Overcapitalizing on a project build is a piece of cake, and I’m sure that many of our Barn Finds readers know at least one person who has fallen into that trap. Such is the case with this 1951 Ford Custom Deluxe Convertible. The seller invested a cool $76,000 into this classic but has decided to part with it at a fraction of that price. I must say a big thank you to eagle-eyed Barn Finder Mitchell G. for spotting the Ford listed here on Craigslist in Marietta, Georgia. Forget $76,000, because it could be yours for $45,950.
This Ford makes a striking visual impact following a nut-and-bolt rotisserie restoration. It is unclear when this occurred, but the car’s condition suggests it hasn’t clocked many miles since the work ended. The seller claims that the Sheridan Blue paint gracing its panels was reserved exclusively for the drop-top variant, although I can find no conclusive evidence confirming this. Of course, I am one person, and we will undoubtedly have vastly knowledgeable readers who can provide further insight. The panels are as straight as an arrow, with gaps that are tight and consistent. One striking feature is the fluted fender skirts, which add a touch of old-school cool to this classic. The trim is in good order, although I think there might be a slight alignment issue with the back bumper. The Black soft-top is in good condition, the glass is clear, and the 15″ wheels feature correct hubcaps and trim rings.
This Ford’s tri-tone interior is as stunning as its exterior, with Red, Black, and White leather combined to provide a striking appearance. The upholstered surfaces are immaculate, with no wear or other issues. The paint is spotless, and the plated components sparkle under the sun. The wheel could be a highlight because it has avoided the wear and cracks commonly seen on classics from this era. This car represents fairly basic motoring by modern standards, although the courtesy lights, heater, remote spotlight, and “Stereophonic” radio set it apart from mere mortals. When you assess every aspect of this Ford, it is easy to understand why it has accumulated its share of show silverware.
Buyers ordering a ’51 Custom Deluxe could select from Ford’s legendary 239ci flathead V8 or…actually, that was it. The story was slightly different when the subject turned to shifting duties, with three transmissions available. This car features the standard three-speed manual, which sends 100hp and 187 ft/lbs of torque to the rear wheels. The curb weight of 3,440 lbs was about average for a car of this type produced during this era, meaning that the Custom Deluxe was more at home on the open road than anywhere requiring rapid acceleration. The spotless appearance of this engine bay doesn’t flatter to deceive, because this Ford is a turnkey proposition with no mechanical faults or shortcomings.
The seller discusses the rarity of this 1951 Ford Custom Deluxe Convertible, but with a production total of 40,934 vehicles, you are less likely to see a Crestliner or a Country Squire Woodie Wagon from that model year. How many of these cars have survived is another story, because the consumer confidence of the era saw many traded or sold as new models appeared. They became disposable items, and it is fair to believe that most made their final journey many years ago. However, these have been one of the star performers during 2024, with values climbing at a rate well beyond the market average. The seller’s price looks realistic, but since it has been on the market for over three weeks, there is a good chance that they haven’t been inundated with inquiries. That might motivate the seller to consider negotiating, but would that be enough to tempt you?
Can’t you just see your mom or dads younger brother on leave in this car? He did his time in the service, or had a cushy military job stateside, and while his buddies were off to Korea, he bought a new Ford. This car, I read, cost “Uncle Jim” about $2,200 new, the most expensive Ford next to the wagon, and no doubt paid cash. Looks like he checked every box, a highly optioned car, and was mighty proud of it. Beautiful car.
What Howard said. Senior high school student on our swimming team got a bright red with all white interior restored ’49 convertible for a graduation present from his folks. His father was a Ford dealer but also restored older Fords he used at car shows. This car is a beauty as was that bright red ’49. Something about those shoe boxes….
I agree with Howard and Bobhess. This color combination is stunning. This was somebodys baby, thats for sure. Like I said before, listening to that Flathead V8 running through the gears is all the music I’d need to hear. Absolutely beautiful!!! This is a great find Adam, thank you for posting it.
The $70K put in is meaningless. Restorations rarely generate a positive return. This is a car you buy because you are passionate about it, not because of investment value. The current ask isn’t too crazy for the right person. It’s likely its value will be flat or even moderately decline over time. This car is mostly about the joy of owning and driving.
Wayne Carini famously says, when you drive home, park and walk towards your home, you should want to turn your head around looking back at the car. And that should put a big smile on your face. When that’s how you feel about a car, you have passion for it. That enjoyment is your return on investment.
I think I would have done that with every car that I have ever owned because the beauty of the car that I saw in the first place would have been the reason that I bought it. This Ford would have been one of that type. Beautiful.
Well said,sir. That is the way I feel about all the automobiles I have owned.
Wayne also says.”If there’s no oil drips on the ground, it’s out of oil…”
But I think Wayne makes money on cars he restores. Lucky man.
Rich clientele…and having a Ferrari pedigree helps!!
A very nice car to be sure, but IMHO that bright red interior doesn’t go with the handsome dark blue exterior. I’d have preferred a light blue and white or all white inside, maybe a white top as well.
Beautiful car. In a perfect world it would be part of my fantasy car collection. I’m not a fan of the red interior, would prefer a tan interior. Misaligned back bumper hurts the lines.
I’m surprised this could be made this nice for $70K. It doesn’t say when this work was done, but it must be with pre-inflation money and the asking price will be a nice purchase for the buyer.
Didn’t Biff drive one of these in Back to the Future?
Amen Howard,,now to see how much $$ is in the piggy bank…
How did you get out of that Edsel after putting it in a cramped garage? More importantly — how does anyone get back into it???
72 years old and very good shape!!!
That’s a very nice Ford. It comes up as a show room new. I love the interior. It’s a good looking vehicle.
To “Edsel” Al Leonard: LOVE that 1960 Edsel — but it looks CRAMPED… INCLOSED… IMPRISONED! As for this ’51 Ford: the original A.M. radio said “High Fidelity” on it, back in the day, since that was becoming all the rage as the 1950’s dawned. There was no stereo — unless this owner has up-dated the radio, which would be an immediate deal-killer for me, as would putting a quartz movement into the clock. That interior doesn’t look right, either: if you are going to do a rotisserie restoration, then duplicate the exact interior that the car originally had. And I have a hunch as to why this car is for sale. It got tapped on the left-rear bumber-guard, knocking it a bit out-of-line, and twisting the rear bumper alignment slightly. This was a common form of damage on these cars — and I’ll bet the owner was seriously upset that his “baby” was no longer “perfect”. It probably had low mileage and no body-damage when he got it, before he restored it, and emotionally, he can’t handle the degradation. So now he wants it gone. Another common form of damage of this kind occurs with 1952 and 1953 Fords (not so much with the ’54s, for some reason): the rear bumper gets lightly hit, and it forms a slight “wrinkle” below the tail-light. Has anyone else noticed this?
You are assuming one helluva lot of “probablys” regarding why this beautiful car is for sale as maybe all he needs is the money.
It’s the middle of winter here in the U.P. of Michigan…heavy snow falling as we speak,,decided years ago to store it in the trailer= no mice!! Another 3 months it will be free!!
Great collection there Al. I wish other commenters would also post pics now and again.
You should look at ALL the pictures before you criticize. The bumper is tipped up on both ends so it is a relatively simple adjustment of the bumper brackets.
I like the JC Whitney taillight lenses. they go along with the fender skirts, but curb feelers are missing!
Hello everybody!
The Craigslist ad lists backup lights as an option, can anyone point those out to me?
I watched the u tube video
1) surprised it doesn’t have overdrive
2) tempting. Really tempting
This car has the very common dark blue, used for years, known as Sheridan Blue, same as on my 53 F-100 panel delivery truck that I sold five years ago. Sheridan Blue is a little darker than the formerly popular Washington Blue, going back to the 30’s.
To Gordo: Is that a single back-up light under the right tail-light? My ’46 Ford had a single back-up light, mounted above the rear bumber.
Harrison: If you look at the Craigslist ad photos there is a better picture of the rear end and I can’t see any backup light under the right rear tail light.
This is a nice looking car and it’s a convertible too. It will most likely find a new owner but as has been discussed on many occasions in the BF comments; the buyers pool for these cars is getting thinner every year. If this vehicle is your huckleberry and you want a nicer one than driver quality then this is the way to go. Buying one already restored will definitely save you lots of money these days. Although misaligned, the rear bumper appears to be undamaged. I think the problem is with the bumper mounts. Should be a straightforward fix.
Love the car! from 16 to 19 yrs old I had two 49’s, a 50, a 51, all 2 door sedans. The 50 re powered with a 265 Chevy, the 51 with 389 Pontiac. Lot of fun and learning years.
.A comment, not a nit pik. The live battery cable (these car’s were Positive ground systems) has an Emergency cable end on it. I have used them over the year’s and just go on with the vehicles never putting on a New Correct cable. Later on being in charge of a fleet, these cable ends eventually needed attention due to corrosion forming. To end, a correct new cable should be put on when possible
Back in the mid 60s I was working for a used car dealer while in college. There was one like this on the lot that had an Olds V8 and a Hydramatic. Engine had four two barrels on a log manifold on it.
We had a ’51 two-door Ford hardtop along with a ’50 when I was in junior high school. It wasn’t as nice as this one, but the photos bring back memories.
From Craigslist ad:
Tan Haartz Canvas Top with Red Trim.
Tan? Red Trim?
My dream car! Unfortunately, it will remain such. My first car, bought when I was 11 with $50 of my paper route money was a 1950 Coupe with the flathead V-8 and 3 speed. My mother had a ’51 Tudor and a friend of hers had a beautiful ’50 convertible – Black with red leathertte, Flathead and 3-speed. I mooned over that for years and tried to buy it from her son when she gave it to him, but…no sale!
i live in australia, i have five in the yard, a 50 coupe and a 51 victoria automatic. original. shouldnt the custom dash be woodgrain
There was another engine available for 51. A 226 CI Flathead 6CYL. which was used in 41 -51 models with the 215 CI OHV 6 being introduced in 52.
To “Edsel” Al Leonard: (smiles to you!) I was attempting to have a LITTLE FUN about the LOOK in your photograph — as though your Edsel were crying, “Help! — I’m TRAPPED!”. The thought just sort-of tickled me. I live in the southern Adirondacks — so, believe me, I DO “get” snow and ice! And, keeping MICE out is a necessary thing! I’ve wondered, as so many older cars turn out to be rodent-infested, how it was, that cars parked in a garage never seemed to develop this problem. My great uncle (born in 1873) bought a brand-new Buick with spare tyres mounted in the back faces of its front fenders, in late 1938 (it was a ’39). He drove that same car until the day before he died in 1976: no mice ever invaded the car. But, find a protected 1939 automobile stored for years to-day — and chances are, it will be eaten alive by mice. Is the difference, that my great uncle drove that Buick daily? (it had nearly 300,000 miles on it when he died, and the radio no longer had worked for a number of years). But, no mice. I STILL love 1960 Edsels!
In over 50 years of collecting and storing the cars, I’ve used garages with cement floors and a mat, storage containers, enclosed car haulers and occasionally an open trailer covered up carefully if the fleet exceeded the proper storage method.Keeping rodents out is paramount to any collector- from steel wool in exhaust pipes and raising the car off the ground and putting aluminum- made cylinders below each wheel to keep them out, to the old moth balls and dryer sheets for outside storage. Weather obviously is a factor on which method to use but I can honestly say I’ve never had an issue with rodents. Storage units, like the enclosed trailer shown require one to be extremely careful when driving in to prevent damage and being skinny helps in the trailer, I will say I have to NASCAR out of a storage container!!
To Solosolo UK: Perhaps I do assume more than is here. But, being Autistic, I have a strong “perfectionist” streak — which can bring me delight, or torment me mercilessly. I know too intimately how it feels to spend an inordinate amount of time and care to make or keep something as “perfect” as I can retain it — only to have one moment hurt it in a way that I no longer can bear — then I only want to be RID of it, to RUN from it. That left-rear bumper-guard appears skewed slightly to the left, which would account for a “fully and meticulously restored” car having its bumper notably out-of-line. I am sure that it did not leave the restorer that way! And if (as I would expect) a small impact against that left guard knocked the bumper out-of line, then that would also indent the bumper under the guard and do mostly hidden damage to the bumper-mounting on the left side. After having put so much love and investment into restoring this car, I would have been broken by this and simply wanted the car to go away, rather than face the prospect of not being able to fix it ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY, even in hidden areas. Nearly all repairs of body-damage leave “scars” which might not show, but which the owner of the vehicle could find and be unable to forget about. So, knowing my own emotional fragility over such things informs my conjecture as to why the owner is parting with this car. I am “old” now, and I have had to reconcile with the reality that things are not perfect, and that compromises with “perfection” are inevitable and not “the end of the world”. As a child, I carried in my pocket a new 1934 (I knew its date from carefully opening the back — it was stamped on the movement — but it was actually a few years later when I got it as leftover stock) Westclox Pocket Ben pocket watch (which then cost something like $1.75, retail, as I recall). I kept its original box and guarantee and price-tag in a dresser-drawer, protected from harm, and the watch I wrapped carefully inside of a soft handkerchief in my pocket, to prevent scratches to the celluloid crystal and the nickel-plated case. When I was older, in high school, I was bullied and hit with a baseball bat by another boy. That bat-strike dented the back of the watch (which was still running and otherwise unharmed). I went home that day, broken-hearted, placed the watch into the box it came in, and the next day I dropped it, inside of its box with all original paperwork, into a teacher’s wastebasket, then walked away — and I have mourned over it ever since. So I have a certain “insight” on this sort of reaction, psychologically — and I assure you that it is very real. Had you visited me as a little boy, you would have seen my toys neatly arranged in rows you could have checked against a ruler. And I was a complete FANATIC with my 78rpm records (the only kind to be had back then), which I kept, in their sleeves, like new, and still have and listen to, to-day. I know this is eccentric, even borderline “OCD”, but if you know anyone on the Autism Spectrum, it all fits. Autism did not exist as a diagnosis when I was a child — I had to wait for late mid-life to be diagnosed — but, trust me, I was definitely “odd”, for all of my life, and a keen bully-magnet. But I also know that I am not alone in this.
I don’t think Solosolo UK meant any harm by what he said…so with that don’t take it personal…I know for a fact that a lot of collector cars are being sold now to be able to afford things in life to live..I understand all the small things you talk about with the aging of things and not being as great as they once were..but we can always remember that we had the chance to posess them!! Some people never get that lucky!! Have a great day!!
No insult Harrison as, in a way, I am on your side and can see how you arrive at your conclusions. I was a sign manufacturer and installer back in the 1960’s and every time I saw any kind of signage that wasn’t absolutely level my mind would have a fit! It still happens now when I see a picture on the wall that is a bit skew, I just have to level it! My wife isn’t allowed to dust any of the pics in our house in case she knocks them off level, so I do it myself. At 85 my eyesight isn’t what it used to be but still good enough to notice that a small bunting flag hanging from the ceiling in our “Commons Room” had folded under itself due to the wind, that I HAD to climb on a chair, stand on the backrest, and straighten it out! The “Scheme Manager” lady happened to see me and had a near fit.” So, as you can see, I’m on YOUR side, it’s just something we, and our families, have to live with.
Harrison, I just figured out why my reply to you was REJECTED (silently of course), because I innocently used a word that starts with “P”. Your reply to me about a week ago concerning my neglected 78 records got me directed in a similar way to the Edison disc player that stands right next to the computer in the next room. It has just been furniture for many years as I thought that something was wrong with the “reproducer” (part that hold the diamond or ruby stylus). For several days after cleaning and lubricating the hand-cranked machine, I then went over the discs, cleaning and sorting by label type and numerical order. I have since played about all with mixed revues. Many are waltzes or fox trots, starting from 1915 thru to 1929 when production ceased (just before the crash I read), due to popularity of radio, Anyway, my compulsions set in, thanks to you. There are also a few “comic” tunes in my collection, my favorite being “The P—- Cat Rag”, issued in 1915.
Anyone can hear this, I discovered last night, on YouTube, along with many other early Edison recordings or “re-creations”, some that have been filtered to improve sound quality.
Cool…I have an old Edison too…I need to start paying attention to it!!!
To “Edsel” Al Leonard; Solosolo UK; Dave: What a joy it is to hear from you guys! I guess that “perfectionist” and “O.C.D.” tendencies are not unique to folks on the Autism Spectrum! My older sister taught me how to read when I was 2-1/2 (I taught my daughter quite a bit younger than that, but that’s another story); then my peculiarities began to cause real consternation at home. We had a light on the ceiling near the top of the stars leading to the second floor, to light the starcase from above, and there were switches on the wall at both the bottom approach, and the top. They were brown bakelite, and the levers had “off” and “on” printed in off-white on them. One could turn that light off or on at either end. Well, naturally, this often resulted in the switches reading “on” when the light was off. I could NOT DEAL with that! Barely able to reach the switches (but aware of which way they were set, from looking up and reading the word [or, lack] that showed), I would turn the light on at the bottom, then climb the stairs and turn it off at the top, so the switches would agree with the condition of the light. This drove my parents NUTS! I got the “What DIFFERENCE does it make?” lecture. Another one, was going to every bookshelf, and making certain that the bindings lined up. And when I grew a bit taller, levelling picture-frames came next. So, I was keenly amused, Solosolo UK, when I read your post! Speaking of signs: my mother made one about something she had for sale, using stick-on letters, then posted it in the front yard. I had to go out, and peel each letter free from the sign, then re-attach it perfectly aligned and spaced, so the result looked like a professionally printed sign! I wasn’t exactly “fun” to have around, as a small child. Isn’t it telling, Dave, that your post can be removed for a word we always innocently have applied to a cat — and yet, a crude term for anger or annoyance is routinely used on the radio. I’m glad that you are enjoying your Edison with its Edi-songs! The ones from 1929 are unusual to find, by the way. Edison’s audio-quality on acoustic recordings was vastly better and more natural than that “canned-in” sound of acoustically-recorded flat-disk records which were laterally-cut. Diction was clear — a piano sounded like a piano — and even though they lacked for true reproduction of bass, the Edison acoustics were greatly superior to the competition, both in their recording, and in his “floating diamond head” system of playback. Indeed, Edison might have cornered the market, had his temperament not been so prickly that many of the greatest artists of the time refused to deal with him, or he with them. And so, one had to find those prized artists on Victor, Columbia, or Brunswick, for the most part. And since those brands were mutually-compatible, but not compatible with the Edison system, that tended to marginalise Edison, even though his machines and recordings were far superior. When electrical recording came in 1925, using a microphone instead of a horn, and an electronically-driven cutting-lathe, that revolutionised the industry and made records sound realistic. Suddenly, the Victors, Columbias, Brunswicks, and others, were as clear and natural as Edison’s had been all along — but with the augmentation of deeper bass too, giving a full-range sound. Edison scoffed at first, but then, by 1928, he had developed his own system of electrical recording. But he was getting on in years, and he HATED the new popular music! So he continued with the salon style instrumental tunes and the sentimental songs, hymns and marches, which had been the staples of his late 19th century cylinder records. In 1929, when Edison was away, his staff made a bunch of “hot jazz” records, and recordings by leading-edge Black artists — and suddenly, the public wanted the Edison machines and records! Victor and Columbia had largely “played it safe” with jazz, and had avoided the “edgier” sorts of things younger audiences wanted — but the boys at Edison went all-out, recording the HOTTEST stuff! When Edison returned and investigated as to why his records suddenly were flying off the shelves, and he could barely meet the demand for new machines, he listened to the records and flew into a rage! He fired everyone, smashed any of the remaining records, their master-recordings, and his machines and toolings, and closed-up shop forever. Edison did not lose his business to economics — he lost it to his temper. This was in 1929, before the bottom fell out. Many people look at the stock-market crash in October of 1929 as the start of the Great Depression — and indeed, that event did presage its coming. But it was mid-1930, before hard times truly hit and businesses began to fail heavily. To Solosolo UK: I did not think, for one second, that you meant any harm — I simply explained how I had arrived at my conjecture. You see, Autistic people cannot decode “hints” — we need it said DIRECTLY and LITERALLY — so we actually are GRATEFUL when someone gets the point across though our thick skulls. So, THANK YOU — I’m not hurt or upset one bit, and no “harm” was taken! By the way, 85 isn’t “old”: ask bandleader Ray Anthony, last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, who is only semi-retired at age 103! Smiles to everyone!
Hi Harrison. Great story re Edison. As for me being 85 years young, I have to agree with you because I still see everything through 45 year old eyes, which to me means that I still have another 40 years to catch up to my current age! Keep it all straight my friend. Solo.
Harrison, you told me something I did not know about Edison getting upset and destroying the later “re-creation” record masters. A couple of nights ago I mentioned that I went on YouTube to check my record dates. I have just a couple of fast paced fox trots, one excellent example that must have made Edison blow his stack! I knew that he had put his son in charge, who then produced popular music on the discs, not just old romantic songs and waltzes. The one I have was made in June 1927: “She’s Got It!” (And Plenty of It). Real flapper music. The other side is also good: “Sweet Marie”. Late 1927 is as far as I go so far, none from 1929 I found out.
To Sososolo UK: I no longer look through 45-year-old eyes — I can’t — the blinding cataracts won’t let me. I have to DO something about that! To Dave: these are thick flat Diamond-Discs, I presume? — or, are they cylinders? It was somewhere early in the 52,000 series that Edison went to electric recording. He didn’t approve of the overwhelming bass of Victor’s Orthophonics (so as to overcome the bass-limitations of playing back through a horn), and so, Edison’s electrics don’t sount overwhelmingly different from his acoustics. With cylinders, as I recall, the change came in the 5,000 series. Hope that helps. If you tell me the number of that record, I might be able to report whether it is acoustic or electric.
Harrison, it is a diamond disc #52058 and sounds “pretty” good on the Edison W 250 model. I need to keep the sound muffled or my wife complains! That said, just an hour ago I heard it on YouTube by a man who filtered it, if that is the correct term, with a device that even brought out the bass, eliminating most of the stray sound. It was produced for Edison (or his team) on 6/4/1927 by Oreste M. and his Queensland Orchestra. The YouTube man also gave a lot of information about the life of Oreste M. (long last name I can’t remember). I commented on his site and thanked him.
Dave, I have a friend who collects these recordings and machines, and I will ask him whether or not that is an electrical recording. He knows these things, number by number, and he can tell us. I have a few Diamond Discs, which I am able to play on my stereo system. That requires a decent turntable with a 78 rpm speed and variable pitch control (your Diamond Disc was recorded at 80 rpm). I use an Ortofon 2M Red as a pickup. Designed for stereo, I have cross wired it for mono, out-of-phase, then installed a 2M78 stylus to track at 1.9 grammes. The wiring out-of-phase allows only vertical information to be decoded and heard; therefore, if I play a regular 78 with it, you will hear whatever background noise is in the “floor” of the record-groove, but only barest intermittent hints of the recording itself. This is a grand way to enjoy Diamond Discs. However, because this arrangement picks up the up-and-down information only, any slight ripples on the surface of the record will be reproduced as subterranean “rumble”, if your equipment has strong response below about 80 c.p.s . I do not happen to possess a rumble-filter (which would be useful in this application, since an acoustically-recorded Diamond Disc does not contain any useful information below about 150 c.p.s., anyway). NEVER play one of these on a monophonic player!!! Not only will you not hear anything much — but the lack of vertical compliance in a typical monophonic pickup (unless designed for stereo compatibility) will instantly cut into and destroy your Diamond Disc! Also, NEVER USE A STEREO STYLUS! Even at light and delicate tracking pressures, the stereo diamond point will function like playing the record with the cutting-edge of a razor-blade! Always use a stylus large enough for 78s, and it will not cut into your Diamond Disc.
Dave: I spoke with my Edison-collector friend. The very first electrically-recorded Diamond Disc was #52089 — so yours is a very late acoustic. I hope that helps. As soon as I gave him the number, he wanted to buy it; and I said to him, “You can’t: this is someone visiting a website that I also visit, and there is no way to exchange personal information”. He was disappointed.
Dave, I posted a response, but it got taken down; ever since, I have got “Forbidden 403” as an intercept eact time I have attempted to post. Sorry.
Harrison, just to keep this auto related, I also have Edison disc 50263 from 1915, “Uncle Josh Buys an Automobile”, a “rural sketch” by Cal Stewart. He gets a mortgage on the farm so he can stop driving the old “Buckboard” and buys an automobile (likely a Model T Ford). Of course, he hurts his leg trying to crank it, then it starts but causes havoc to his neighbor’s property and livestock as he can’t control the automobile. It’s back to the horse and wagon! The date on the mentioned “She’s Got It!” #52058 was 6/24/27, 21 years minus a day before I was born. The YouTube man said it was before electronic recording in his info on the site.
Hello, Dave! Cal Stewart (1856-1919) was a rural (or, “rube”) humourist who made too many “Uncle Josh” recordings to count. “Uncle Josh Buys An Automobile” is one of the most prevalent ones. He recorded that same routine for a number of labels, the most common being on Victor. Let’s say, I have heard that skit many times, a little differently each record he made of it. “Uncle Josh” gets tedious for me, because he laughs at his own laugh-lines (of course, back then, decades before tape-recording, they had no way to dub-in a laugh-track, so that was his way of showing you where you were supposed to crack-up). Another one I have on Victor from 1915 is, “The Little Old Ford Rambled Right Along”, by Billy Murray (don’t know if he — or anyone else — did it also for Edison). This is a comic song (with sound-effects) that has a familiar theme: the rich guy with the fancy car gets put to shame by a lowly everyman Ford that can take any punishment and just keep GOing. This might have been the very song which started that genre — but it has had many variations since (1958’s “Beep-Beep” by the Playmates perhaps being one of the best known). But this same idea, in various guises, has been a staple of American folklore since the early days of the automobile. You might want to look that 1915 Victor record up on-line, and listen to it. The situation of punishment upon that poor Ford gets a little ridiculous as the song proceeds, but it still is one amusing “car” song, from 110 years ago.
Harrison, I did find the Victor label with Billy Murray singing “The Little Old Ford Rambled Right Along” on YouTube, also on Edison disc and others by other artists. I liked it better than the Uncle Josh buys an Automobile song. as you said, due to the multiple laughs inserted by Uncle, almost like todays and earlier TV laugh insertions. And the Murray song is very reminiscent of the “Beep Beep” in “Little Nash Rambler” versus the Cadillac. Billy Murray did ring a bell for me. I have Edison disc #50473 by Billy Murray and Ada Jones, “i’ll Take You Back to Italy”. By coincidence, I played for my wife last night and she liked it. It’s funny for several reasons to me. First, I don’t think Billy Murray is Italian (though maybe his mother was – not uncommon for Irish and Italians to marry), and second because my wife’s family always said they were not Italians, they’re Sicilian! I would like to take her back to Sicily. When her father went back about 30 years ago, the small village priest pulled over a passerby and said, “meet your cousin”. He’s Albanese, meaning family descending originally from Albania many years ago. I told my wife then, “That explains a lot!” (back then Albania being the most isolated country in Europe perhaps). Her father always thought he had some Greek heritage. See what thoughts can come from these old tunes!
Hello, Dave! LOTS of fun! I used to go to a chiropractor with wavy blond hair, light clear blue eyes, an Italian type of name, and a vaguely Italian accent. He corrected me quickly: “No, I’m NOT Italian — I am SICILIAN!” “But I thought Sicilians are DARK”, I ignorantly said. “Depends on WHERE in Sicily: you ever heard of Frank Sinatra? — his family are Sicilian, not Italian — and HE has blue eyes.” Guess HE told ME! My barber, who is 97, is from the area of Italy that lies north of Rome, and he is blue-eyed. He says that the reason Americans commonly think of Italians as black-haired, brown-eyed, relatively short, and olive-skinned, is due to WHERE in Italy most of the immigrants to America CAME from. He also says that SOMEone should have TAUGHT Dean Martin the Italian language, before allowing him to SING it! He laughs at the near-uninteligiblility of Dean Martin’s “Italian”. So glad that you and your wife enjoyed the Billy Murray record! I found my copy of it decades ago; but I still chuckle each time I listen to it. I always enjoy your responses, Dave! The other side of that record is called, “Auntie Skinner’s Chicken Dinner” (I kid you not! — to quote Jack Paar).
Harrison, genetics are “funny” sometimes, when within the same family coloring can vary dramatically. My wife’s father and family are 100% Sicilian, though he was the third Joe (Guiseppe) and only surviving boy with three older sisters. His two brothers died in infancy. They were both Joe’s because the first boy should be named after the father’s father Giuseppe. Her grandmother was very superstitious. The second Joe died, she thought, because Jenny (Vincenza), the black sheep daughter of the family (in more ways than one), had fallen down the stairs and broke a bone, causing her mother’s milk to sour and the child to die. So, when finally another pregnancy occurred it was another girl. Desperate for a boy to carry on the family name “Mama” decided that if was a boy it would NOT be named Joe but be named after the saint for that birthday. My wife’s father was born on New Year Day 1918, Saint Joseph’s Day! Years later my wife’s aunt Jenny, who was the darkest in coloring, used to tease my wife’s younger brother that it was because Sicily was so close to Africa. On the other hand, her sister Nicolene had light brown hair, fair skin and hazel eyes. The rumor in Schuylerville was that Mama had an affair with Angelo down the street. The family was very poor and during the depression Papa, who was the village butcher, made wine in the basement as well as renting out cheap spaces to Sicilian immigrants, also in the basement. Joe enlisted in the Army to help support the family early in 1941 before the US joined the war. He led a relatively easy life patrolling the beaches of Long Island with a German shepherd dog, going to bars at night. Just after D Day he landed at Normandy, was captured in December 1944 and released by Russians in April 1945. The majority of his team were killed. Joe never worried too much after the war, thinking he was living on borrowed time perhaps. Now to relate this to Barn Finds, just a little, Joe never bought a new car with credit, always paying cash, to the dismay of his “social climbing” wife (my wife’s term for her mother). I think his first new car was a 1960 VW, paid for with cash. Then there was the 6-cylinder 69 Plymouth Satellite, later another 6 Valliant. My wife received the latter two vehicles, which were my obligation to maintain as her boyfriend and later husband. Joe purchased more vehicles before he stopped driving, the last of which his granddaughter continues to use, a nondescript Japanese car. Joe was interviewed on New Years Day where he resided in his son’s basement when he turned 100 seven years ago by a local TV crew. He was wearing his Army hat. They spoke of the medals that he earned for service prior to capture, two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star. He passed away three years later at 103, still pretty sharp. After the war he never took life too seriously we think.
Hello, Dave! Speaking of some who live past 100: bandleader Ray Anthony (real name, Raymond Antonini), the oldest surviving member of the original Glenn Miller Orchestra, is not only SEMI-RETIRED at age 103. He clearly loves what he does. Many younger folks draw,a blank at the mention of his name; but, if you were young when I was, Ray Anthony’s recordings were an integral part of your cultural lexicon. Records such as “Count Every Star”, “At Last”, “Thunderbird” (which hinted toward the coming of rock-‘n’-roll), the theme from “Dragnet”, and “Peter Gunn” were indelibly associated with him. I was surprised to encounter the all-but-forgotten “Thunderbird”, as one of the early rock-‘n’-roll records playing in the comedy movie, “Uncle Buck”, to set the atmosphere for John Candy’s character grooving it in the kitchen! That film, a bit “edgy” when it came out in the [1980s?], is now tame enough to nearly seem “campy”. But it’s a movie to be enjoyed by anyone who likes to see a perceived “bad boy” turn out to be good underneath, and seeing a true “bad guy” get just what he deserves, in a “get even” sort of way. But there are so many good things in that film! Too bad that its director, John Hughes, is no longer with us. He made a series of movies for young people, based around how he perceived his own adolescence in the 1960s, each teaching at least one moral lession comedically, but never preachy, that young movie-goers loved. Then he passed from us at a young age. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, another of his movies, turns “playing hookey” into an hilarious romp, and that vice-principal is priceless!
Dave: Jeffrey Jones is the actor I was trying to think of, who played the dean of students in “Ferris Bueller”. I also remember him in “Without A Clue”. He is perfect for the parts he plays, where, being nominally “serious”, he comes-off instead as a ridiculous spoof of his own role!
Harrison, in another connection to Barn Finds, there is a famous scene in “Ferris Bueller” when the expensive Ferrari (?) goes thru the plate glass window of the father’s garage, flying into space down into the trees. But my favorite is at the very end of the movie when Jeffery the Dean limps onto the school bus to the very bass tune of “Ohhh Yeahhh!”. Whatever that tune is called, it fit perfectly, and a close variation is now used in a commercial on TV.
Hello, Dave! I saw “Ferris Bueller” in the 1980s, and I have forgotten the details of that picture over the years since. I’ll have to obtain a copy, and watch it on my D.V.D. player from the 1990s. I bought my Zenith Chromacolor II television console in 1979, so it will not work as a television-receiver without an adapter. But it is fine for watching D.V.D.s. The picture tube is in excellent condition, and the picture looks as good as it did 46 years ago. I don’t use it all that often though. It is a huge and heavy “tank” of a piece of furniture and I could not move it now if I needed to. Age has its little infirmities of physical strength, I’ve discovered by experience!
Where will you find a Ferris Bueller DVD, Blockbuster?