If anyone ever tells you that good cars aren’t out there waiting to be discovered, then they are surely misinformed. There have been many write-ups this year covering cars that haven’t seen the light of day for decades and are now looking for good homes. One of the neatest we have seen lately is this 1949 Ford Custom tudor for sale on Craigslist in Stromsburg, Nebraska. While the seller holds on to their words like money, we do know that this cool little Ford has just 54,599 miles on the odometer and has always been garaged. Perhaps the most interesting detail on this Flathead V-8 powered tudor is that the license tag on the car has a 1966 date. With a $9,250 asking price, is this a chance to get a very original, low-mileage Shoebox Ford for a reasonable sum? Thanks to T.J. once again for this Nebraska-based find!
The story of the 1949 Ford is one of survival. Despite spending the duration of World War II fully engaged in making products such as the B-24 Liberator bomber, Ford was in deep trouble. Edsel Ford had died, and Henry Ford was reinstated as the leader of the company. He was in no shape mentally or physically for the job, but that didn’t stop him and the cronies around him from running the company further into the ground. Estimates were that Ford was losing around ten million dollars per month. There was serious talk by the Roosevelt White House of the Federal Government taking control of Ford to ensure that it continued producing war materiel. Henry Ford II, who was an officer in the U.S. Navy at the time, was called back to Dearborn to run the company in July of 1943.
The grandson of Henry Ford, Henry Ford II wasted no time taking the reins of the company despite having little formal training. In one of the most important periods of the company’s history, Henry II became the official company president in September 1945. He quickly got rid of most of the executives that surrounded his grandfather and replaced them with industry experts and a group of young executives that came to be known as the “Whiz Kids.” With money still hemorrhaging from the company’s coffers, Ford focused on producing almost all-new car for 1949. This was an amazingly risky move that would have bankrupted the company had it failed.
When the 1949 Ford debuted, it was a runaway hit with the public. Compared to the 1948 model it replaced, it was like the new car was from another planet. Gone were the prominent fenders and the tall upright stance of the old car, which was still very similar to the 1941 Ford in all but the front end. The new car had flush fenders and a smaller footprint. Customers could also enjoy such niceties as an independent front suspension, modern rear suspension with leaf springs on either side, an open driveline, updated brakes, and an optional three-speed transmission with overdrive. Under the hood was either an updated Flathead V-8 with a new distributor and improvements to the cooling system, or a nearly as powerful inline six-cylinder engine. Promptly nicknamed “Shoebox,” these cars were produced with mainly small styling changes until 1951. The huge financial gamble made by Henry Ford II and his team finally put Ford on firm footing and set the company up well for the next decade.
The 1949 Ford you see here is a very solid example of this pivotal automobile. Offered in two trim levels, De Luxe, and Custom, this car’s chrome window trim identifies it as one of the higher-end Custom models. The paint, which has the appearance of baby blue, was actually named Silvertone Gray in the catalogs. While it has lost its shine, the paint is marked with slight surface rust in the bottom half of the car. It would be nice to see what the car would look like cleaned up and polished. Some of that may be dirt, and there is no sign that the rust has reached a point where it has damaged the panels. Notice also that the car comes equipped with a sun visor painted to match the car.
A look inside reveals that everything from the radio to the heater is intact and the floor still wears the original rubber mat. The seats are wrapped in an aftermarket cover. It would be nice to see the condition they are in after all those years of being protected. While the driver’s side door panel looks dirty and the dash is covered in dust, there is hope that this car will clean up well enough to be serviceable as it sits.
Sadly, there is no picture of the engine or any indication of the car having the coveted overdrive transmission. This would be something to add if it didn’t. Many dedicated Ford aficionados claim that the overdrive provided 25 percent better fuel mileage and made the car much more comfortable on the highway due to a significant reduction in engine RPMs. A car so equipped would make for a pleasant ride even on today’s secondary roads.
The overall condition shown in the pictures gives us hope that this 1949 Ford would clean up well enough to not need a restoration. Any technical information you would need is readily available from the Early Ford V-8 Club of America and there are a multitude of Flathead-era vendors who advertise in the club’s magazine who can help you with parts. Over the years, Shoebox Fords have developed a good reputation for how they drive and the value you get relative to the prices they sell for even today. If you want a car that you can enjoy, then this one may be worth inspecting in person.
I think it’s VERY cool! 👍
i am with you jon.
i had oa 49in high school.mine was black and it was my first car.
I owned a black 49 fordor in the eighties in almost this condition. It had a frozen V-8. I sold it for $500 to a local man who stopped payment on his check because he said he only bought it for the engine! So, I got it back and sold the car without the engine and later the engine sometime later for a little over $100 to a man who was happy to rebuild it, frozen only temporarily. There is a somewhat similar story to a 57 Belair sedan that did run well but a 6 cylinder. I sold it due to the cost of Belair upholstery and another $500 sale.
This `49 appears in far better shape than most originals. `49 models had some unfortunate ‘growing pains’ like water leaks, fit of panels, etc. that an all-new model can have. These problems got ironed out as the `50 & `51 models appeared, keeping the ‘shoebox’ Fords popular among collectors today. No telling if the floors are solid, but if this was parked on concrete vs. a dirt garage floor, that would help limit rust-thru. 75 years and this complete? What’s not to love? Parts galore and loads of help from club members can put this `49 back to it’s glory! GLWTA!
Interesting comment about water leaks. My dad bought a used 49 and it had interior water leaks that he never could find. I guess that it must have been a good enough of a car that he bought a new one in 1951. This one was a much better car. It stuck around for 7 years until the 58 Edsel came out and my dad had to have one. He said it was the first car he ever bought on impulse alone.
No overdrive in this one but I don’t care I still think this little honey should come to my garage and live beside my 50. Shoebox Fords are so pretty that even after owning mine for years I still melt when I open the garage door and she’s looking at me. Nice find and hopefully someone builds a nice period rod with her. Whatever they do I hope they don’t chop it and ruin the lines.
The smaller chrome handle on the left of the dash is the overdrive, I believe. The larger one is the parking brake. I do not recall these having an inside hood release.
Nope that’s the hood release. I own a shoebox.
I do owned a shoe box a 1950 and yes it’s a hood release
Very fun and interesting find. I’m always surprised how compact these were. Doesn’t look bad. Check out the snow tires, wonder how old they are.
Educated guess on the snow tires Bob I’m going to say pre 1966. More curious is if it runs or turns over.
Don’t see OD control to left of steering column. If adding OD, you need the control, the OD, drive shaft,and the 4:11 rear end. GLWTA.
James Sartor, There are 2 handles on the left of the steering column and starter button. 1 being the hand brake and the other????.
Hood release.
I’m almost willing to bet if you showed up with 50-$100 dollar bills you can bring it home looks like a fun little car to just cruise
And lowly Studebaker took the money loosing Ford Motor Co by surprise with the 1947 model. Read about it here.
https://shoeboxford.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/did-the-1949-ford-really-begin-life-as-a-studebaker-design/
Brings back a lot of memories. My Dad had a 1950 club coupe, V8 w/ overdrive.
Back in the day I wasn’t crazy about these but over the years they have really grown on me and would love to have this one
Some people called 1949-51 Fords pregnant roller skates.
I love shoebox Ford’s parents had a 1949 when I was a kid later I owned a 1950 but my favorite is the 1951 because of the update dashboard always liked the 1951 dash if had this car I would just nose and deck it put skirts and dual exhaust with glass packs and bluedot tail lights
These ads people “write” are just beyond frustrating. As little info and photos as possible is mostly the norm these days. Being on Craigslist, I suppose they probably just figure someone local will call to inquire and look in person, which is fine. Maybe they don’t realize that being on the internet means the entire world can potentially see the ad.
Could potentially be a great find, but hard to know unless you see it in person. Apparently, even getting it outside for photos was too much of a hassle.
Nice Ford.
Wouldn’t mind having the pockets and space to bring this one home!
I’d offer between 5-7k as in my mind it’s a little over priced. Though from what I’ve seen it’ll probably go at the asking price. Hard to tell.
i had a 49 in charleston high school.
it was my first car.
My first car was a 1950 Ford 4-door that I bought for $10.00 at the age of 15.5 in 1965! Dad towed it home, I checked out books from the library and had it up and running and got my driver’s license in it. Great experience and one of 5 cars I had during high school that I bought cheap, learned about, hot rodded, and spent money on, and sold to do it over again. Great times they were; library books, friends, high school auto shop, and willing to get greasy and make mistakes resulted in your own car. Don’t think I’d trade that for all the YouTube video’s and computer chips to customize our rides.
Gee, I’ve wanted one of these every since I built the 1/32 scale Pyro model in light blue back in the 60s. I like the ’49 because it is the first new postwar model and because the “FORD” letters are on the hood that year only. I understand that early production ’49s did not have cross bracing under the hood such that it would rattle a bit going down the road. This was corrected straight away and most of that first year production run had the “braced” hoods.
One of the cleanest Ford designs to come out of Detroid City.
having been born in 1945 I was old enough and was already becoming a car nut in 1949 and I remember one of the real faults on the 1949 was a dead trunk handle the rt side dropped down this one doesn’t very unusual would say it shows it had little use