough that anyone who bought them new or even as reasonably recent cars and fondly remembers them is probably gone already, so unless it’s really an across the board phenomenon (it may be – kids these days aren’t really as interested in getting drivers’ licenses as they used to) I’d think cars like that Model A should be immune.
A $100k Camaro or Mustang or Hemi Mopar, now that’s another story and I agree it’s an investment that may not be that good in the super long term…
… however, still, any collectible item should age decently well, as they aren’t making any more of them and they can only continue to get more rare as time passes. (Though as you say it’s entirely possible that even as rarity increases slightly, demand may diminish by more, making the net effect negative for value.)
Wish it were West coast, I’d buy it.
Nice looking car. Good price, considering this is most likely for collectors. If I was one….. I’d at least enter the bidding ring.
I love Model As… and I’m born in the 1970s. That being said, demand for these is sadly decreasing as the Baby Boomers downsize and pass on.
Back in the day, Dad took the bus to work and Mom drove us kids around in a 1930 Ford Model A Truck. Hope to get a Model A one day.