Purity! That’s why I selected this 1930 Ford Model A to review. Now, purity doesn’t necessarily mean cleanliness; no, I’m thinking more along the lines of “original”, “as intended”, “not messed with”, and that’s what I see in this old and popular Ford. A resident of Naples, Florida, this car, going forward, is a blank canvas – lots of possibilities here! If you’re interested in learning more, you can find this 95-year-old Model A here on eBay, where it’s available for $9,500, OBO.
We’ve sung the praises and recited the history of the Ford Model A (’28 to early ’32) more times than I can count. The big takeaways are that the Model A, after twenty years of the Model T, was the right car at the right time, and it was available in more configurations than you can shake a stick at. Today’s discovery is a two-person coupe, without a rumble seat, one of over a quarter million produced that year. Other body styles included four-door sedans and Phaetons, along with cabriolets, convertibles, and a host of coupes and two-door sedans – there were even station wagon and pickup variants. Successful? With over 4.7 M produced, you bet!
This example looks to be complete. It’s wearing quite a bit of surface rust, but none of it appears to be invasive, and the body, bumpers, and grille are straight and not bent or mangled. The running boards look like they could use some help, but all in all, this Ford shows as being sound – a good project base. It appears that we have artillery wheels holding up all four corners, and while not original to this car, the born-with wire spokes (and a bunch of other parts) are part of the sale. Here’s a walk-around video for your review.
The seller tells us that this “A” was parked in the mid-sixties due to a crack in the 40 HP, 201 CI, inline four-cylinder engine’s head, but he has a replacement head included with the sale. While the engine doesn’t run, it does turn over by hand. The odometer displays 48K miles, but there’s no documentation to validate that recording.
The seller states, “The car is 100% original, even the seats have their original upholstery,” and that’s nice to know from a genuineness perspective, but I’m wondering where the floorboards went. Ultimately, the interior’s condition is not that relevant, as it’s a very compact environment and will likely undergo a complete redo. The seller adds, “The car is equipped with a swiveling heating element for an iced-up windshield and a hot water heater with a fan in the passenger footwell.”
The listing opens with, “This is a barn find I bought in Pennsylvania in 2010,” and I suppose he had plans for it; after all, it got hauled all the way south to Naples, but here it sits. The world’s your oyster with this Model A; if you were interested, what would you do with it?
Needs a ’48 Lincoln motor and chassis. “That story is true I’m here to say, I was drivin’ that Model A”. By the way, I never knew what “safety tubes” were, some kind of roll bar? Turns out, they were a heavy duty tube type tire I’d never go 100 mph on. I’m not sure what kind of interest exists for this today, probably the most influential car of America,,,yet,,flat line——-,, that’s a shame.
I’d put the new head on it first thing that’s for sure. Get it running and get it safe to drive and that includes two tail lights and turn signals, sorry purists. I would have to address cosmetics eventually and obviously a floor right away. I suppose I could drive it locally but I would avoid any highway. Even a merge seems to be a competitive sport these days. But the grandkids would love it and you’ll be recognized all over the place.
Go buy a piece of plywood and you have your floors. Termites probably got the originals. This one spent a lot of time getting rusty.
Prices for pre-war cars continue to drop as hobbyists age out. A quick search shows some nice As for around 20k, these are restored drive away units. If you can do all the work yourself and have plenty of time go for it! If you just want something to tool around in there are better options.
This A is not at all original and is way overpriced. For example I recently purchased a ’30 “Blindback” Model A that is very original and includes every registration since new in ’29 and has details on everything. The original interior is serviceable, the tires are new and it’s a cool looking “30 foot” car. It runs great. I paid $14,000 for it. The thing is, there are lots of original Model A’s like mine waiting to be saved that are a much better starting point than this sad old coup.
What’s not original about it?
JO
I can see the wheels and tires are not even close to original. They are a few decades newer than the car and much wider and shorter. Compare what’s left of the remaining spare wheel mounted on the back.
100% original narrow whitewalls.
All the A’s came with those.
Note my response to Bob Kremer.
JO
@ Bob Kremer
I already covered that by stating, ” It appears that we have artillery wheels holding up all four corners, and while not original to this car, the born-with wire spokes (and a bunch of other parts) are part of the sale.”
JO
Seal Beam headlights.
neat to see 1 in the wild that looks original. i would get to run and drivable then fix the interior. scuff and clear it the drive it around and have fun
The ebay listing shows all the original wheels plus a load of other goodies. Send the wheels out for bead blasting, powder coat them black, and get the original rubber. The wheel center caps are shown in the pile of goodies, too!
Rebuild the motor and fit a late model 5 speed box with matching diff and brakes if a restoration isn’t your thing for reliability. Retrim inside and leave the patina. It looks too good to be Hot Rodded it in my opinion………..
Fifteen year old car in 1945. This was the go-to party piece our brave men were searching out after WWII for kicks! Amazing to me this one survived mostly original after all these years. God bless America.
It’s one of those cars that stirs your emotions at first sight, then reality kicks in and you come to your senses. Car needs everything. I’d love it as car “art”, but at a much discounted price.
When I was a 15-year-old kid in 1965, my neighbor purchased a similar condition model A running for $500.00.
Given inflation, I would say very fairly priced.
In 1963 I bought a ‘30 Model A Coupe from my high school auto shop teacher for $150! I drove that thing thru college till Vietnam got in the way! Dated my wife in high school in that car, strapped surf boards on the roof, took my friends two Huskies in the rumble seat to the beach to go surf! Great car!
Already sold. Best offer got it.
While in high school (when this Model A was only 43 years old), I was ready to buy a ’29 for $600 that was shiny and ran well. The car was one of the many that “got away” over the years.
There’s a ’31 Chevrolet near here for $10,000 – the Chevy is a nicer car than the Model A was.
My BIL had a 1939 Rumble Seat coupe that looked much better and could get only 8K for it.
My interest waned when I got in to start it. I would have to remove the driver’s seat and use the rumble seat.
I think it’s cool on the higher side for a asking price but it is a blank slate someone got a nice winter project
looks like a northern vehicle at some point in its life with a heater and those snow tires on the rear. someone got a great starting point to work with. those original floorboards were affected by gravity and the desire to return to the ground they came from.