This 1934 Ford Victoria may be more notable for its configuration than for any other aspect as its condition is, to put it politely, challenged. The seller advises that “it needs work“, there’s a simple honest statement. The details in the listing are extremely light so the pictorial will have to suffice. Located in Hesperia, California, this dispirited Ford Vicky is available, here on eBay for an opening bid of $5,000.
Ford’s Victoria was a two-door, five-window sedan that accommodated four passengers and sold moderately well with about 21K units finding homes in ’34. It shared similarities with the better-selling DeLuxe Tudor and standard Tudor sedans. Ford’s promotional material of the day stated, “a most attractive four passenger type. There is a large luggage compartment opening at the rear of the car. When occasion requires, this compartment may be left open for increased luggage space and protected with a canvas cover which is provided. New design, individual front seats. DeLuxe appointments and luxurious upholstery“.
The Vickys were all V8 powered, and this one still harbors what looks like its original 90 HP 221, CI, flathead engine that utilizes a three-speed manual transmission. This backyard find is a non-runner and I’d hazard a guess that that’s been the case for many years. The owner has claimed possession for five years but it seems doubtful that it has run during his time of conservatorship.
The body of this old Ford is pretty banged up, with dents, rust, missing headlights, taillights, door handles, rear bumper, rear fenders, and window, and on and on – not to mention the condition of the Yellow Cab finish which looks to have been sprayed over a light nautical green – probably a long, long time ago. Interestingly, the fabric roof panel opening has been welded over with a steel panel.
The interior is, well, it’s inside, but that’s about all that can be said, oh, and that little matter of the right-hand drive steering wheel arrangement. What do you think that’s all about, rural mail delivery, an export model for a RHD country, or maybe an import from a RHD country? It seems unlikely that one would have made the conversion just for grins and giggles. Beyond that, the interior looks as if it has become just a dumping ground for detritus.
To cut to the chase, this Ford Victoria is probably scrap. Sure, it seems unusual due to its right-hand drive configuration but I doubt that’s going to be enough of a highlight to save this very tired and worn ’34 Ford, wouldn’t you agree?
Asking price about 3 times higher than I’d pay but I could see the body as a candidate for a custom frame restomod.. Wouldn’t keep the right hand driver part though. Went through some of that in Japan and SE Asia.
Them wire wheels ought to be worth something.
Yellow junk. Would stand out in a junkyard.
Did Bonnie and Clyde drive the same model?
Yes I did…
Their car was a 4 door.
Interesting that it is right hand drive. I remember seeing a Model A at a show once, the owner said it came from South Africa. When he got it, it was RHD, but when he restored it he switched it LHD. Then I saw all of the RHD parts for sale in the flea market area. Steering column, steering box and the transmission with the brake and clutch pedals attached. I think it would have been more unique to have left it alone. Gotta wonder what the story is with this one, if for rural mail delivery, wouldn’t it just be a Standard 2dr?
A Victoria would never be scrap in this shape ; Doubtful it would be restored , but as popular as these are, I can guarantee that someday it will be a street rod – hopefully not a rat rod !
I think the car is salvageable, but the buyer will be someone who thinks with his heart – not his wallet. But I think the opening bid is insane. Why do sellers start with such a high price that they get no bidders? Set the reserve at the minimum acceptable amount and start it a $1.00 – or maybe $100. Bids will then come in, and the actual market value will reveal itself.
Buyer: leave it RH-drive. That is what it is – that is what will drive unique conversations at car shows. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of RHD American 1930s Fords. I don’t recall why they built RHD cars but I may have heard somewhere that it was for foreign markets. ‘ Can’t imagine why they would have chosen the Victoria for rural mail service.
My 2¢ – FWIW…
Allen
Lots of RHD Model A Ford’s were built in South America. Many of the bodies were brought up to the USA, sold and converted to LHD
Defintely worth restoring. The RHD would be quite a novelty. If only I was 10 years younger and had the means to take such a project on.
A little bit of skepticism from my corner: Looks like a ’33 grill which then asks the question: ‘Did it get swapped out?’ Definitely a ’34 hood because of the 2 latches on either side. Another question: Is it really a Vicky, or just a slopeback? I always though a Vicky had a definite change in the rear slope instead of a relatively straight line. I had a ’38 Std slopeback and it was similar to this, but there’s a guy in our club with a ’31 Vicky and its truck has got its own line. Not a bustle back but a nice definition…
It’s not a two door. I had a 34 two door hot rod and the rear body line are quit different. As a matter of fact the same as a four door. I currently have a 31 Model A Vicky and it looks similar to this one sans the opening rear trunk area.
You are correct about the 22 grille, and it really shows because the 34 hood doesn’t fit. The body is a 34 Victoria as you can see the bottom hinged trunk lid. The only slope back body in 34 was the Vicky. Slope back sedans were introduced in 35. The 33 Vicky had the more curved rear end, same as the 42 and Model As, without a lid that opened.
The rear fenders and bumper were also unique to the Vicky, and will be difficult to find.
33 grille
Fat fingers
Sorry not worth restoring at todays prices that why we see a lot of this old sheet metal up for sale people have dreams of building one but find out that its going to take 50k + if you can find a shop that will do the project
Just because a car has an ugly paint job, and some junk piled inside, doesn’t mean that it’s junk. RHD is a conundrum. Different- but not desirable. My thought would be to clean It up, do away with the bright yellow paint, and offer it for sale in Great Britain and Australia- but obviously only if the price was right. I don’t understand why readers are always shocked/confused by high asking prices. The point is to determine the highest price you can get- not how cheaply you can get rid of it. If you are not interested in money, and simply want to “promote the hobby, offer it for free.
I see an ugly paint job, some parts missing which are easy to replace, and a right-hand drive that needs to go, but I also see a body with minimum rust. Strong bones is a good start. Everything else is fixable. If an inspection confirms the cancer is at a minimum, it is worth saving.
Vicky’s are hard to find, this may not be my cup of tea but to someone else it is worth restoring.
Most manufacturers in that time period offered RHD for export markets – and they could be sold locally if someone really wanted one – i.e. a rural mail carrier. And Ford had assembly plants world wide – it would be fun to know the history of this car – was it built in a RHD country and imported back into the USA? Or built in the USA for export?
Bunky,
With all due respect, I don’t think you understood my point about starting low. I am neither shocked nor confused about high starting prices. I did not mean that one would sell low. The “reserve” function serves to protect one from that. I am rather talking about the psychology of bidding. Using myself as an example, I have been restoring cars for 38 years; I know how to do it; and with a bit of research, I can start on some rough cost estimates. But the cars I’ve done were all British MGs. I know absolutely nothing about ’34 Ford Vickys, but the thought of doing an American car has always been appealing – so let’s say I bid the $5000 opener. Nobody else bids because they know these values much better than I do. I end up stuck with a $5000 purchase that I might not be able to sell for $1500.
My point is that there are bidders out there who want to get a sense of what others will pay for it before they stick their necks out. OK, so at $100, somebody who knows this market will say: “I know this car is worth a lot more than $100, so I’ll bid $1000 and see if I can get a bargain”.
Successive bidders know that somebody is willing to pay that much, and the bids come rolling in. “Heck, if somebody has already committed $1,000, I’m pretty safe to go a little higher. $1200, $1500, $1800, $2500… The more activity a prospective bidder sees, the more confident he is in the actual value. Once the knowledgeable guys drop out of the bidding, we know the market has peaked.
If this is a really coveted prize, it may worth MUCH more than the $5000, and the seller will get much more than the $5000.
Final point: with my penchant for British cars, I know lots of guys driving RHD cars in Norh America. They report that while it takes a bit of “getting used to”, it’s no problem. Some guys actually prefer RHD where we drive on the right. I just see no reason to convert it.
Maybe 3¢?
Allen
In the 1980s my restoration shop was just outside Washington DC. I had a contact at the Embassy of Chile who used to visit my shop. He began showing me photos of old cars in Chile, and as he had the capabilities of producing the paperwork allowing the export of vehicles, we ended up bringing several cars up from South America.
One of the Chilean cars we shipped up was a beautiful 1938 Ford V8 convertible sedan with a high-quality restoration, black with Caramel leather interior. We wisely arranged for the car to be changed from RHD to LHD, as we simply sent the proper parts down in a long wooden crate, and the labor rate was about $6/day for top quality work.
I remember seeing photos of a car in Chile that looks just like this car. Most of the pre-WW2 cars down there were RHD, so I’m pretty sure the photo I saw 30+ years ago is the same car shown here. For obvious reasons we didn’t buy this one, but I guess someone did! Back then a non-running car in this condition had to be shipped in a 20ft shipping container, and the cost was at least $3,000, Valparaiso to Baltimore [Southern California was likely about $2,000].
How cool is that?
Even if this car is TWICE as rough as it looks it is worth far more than 5K. I’ve been a hot rodder since the 1960’s and a professional builder since 1982. This is a worthwhile project but not for me…..I don’t like ’34 Vickies.
When I see a listing like this it reminds me how old I am and how much time I have spent with early Fords ,especially 32’s and 34’s. It also shows how much mis-information is out there. Yes this is a 34 Ford Victoria with a 33 grill shell and right hand drive. There is no such thing as a 33 or 34 Victoria 5 window coupe. No sedans were described by the number of windows only number of doors. Victories or just that “Vickies”. There is no such thing as a slope back 32, 33 or 34 Ford. The 33 Victoria and the 32 had a rear bump, but no trunk or access to the inside from the back. The 34 Vik lost the bump and had a slight slope and a deck lid to access the inside from behind the car. All Victories were considered DeLuxes just like all 32 3-windows were Deluxes. Sedans and coupes could be standards or d Deluxes depending on accessories. The right hand could be a number of things most of which were mentioned, but I have no idea how you could actually verify the reason. What is it worth ‘Quien Sabe”. Depending on who wants the body it might be worth the effort with some other better parts
Everybody seems to ignore the one glaring fact: This is a ’34 Ford V8. which makes its value roughly 3-4 times that of a any production American car in its original price class and many above that even outdistancing several low end CCCA classics. Model 40 Ford V8s (’34s) are design masterpieces in a year of outstanding designs.
I Agree with bachilders, in the shape this one is in, it is nowhere close to being worth $5K. Put the opening bid at maybe 2-3 hundred and you will probably get some bids. Looking at the condition of this one, I’d consider paying $50.00
there is not much on this one that doesn’t need work!!!
Is there an restorable antique car that you would pay more then $50.00 for ? This is a site for old car lovers, many who are restorers or hot rodders . This is the 21st century , your $50 wouldn’t pay for wire wheel for this car.
Richard, You are so right, starting around 1933 Automotive design too on a new dimension and even the lowly Fords were part of it.