Stored 50 Years! 1921 Oldsmobile Model 43-A

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A one-time competitor to Chevrolet, even before they were both a part of the General Motors family, this 1921 Oldsmobile Model 43-A Touring has an interesting history. This one has been hidden in storage for five decades, even more interesting! The seller has this nice survivor listed here on eBay in Rowley, Iowa and bidders have brought the current price up to $5,655.

If we think back fifty years, that would have been 1971 and this car would have been fifty years old. Yes, if you didn’t notice it, this car is one-hundred years old right now. One hundred! That’s pretty amazing if you think about it. It sure doesn’t look like it’s that old in the photos, other than the tires and wheels. The tires are easy to replace and the wheels absolutely have to be gone through by an expert to make sure that they’re safe when this car hits the road again, which it undoubtedly will. I prefer disc wheels just for safety reasons, but there’s something about wood-spoke wheels that is really interesting and historic.

The Oldsmobile Model 43 was first offered in 1915 and 1916 and it was an entry-level car, unlike later Oldsmobiles. They competed with Chevrolet’s H-Series, or Series H, until 1917 when General Motors purchased Chevrolet and added them to the family. The Olds Model 43-A was offered again in 1921 and 1922  and this car is a Touring, what we might now call a convertible although with no fixed or adjustable side windows.

The seller tells us that this car has been in storage for over fifty years which could explain its well-preserved condition. Cars from this era are quickly falling out of fashion and falling in value so it’s nice to see a few bidders going after this great-looking Oldsmobile. The front seat bottom springs were misplaced while the car was in storage and they’re still trying to locate them, but the back seat looks good, at least good enough to use as a pattern during the restoration, or preservation?

The Series 43-A was also known as the Oldsmobile Four and it was the last four-cylinder car offered by Oldsmobile until the Starfire in the mid-1970s! It’s a 192 cubic-inch inline-four with 35 to 40 horsepower and this one turns over but the seller hasn’t tried to start it. I think that the options for restoring this one include: 1) A full restoration. 2) A partial restoration of wheels, seats, dash, gauges, engine, and safety systems. 3) Just get it working, preserve as much as possible, and drive it as is. I’d choose the middle option, which route would you go with this Olds?

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Comments

  1. Mike1955

    I think this is what the Beverly Hillbillies truck was made from?

    Like 13
  2. Ken Carney

    Jed Clampett, your truck is waiting. I would
    have to agree with the author. Cars of this
    era are falling in price because the folks
    that used to tinker with them are dying off
    and kids today won’t touch ’em for fear of
    gettin’ their hands dirty. I don’t know any
    teen agers out there who’d even work on
    it. Once we’re all gone, our hobby will be
    lost.

    Like 23
    • Lance

      Ken, you’re dead right but once we’re gone who cares?

      Like 6
  3. Jack L

    Get it running, do all the mechanical, clean it up a very little, new tires and enjoy it as is.

    Like 14
  4. charlieMember

    Note the lines – the topedo body as it was called back then – smooth surfaces from the grill to the rear end – a big departure from what Ford and many others were building with a marked break at the cowl.

    Like 7
  5. Gtoforever

    Just like old firearms, I sit back and imagine what this car has seen or been through !!!!!!
    The roaring twenties !!!!
    Just make her safe and drive it

    Like 8
  6. Derek

    Are you sure that it’s a four? That underbonnet shot suggests two groups of three cylinders – and would also suggest a 3-bearing crank.

    Like 1
    • Norman Phillips

      You’re right Dereck, I saw that too. Now wondering if the car is exactly what they claim.

      Like 1
    • Scotty GilbertsonAuthor

      Dang, great eye, Derek!! Maybe it isn’t a 43-A? I see that the listing has been modified to add “37-A” at the top which would have had a 177 cubic-inch inline-six, and would have been a 1919/1920/1921 model.

      Like 1
  7. Bill

    Is that a flathead or ohv? Can’t tell with that sheet metal cover.

    Like 0
  8. Wayne from Oz

    Definitely a 6 cylinder, you can count them by the block casting. Unusual cooling fan, it seems to have one set of blades in front of another. I think you can add perished fan belt along with the tyres. Nice car.

    Like 2
  9. Bruce

    Sure looks like a six cylinder to me!!

    Photo of the other side of the engine would show spark plugs…

    BRUCE

    Like 1
  10. Butch

    I believe this car is a model 46 and not a model 43 A. That is not a 4 cylinder engine. The 4 looks completely different.

    Like 1
  11. wayne p dobos

    Ebay description says it is a 6 cylinder engine

    Like 0
  12. Scotty GilbertsonAuthor

    Auction update: this Oldsmobile ____ sold for $5,655.

    Like 0

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