It’s a twofer! Buy a 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe and get a 1950 Ford Woodie wagon to boot. They’re listed as hot-rods but more on that later. Sometimes, people sell their car collections and will offer two or three cars with some similarities together, you know, they don’t want to break-up the pair or troika. And other times, it’s just a house cleaning to get rid of stuff. Whichever the case is here, let’s look this dynamic duo over and see what we have. This pair of Fords is located in Manchaca, Texas, and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $2,305, reserve not yet met. There is a BIN option of $23,500 available too.
OK, First up is a 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe. It’s ugly but intact. The seller suggests, “Surprisingly good body for its age but will need extensive restoration to build it“. The seller states that he has much of the detached stainless molding and notes that the grille is in good shape. He further adds, “Bottom of frame looks good but cannot see the entire frame. Will need floors for sure“. It’s suggested that this is probably a hot-rod project leftover from the ’60s.
Under the hood is, possibly, a late ’50s vintage Chevrolet 230 HP, 283 CI V8 engine attached to a Powerglide automatic transmission. And all of that in turn is connected to a Dana 44 differential. The cylinder head casting mark does in fact look like that for a 283 CI “Power Pack” cylinder head. The engine hasn’t turned a lick in a long, long time.
The interior is pretty well destroyed. As previously noted, it’s gonna’ need floors, and probably everything else. It is one of the worse interiors that I have stumbled across in a long time. The only thing notable about it is the steering wheel which looks to have been boosted from a ’59 Chevy – maybe the same car that donated the engine?
Next, is the ’50 Ford woodie or maybe we should call it a woodless. Either the wood paneling has been removed or some pretty orderly termites devoured every bit of the cellulose fiber. Whichever, it’s going to take more than a Home Depot trip to set it right – though plywood would work if you’re going for a Road Kill look. Beyond that, the overall condition pretty well matches that of the Deluxe coupe, as the seller adds, “Body surprisingly good shape as well but also needs extensive restoration. Will need floors for sure“. Wood or no wood, this wagon is in really poor shape.
Things are a bit more interesting in the engine room with this wagon’s 239 CI flathead V8, adorned with Offenhauser aluminum cylinder heads and dual carburetor intake manifold. A three-speed manual transmission puts the power to the rear wheels, or at least did, at one time.
The interior is about what one would expect. The seats are still in place but rust abounds and there’s that reminder about the floors, which at the moment, look to be covered with shag carpet – there’s a throw-back for you. This is serious tetanus shot territory!
While the wood panels and trim are missing from the exterior, what’s left of them can be found in the cargo area – they don’t look useable other than maybe to use as a rough form for a new panel template – and that’s questionable. Even the interior panels have gone away.
The verdict? Probably found together, and being sold as a “clearance” project. A BIN price of $23,500? I guess it’s time to say, GLWTA. What do you think, any potential salvation here?
Both look like they were pulled out of the same barn – wonder what the flipper paid for them ?
$6.34
It’s his(her) retirement plan.
What a joke! Enough said.
The 40’s probably the better bet. The Woody should be called a Wood-less wagon. I see some wood in the back but not enough to be used as templates for replacements.
Seriously, does the word troika come up in your everyday vocabulary? I had to look it up. There are only two cars offered, not three.
Read it in the context of which it was written.
Sellers, at auctions in particular, will often consign two or three cars at a time, a pair or a troika.
Obviously in this case, it’s only a pair.
JO
Troi in russian means trio/three. I wish people would stop using terms improperly, then other people pick up on the wrong meaning. This is why we need dictionary’s, to correct misuse. Just because one has heard the misuse of a word for years, doesn’t change the true meaning or make it right; buck up & admit mistake, don’t defend the misuse. Getting paid to write makes one a professional writer.
Did you even bother to read the article, Joe? Here’s what I wrote, “Sometimes, people sell their car collections and will offer two or three cars with some similarities together, you know, they don’t want to break-up the pair or troika”
I’m not confusing a pair with a troika. Two cars sold together are a pair, three would be a troika. This case is clearly a pair but would be a troika if the seller had three, as in if he had a third Ford to throw into the mix.
I know how to use a dictionary, note below per the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
troi·ka | \ ˈtrȯi-kə \
Definition of troika
1: a Russian vehicle drawn by three horses abreast
also: a team for such a vehicle
2: a group of three
JO
OMG!!! Next Please.
The 40 Coupe can be saved, plenty of repro parts available for it, I had one. not so sure about the wagon.
The 40 Ford Coupe can be brought back to life for about 25K not counting the labor. It won’t be perfect but the new owner would be proud. The wagon may be a good source of parts. Looking at both engine compartments and drive trains I would guess they were hot rodded sometime in the early to mid 60s.
Where the heck is Manchaca, Texas? I used to live a little town in northeast Texas called Gun Barrel City. They sold t shirts at Walmart with that question printed on the back. Not that anybody cares about that. Now these two Fords; both have collector potential for back in the day collectors, both require extensive repairs and pots of gold to get there, but could end up being quite nice street rodders and/or show cars. Either way I’m out.
God bless America
there a company in Cal. that sell woody replacement kits . starting at $10,000.They make them for all classic cars.
This is the fate of most cars that get rodded.
Us locals pronounce it “Man Shack.” There is a town South of Austin and also a road that runs through Austin.
The 40 appears to have a 49 Plymouth back bumper and it has back up lights. If a guy could get it for 3 to 5 grand I’d put floors in it and interior and a new frame if needed and other mechanical needs. Rebuild the engine if needed, add a 5 speed, wheels & tires and leave the body as is – kinda a rat resto rod.
23 G’s worth of Swiss cheese. Awesome.
We are restoring a 36 ford truck for a customer these old things are not worth the time and money.