Date: 1977
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Source: Jack E. Boucher, via Historic American Engineering Record / Library of Congress
What do you see here?
Depreciation is one of the nastiest words in the car world. As you probably know, the minute you drive a new car off the dealership lot, it’s technically a used vehicle, and you can no longer get the price you paid for it. Over the years, depreciation takes up to 90% of the value making the prices of old and well-worn vehicles ridiculously low. That’s also happened with the prices of the world’s most sought-after classic cars.
True, those vehicles are now cherished and multi-million-dollar investment pieces, but once, they were just old cars on the way to the scrap yard. Some even ended up there forever. All the vehicles on our list were once very cheap. But unfortunately, they aren’t anymore. Check out these cars that were once worthless but now cost big prices if you can even find them for sale.
Toyota 2000 GT
This car was introduced in 1967 and turned the eyes of the car world to a small company from war-torn Japan. All car magazines of the period praised the ride and driving dynamics. Despite having only 150 HP from its high-revving 2.0-liter six-cylinder, the 2000 GT had decent performance and almost race car-like handling. In the late ’60s, this car entered the SCCA championship and found much success (via Toyota UK).
Unfortunately, due to high prices and poor brand recognition, the number of 2000 GTs sold was very low – exactly 351 cars until 1970. It didn’t even help that it was in a James Bond film. But we couldn’t call it a failure. The 2000 GT did precisely what it was supposed to do; it showed the world that the Japanese car industry was the next big thing in the car world.
The post Cars That Were Almost Worthless But Now Fetch Huge Prices appeared first on Motor Junkie.
This 1940 Ford Pickup was acquired by the seller in early 2022 from singer and songwriter David Crosby. Body repairs and a repaint are said to have been carried out prior to Mr. Crosby’s purchase in 1999, and the seller states that mechanical modifications including installation of the 350ci V8 were completed by Mr. Crosby with assistance from the seller. The body is finished in Dark Cherry Metallic over brown leather upholstery, and equipment includes a three-speed automatic transmission, a wood bed floor, body-colored running boards, dual chrome side mirrors, and 15″ Weld Racing Rodlite wheels in addition to a Lokar floor shifter, shoulder belts, and power windows. This custom Ford Pickup is now offered in California with a car cover and a clean California title in the seller’s name.
The seller reports that the truck was painted in GM Dark Cherry Metallic in 1998 and features white pinstriping, body-color running boards, a chrome front grille, and dual chrome side mirrors as well as a wood bed floor with bright runners and a polished fuel-filler cap. Scratches and cracks in the paint can be viewed in the gallery below.
Polished 15″ Weld Racing Rodlite wheels are wrapped in 195/65 front and 255/70 rear BFGoodrich tires. A Heidts Mustang II-style independent front suspension system and steering rack are installed, and braking is handled by power-assisted front discs and rear drums.
The single bench seat is upholstered in brown leather with matching door-panels and a contrasting beige headliner. Interior equipment includes power windows, a ceiling-mounted courtesy light, shoulder belts, and a Lokar floor shifter.
A wood-rimmed steering wheel is mounted on a tilting column fronts an AutoMeter tachometer and Classic Instruments gauges including a 120-mph speedometer as well as readouts for coolant temperature, oil pressure, and fuel level. The six-digit mechanical odometer indicates 9k miles, approximately 100 of which were added by the seller. Total mileage is unknown.
The 350ci Chevrolet V8 is said to utilize a billet crankshaft, four-bolt main caps, an Edelbrock Performer camshaft and intake manifold, and aftermarket exhaust headers. The seller also notes that an Edelbrock carburetor and a Walker four-core radiator have been fitted, and that the truck has been driven approximately 1,500 miles since the engine was installed. An oil change was performed in February 2022.
Power is sent to the rear wheels through a GM TH350 three-speed automatic transmission and a B&M torque converter linked to a narrowed Ford9″ rear end with a 3.50:1 limited-slip differential. Other updates include a 15-gallon polyethylene fuel tank and a Holley fuel pump.
The truck is titled in California by its Alberta, Canada, assigned vehicle identification number AB456853.
Several pictures of David Crosby with this truck are included in the gallery.
This 1936 Ford is a steel-bodied cabriolet that underwent a body-off refurbishment in the 1990s before it was acquired by the seller’s spouse in 2009. The car is finished in blue with a blue soft top over a blue leather interior, and power is provided by a 350ci V8 paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. Features include a chrome grille and trim, chrome bumpers, wire wheels, a rear-mounted spare, a rumble seat, air conditioning, and an aftermarket stereo. This modified Ford is now offered with refurbishment records and a Massachusetts title in the seller’s name.
The steel body was reportedly repainted Washington Blue during the aforementioned refurbishment. Features include a blue soft top, a chrome grille and trim, a vented hood, front and rear bumpers with overriders, dual side mirrors, running boards, a rumble seat, and dual exhaust exits.
Chrome-finished wire wheels are mounted with whitewall tires, and the car is equipped with a rear mounted spare tire carrier. The car is fitted with disc brakes.
The interior was refreshed under previous ownership by Paul Atkins Interiors of Hanceville, Alabama and features a bench seat and a retractable rumble seat upholstered in blue leather along with matching door panels and carpeting. Additional features include a body-color dashboard, wind wings, aftermarket air conditioning, and a Kenwood stereo.
A leather-wrapped banjo-style steering wheel frames a 120-mph speedometer, an 8k-rpm tachometer, and gauges for water temperature, oil pressure, voltage, and fuel level. The five-digit mechanical odometer shows 8k miles.
The 350ci V8 was reportedly installed under previous ownership and sends power to the rear wheels through a three-speed automatic transmission. The seller states that the car has not been driven on public roads since 2009 and that the fluids were checked and the fuel system was drained and refilled in October 2022.
Additional photos of the underside are presented in the gallery below.
Additional photos taken during the refurbishment are presented in the gallery.
The Tennessee-issued identification plate reads TNVIN036693060403, whereas the VIN on the Massachusetts title omits the TNVIN prefix.
This 1932 Ford roadster hot rod features steel bodywork finished in matte black and a 296ci Mercury flathead V8. Equipment includes a three-speed manual transmission, painted 16″ wire wheels, a rumble seat, a louvered hood, hydraulic drum brakes, Lincoln-Zephyr carburetors, a Wieand hi-rise intake manifold, a dual-coil distributor, and a swan floor shifter. The seller acquired the car in 2011 and it is now offered in Georgia with Georgia registration.
The Ford steel bodywork is finished in matte black, and equipment includes a 20-louver hood, bucket headlights, a polished windshield frame, and 1939-style taillights. The seller notes that lower body panels were previously replaced and that various drilled holes, dings, and dents are also present.
The 16″ wire wheels were reportedly sourced from a 1935 Ford and the hydraulic drum brakes from a 1940. Tires are Firestone Deluxe Champion whitewalls.
The bench seat is trimmed in brown vinyl, and interior equipment includes a DeLuxe banjo-style steering wheel, a swan floor shifter, an engine-turned instrument bezel, rubber mats, and lap seatbelts.
The rumble seat is upholstered in black vinyl, and the seller notes that the panel beneath the rumble lid is a replacement.
Instrumentation includes a 90-mph speedometer and an ammeter. The combination gauge does not work. The five-digit odometer indicates 1,600 miles, and the true mileage is unknown.
The seller notes that the flathead V8 was sourced from a 1939 Mercury. It was reportedly bored and stroked to 296ci using a 4″ Mercury crankshaft and fitted with Weiand cheater cylinder heads, a matching Weiand hi-rise intake manifold, Lincoln-Zephyr carburetors, and a Lincoln-Zephyr dual-coil distributor with electronic breakers. A custom exhaust system is also installed. An oil leak is noted.
The seller states that the three-speed manual transmission was sourced from a 1939 Ford and fitted with a Lincoln-Zephyr gearset.
The car does not have a title as Georgia does not issue titles for vehicles of this age. It is being sold on its registration.
This 1927 Ford Model T hot rod is the product of a custom build under previous ownership utilizing a Model A frame as well as a triple-carbureted 283ci V8 paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. The seller purchased the car in 2012 and has commissioned an engine and transmission rebuild as well as the installation of four-wheel disc brakes, replacement red interior components, and the cloth top. The steel body is finished in black with red pinstriping over a red cloth interior, and equipment includes wire wheel covers with Mercury Cougar-logo center caps as well as a cloth bench seat with dual headrests, custom-fabricated window regulators, shoulder belts, a roll bar, a fire extinguisher, and a floor-mounted Lokar shifter. This Model T hot rod is now offered at no reserve in Arizona with a spare set of hubcaps and a clean Arizona title in the name of the seller’s trust.
The steel body is said to have been refinished in black under previous ownership and is reportedly mounted on a 1930 Model A-specification frame that has been fully boxed according to the seller. Work reported under current ownership has included replacement of the window glass and the fabric top.
Red-finished 15″ steel wheels are wrapped in 165-width BFGoodrich Silvertown Radial wide-whitewall tires and feature wire wheel covers with Mercury Cougar-logo center caps. Disc brakes have been installed at all four wheels, and the front brakes feature red Wilwood calipers over cross-drilled and slotted rotors.
The interior is outfitted with a red cloth bench seat with dual adjustable headrests complemented by matching carpets and cloth-lined trim and door panels. The doors feature manual crank windows with custom-fabricated regulators, and other interior equipment includes a roll bar, a fire extinguisher, a floor-mounted Lokar shifter, and shoulder belts.
The wood-rimmed steering wheel fronts a column-mounted tachometer, while aftermarket instrumentation includes a 120-mph speedometer as well as gauges for oil pressure, coolant temperature, transmission temperature, amperage, and fuel level. The five-digit mechanical odometer indicates 6k miles, which are said to have been added under current ownership since completion of the build. Total mileage is unknown.
Power is provided by a 283ci Chevrolet V8 that is said to have been rebuilt in 2014 with over-bored cylinders and a COMP Cams camshaft as well as replacement rods, pistons, and bearings. Triple Rochester 2GC two-barrel carburetors have also reportedly been rebuilt and are installed atop an Edelbrock intake manifold using a Tri-Power kit from Speedway Motors. An oil change was completed in August 2022.
The seller reports that power is sent to the rear wheels through a rebuilt GM TH350 three-speed automatic transmission linked to a later-model Ford 2.80:1 rear end, which has reportedly been fitted with Moser Engineering axles and seals. The transmission fluid was serviced and the chassis was lubed in August 2022 according to the seller.
The car is titled in Arizona with vehicle identification number 137461, which is pictured on the fabricated tag on the left-front frame rail.
This 1957 Chevrolet 210 two-door sedan was modified in pro-touring style circa 2018, which included installing a 5.7-liter LS1 V8, a six-speed manual transmission, and a replacement frame with independent front and rear suspension. Finished in white over red and black upholstery, the car is equipped with a side-exit exhaust system, rack-and-pinion steering, four-wheel disc brakes, 18″ American Racing wheels, front bucket seats, power windows, and an AM/FM/CD stereo. The car was acquired by the selling dealer in 2022 and was previously listed on BaT in June 2022. This 210 two-door sedan is now offered in Florida with a clean Texas title.
The body was refinished in white and features hooded headlamps, dual radio antennas, chrome-finished bumpers and side mirrors, and Bel Air quarter panel trim with gold emblems as well as shaved door and trunk handles. Photos show a crack in the paint on the left quarter panel as well as chrome caps in place of the windshield wipers.
Chrome-finished 18″ American Racing wheels wear Nitto Motivo tires. The replacement frame features C4 Corvette suspension with rack-and-pinion steering, adjustable coilovers, and four-wheel disc brakes. The car is not equipped with an emergency brake, and the selling dealer recommends leaving the transmission in gear when parked.
The cabin features seating surfaces upholstered in red with black inserts along with a color-coordinated dashboard and door panels. Appointments include a floor-mounted shifter, power windows, three-point front seatbelts, and a Sony AM/FM/CD stereo connected to speakers in the doors and the parcel shelf.
The three-spoke steering wheel fronts AutoMeter instrumentation consisting of a 120-mph speedometer and gauges for fuel level, coolant temperature, oil pressure, and battery voltage. The digital odometer indicates 8k miles, and true mileage is unknown.
The 5.7-liter LS1 V8 is equipped with an open-element air intake, tubular headers, and a side-exit exhaust system. An oil change was performed under current ownership.
Power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission and a C4 Corvette-sourced differential. Additional underside photos are provided in the gallery below.
The easiest collector cars in the world to own are those you can get the most parts for. You can probably name a lot of them: the ’55-’57 Chevy, the early Mustang, the first-generation Camaro, the Triumph TR6, the MGB, and so on. As grows the hobby, so does that list (as do the criteria for being on it—which now includes complete reproduction steel bodies), but since the beginning, included the 1928-’31 Ford Model A.
The complete history of the Model A as a sensational new car – including its proven durability during the worst of conditions of the Great Depression and World War II, and its popularity as a simple and easily improved used car in the shortage-wracked postwar period – is too detailed to get into here, but suffice it to say that the historical popularity of the A translates to an extremely robust and complete aftermarket still supporting these cars on the eve of their centennial. Even in as-delivered form, the Ford Model A remains an eminently driveable car—married with some improvements developed when it was nearly new, it can traverse virtually any 21st century road with ease.
There are plenty of opportunities to do so, too. Two clubs serve the Model A hobby specifically: The Ford Model A Restorers Club (MARC) and the Model A Ford Club of America (MAFCA). They maintain technical libraries, advisors, and most importantly, communities of enthusiasts with whom to trade ideas, tribal knowledge, parts, and information. Both organizations are variously tolerant of modifications pioneered in the A’s earliest days as a used car, especially when the appearance is kept stock or made to resemble a period speedster or race car.
While the A started out relatively simple, buyers carried over their accessorization habits from the Model T. Note the running-board luggage rack on the car above and the Moto-Meter temperature gauges on both. Welled fenders were a factory contribution to this craze.Courtesy of the Hemmings archives
Many of those changes blend seamlessly into a road-ready car, ideal for participating in tours like those organized by MARC, MAFCA, and the local chapters thereof, plus multi-marque events run by other organizations. Moreover, unless you live in a really congested area, a touring-grade Model A makes a great fair-weather driver for any purpose —assuming your insurance provider and licensing authority agree.
Speedsters and more heavily modified cars will find themselves welcome at other sorts of events, including hill climbs and traditional hot rod gatherings like The Race of Gentlemen. Beware, though: Beyond a certain point, the more heavily modified the engine, the more temperamental it becomes and the shorter its lifespan.
The standard Ford closed body for all years of production was the two-door sedan (spelled Tudor by Ford, to complement its naming the four-door sedans Fordor). It also proved the most popular in original production, with 523,922 built in calendar-year 1929 alone (Ford didn’t track body-style production by model year) and 1,281,112 by the end of ’31 production in early 1932. Most in-demand today are the roadster and coupe bodies. The former is reproduced, and though repair panels are obtainable, no complete closed Model A body is. A late-1928 to 1931 Tudor makes perhaps the ideal Model A owner’s car for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the prospect of extra leg room in the front seats, attractive price point in the current market, and an all-steel body (compared with the wood-framed Fordors, built by outside suppliers). It’s on that specific model that we’ll focus here.
Engine and drivetrain
While it’s a flathead four-cylinder, and parts from the Model A engine have been made to work in the Model T block, there’s not much in common between the 177-cu.in. Model T engine and the 1928-’31 Model A engine, which displaced 200 cu.in. and made 40 hp at 2,200 rpm —twice the T’s 20 hp at 1,600 rpm. Famously, one reason the Model A is often seen wearing a quail radiator mascot is because its abrupt acceleration reminded operators of that bird bursting forth from the underbrush. The four-cylinder retained its reputation for quick starts right up through the V-8 era, when owners of “bangers” preferred to race from a standing or low-speed rolling start (the origin of the drag race) against V-8 owners. The V-8’s longer-legged nature was reflected in the popularity of the greyhound mascot on ’32-’34 Fords.
In its stock form with a heavy flywheel, the Model A engine remains a roadable unit, though it’s hard for most owners of driven cars to resist internal improvements when rebuild time comes along. Upgrades to the oiling system are popular, as are counterweighted Model B crankshafts (which permit a lightened flywheel and installation of a later clutch). Replacement of the poured bearings with modern-type inserts are frequently discussed, but probably overkill on anything but an engine regularly driven hard.
Top-end modifications, including additional carburetors (both stock-style updraft and later-style downdraft), high-compression (this is relative —stock used a 4.22:1 ratio) cylinder heads, high-performance camshafts, and free-flowing exhaust manifolds all exist and are of varying utility depending on the owner’s intended use of a Model A. Some more compression (Ford itself offered a Police head, though aftermarket heads usually boasted a superior chamber design and more compression yet—anything in excess of 6.5:1 is not advised with poured bearings), a distributor incorporating centrifugal advance (stock units are driver-adjusted from the steering wheel—not a situation favored by every modern driver), a Model B-grind camshaft, a downdraft two-barrel carburetor (Stromberg types being a good compromise between period tech, flexibility, and present-day parts availability), and a cast-iron exhaust manifold will give a healthy enough boost to any engine that you may wish to look into some of the brake upgrades discussed below.
Some A owners have gone even further than modifying the factory engine, yet without straying all the way into V-8 territory. More than one Model A has received, complete, the 50-hp four-cylinder engine originally found in a 1932-’34 Ford Model B. Aside from an external fuel pump, the Model B block looks very much like the Model A, yet it hosts oiling improvements and a counterbalanced crankshaft. Opinions diverge on whether the earliest 1932s had the balanced crank, but the real split in desirability seems to stem from Ford’s switch from sweated-on to cast-in counterweights, the latter of which aid immensely in rebuilding.
The Model B engine was originally packaged with a heavily revised transmission. The original Model A unit was scaled down from the big Lincoln transmission in use in the late 1920s — complete with multi-plate clutch. That clutch was soon replaced with a conventional disc unit, but the heavy flywheel and unsynchronized gears remained. When synchromesh was introduced to the marketplace, however, the consumer wouldn’t long stand for the necessity of double-clutching, and lighter flywheels had the added benefit of letting an engine gain rpm faster—though to the detriment of shifting unsynchronized transmissions.
For 1932, the Model B transmission was essentially that of the V-8 car, but in a gear case designed to work with the four-cylinder. In fact, gearsets from Ford passenger cars up through 1948 will fit in the Model B case, though it’s tight. Because the Model A bellhousing also mounts its pedals, many B-powered A’s will have been modified to accommodate the Model A oil pan, bellhousing, and transmission. Alternately, a variety of schemes have been worked up to use Model A pedals with later transmissions, including swaps intended for the Borg-Warner T-5 five-speed, the Ford SROD four-speed, and the 1932-’39 Ford V-8 three-speed.
Transmission choice complicates the rest of the driveline, as Ford cars built through 1948 had their driveshaft enclosed in a suspension member called the torque tube. The Model A axle, though theoretically not as strong as the V-8 units of 1933-’48, will mate with the later Ford transmission without modification to either. Adapters to fit the SROD and certain models of T-5 to the torque tube have been offered, and some enthusiasts choose to switch to an open driveline. That latter option is complicated, however, because the radius rods alone were not designed to deal with the braking and acceleration forces of the rear axle.
The Model A came with a standard gearing of 3.78:1 while V-8-era Ford axles were typically 4.11:1, so swaps to later rear axles are possible but rarely performed unless seeking added strength during a V-8 swap.
Body and chassis
The Model A frame changed very little in over four years of production. Early on (over the first half of 1928), the braking system changed to separate the service brakes from the parking/ emergency brake, which left evidence not only in frame changes but in modifications to the splash aprons and the wheels. When a taller radiator on the 1930 models appeared, that required some changes as well, but in 96 years, necessity has resulted in the invention of ways to make things work together. In other words, don’t despair if you find evidence your 1929 was rebuilt sometime with a 1931 frame —as long as it was done right, it should be fine.
If a frame is out of whack, the simple, ladder design is easily straightened and repaired. Aftermarket frames, frame rails, and crossmembers exist, but they are aimed almost exclusively at the street rod part of the hobby— one exception being reproductions of the oft-mangled front frame horns. Stock or lightly period-modified cars usually stick with Ford pieces. Frame-up restorations aren’t as common for Model A’s as they once were, but should you find yourself with a car apart for some reason and are contemplating the aforementioned conversion to a V-8 transmission, drop-in crossmembers replicating modified 1932 Ford parts exist to accommodate both transmission and pedal mounts.
Modifications to the Model A braking system are hotly debated. The original four-wheel mechanical-drum system was a vast improvement over the Model T’s transmission brake acting only on the rear wheels, but even Ford saw fit to improve the system a few times before converting to hydraulic brakes for the 1939 model year—perhaps most notably in a switch from stamped-steel to cast-iron drums in the course of Model A production. From a performance standpoint, hydraulic drum brakes of the 1939-’48 Ford Lockheed design (or the 1936-’49 Chevrolet Houk design, for that matter) offer no improvement over properly adjusted mechanical drums of equivalent size and acting on an equivalent contact patch.
Mechanical brakes are, however, far fiddlier to adjust than hydraulic systems and the modern hobbyist often doesn’t take much joy in that task. Luckily, neither did the 1940s DIYer, so the engineering of putting ’40-’48 Ford brakes on a 1928-’31 Ford was worked out long ago. Better yet, because those brakes are widespread in the traditional hot-rodding scene and the V-8 restoration scene, all the parts from backing plates and drums to wheel cylinders and shoes are available brand new.
On the flip side, if you’re evaluating a car that someone put “juice” brakes on years ago and it has been sitting, watch out. Mechanical brakes don’t go bad from lack of use, but hydraulics do!
If you’re looking for extra braking ability, aftermarket kits for fitting reproduction 1940s Lincoln self-energizing hydraulic brakes are available, as are modern linings and “floaters” for improving the friction and shoe contact in the stock mechanical system.
The braking system on a Model A has consequences where wheels and tires are concerned. The very early 1928 cars had brake drums and wheels unique to themselves. Thereafter, and through 1935, Ford mechanical brake drums had supports for the wire wheels incorporated into the face. Ford hydraulic brake drums from 1940-’48 had the same 5 on 5.5-inch bolt pattern, but lacked wheel supports. Add-on supports are advisable when running 1928-’35 wires on later hydraulic drums. Likewise, later Ford steel wheels don’t seat properly on the early drums.
Because of the commonality in bolt patterns, images in the ’30s and ’40s frequently show otherwise-stock A’s running around on 18-, 17-, and especially 16-inch wire-spoke wheels from later Fords. Even when the Model A was brand new, aftermarket wheels were a common accessory and popular for their ability to provide oversized tires with a greater cushioning effect.
Suspension
Often derided as “buggy sprung,” the transverse-leaf Ford suspension was simply a different approach from most of the industry, which preferred parallel leaves by that point. Because the basic system was used by Ford from 1909 to 1948, it became very refined. Because 1909-’48 parts underpinned most of American motorsport through the late 1950s, a lot of thinkers after Ford’s engineering staff have also worked on improving it.
As a road car, the well-maintained, in-spec Model A is fine unchanged. Roads today are generally much better than those of the early 1930s, so even a stock A can run up near its potential top speeds a lot of the time. The inclusion of a wheelbase of over 3.5 inches more than the Model T, plus hydraulic shock absorbers on all four wheels, meant that the A feels a lot more stable at higher speeds than its immediate predecessor. Still, there are sympathetic improvements to be made here based on later practice.
The Houdaille lever-action shock absorbers, if in good shape, should give fine service. Often, however, previous owners of even ostensibly “stock” driver-quality cars have discarded worn-out lever shocks for tube shocks. Ford itself made that change part way through 1947, and it’s a functional system that actually dates back to the 1930s on some non-Ford cars like Nash and Chrysler products, so “airplane shocks” are period tech that improve, rather than compromise handling if otherwise properly matched to the chassis.
Going further, without entirely departing from period practice, the Model A steering gear’s somewhat crude design was improved upon by 1937. Ford didn’t produce an easily interchangeable steering box until 1948 —though certain Nash and Hudson boxes from the ’30s were workable swaps as well. Today, aftermarket suppliers offer F-100 pickup-style steering that bolts right into an unmodified Model A and even contains provisions for the headlamp, horn, spark, and throttle controls. Like the synchronized three-speed from a V-8 Ford, the swap to a later steering box is said to turn a nice-driving little car into a great-driving one without sacrificing the essential experience of operating a vintage machine.
Interior
The standard, five-passenger interior for all four years of production was covered in cloth rather than leatherette like the open cars. Shades varied from year to year, and carpets were replaced with rubber flooring sometime late in 1928. The oval-speedometer instrument panel of 1928-’29 was replaced for 1930-’31 by one with a round speedo. Accessory gauges —and panels to mount them like the dramatic Aristocrat panel made by Dunn Manufacturing Company in Clarinda, Iowa, which added spots for two additional instruments —have been popular additions since new and a set of refinished vintage pieces add utility to the simple Model A cockpit. Since the demise of famed supplier LeBaron Bonney, the Cartouche brand (owned by Mac’s and thus by Eckler’s) has seemingly become the go-to supplier for Model A interiors, though smaller operations like Classtique Upholstery in Lindstrom, Minnesota, haven’t gone anywhere either.
In conclusion
The Model A walked the line perfectly as a new car: inexpensive but not austere; simple but not grimly utilitarian. Those virtues make it a great car to own today. It’s capable, easily worked on, easily obtained, and above all—fun.
The Tudor sedan is perhaps the most essential of all Model A’s. Their initial popularity means they’re easy to find today and their comparatively sensible nature when compared to the glamorous roadsters, phaetons, and coupes mean that they’re not suffering from an overheated market due to competition from hot rodders.
If you’ve ever contemplated owning a pre-World War II car, it’s hard to recommend anything more highly than a Ford Model A Tudor.
How much do Ford Model A parts cost?
Hood: $550
Plain front fender: $525
Welled front fender: $675
1930 running boards and splash aprons: $430/pr
Rear fenders: $800/pr
Cylinder head (new, 5.5:1 compression): $359
Generator-look 6V, pos.-ground alternator: $328
Hydraulic brake conversion kit: $3,560
Lincoln self-energizing brakes w/o drums (front): $425
Lincoln self-energizing brakes w/o drums (rear): $575
Lincoln brake drums: $160 (ea)
F-100 steering box conversion: $1,095
Adapter for Ford V-8 transmission: $679
1932-style transmission crossmember: $599
Wheel spacers for hydraulic drums: $75/set of 4
Reproduction 19- or 21-inch wire wheel: $625 (ea)
Firestone 4.50-21 tire: $245
Firestone 4.75-19 tire: $249
Cast-iron exhaust header: $395
Single downdraft intake manifold: $225
What should I pay for a Ford Model A?
1928: Low-$9,500; Average-$13,500; High-$22,500
1929: Low-$9,975; Average-$13,650; High-$21,000
1930: Low-$9,500; Average-$13,000; High-$20,500
1930 De Luxe: Low-$9,975; Average-$13,650; High-$21,525
1931: Low-$9,000; Average-$12,500; High-$20,000
1931 De Luxe: Low-$9,450; Average-$13,125; High-$21,000
Who sells Ford Model A parts?
Bratton’s Antique Auto Parts • 800-255-1929 • brattons.com
Brookville Roadster • 937-833-4605 • brookvilleroadster.com
Classtique Upholstery • 800-208-9032 • classtiqueupholstery.com
Cling’s Aftermarket Products, Inc. • 480-777-1202 • clingsaftermarket.com
C.W. Moss • 800-322-1932 • cwmoss.com Early
Ford Store of California • 909-305-1955 • earlyfordstore.com
Gaslight Auto • 800-242-6491 • gaslightauto.com
Hot Rod Works • 208-455-7971 • hotrodworks.com
Mac’s Antique Auto Parts • 800-284-3906 • macsautoparts.com
Mike’s “A” Fordable • 888-879-6453 • mikes-afordable.com
Rootlieb, Inc. • 209-632-2203 • rootlieb.com
Snyder’s Antique Auto Parts • 888-262-5712 • snydersantiqueauto.com
Tam’s Model A Parts • 800-272-7871 • modelaparts.com
Vern Tardel’s Traditional Ford Hot Rod Shop • sales@verntardel.com • verntardel.com
Dates: circa 1970s (above), June 1975 (below)
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Source: Howard MacKenzie, via Toledo Lucas County Public Library Digital Collections
What do you see here?
Photo by Howard MacKenzie
Back-to-back Florida hurricanes have managed to erase a century’s worth of motorsport history by doing lethal damage to the broad, flat sands that formed a natural race course along the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida, where pioneering racers set early world land speed records and NASCAR hosted some of its very first events. The combined wallop of hurricanes Ian and Nicole, coming within weeks of each other this autumn, not only wiped out the former course in many spots, but damaged crucial seawalls, leaving the raging Atlantic lapping at the main north-south beachfront highway, State Route A1A, which formed part of the final racing circuit that incorporated the wide, densely packed beach.
The sheer scope of the damage, which also undermined numerous beachfront properties, has left the Daytona Beach racing community wondering to what degree the beach sand can possibly be replenished. The worst damage was confined to the sand portion of the historic beach-road course, which was actually the last of three used for racing purposes before development and safety concerns moved the action to Bill France’s new Daytona International Speedway, located about five miles inland, beginning with the first Daytona 500 in 1959. NASCAR’s very first race, an event for Modifieds scheduled just after the organization was founded, took place on the beach-road course.
The Daytona sand is one of global motorsport’s holiest shrines, predating the earliest action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by more than five years. The beginning goes back to 1903, when a bunch of car enthusiasts, led by builders Ransom E. Olds and Alexander Winton, staged a Speed Carnival that started in Ormond Beach, at the north end of the broad, sandy expanse, which was then a playground for the ultra-rich. Olds’ Pirate and Winton’s Bullet battled against the clock in a series of straight-line runs that saw the speed record elevated to a heart-stopping 68 mph.
Photo courtesy Bus McKim
The speed crowd gathered around the original Ormond Garage in Ormond Beach—now re-created as part of a racing-themed park—as velocity continued to escalate. One of the first to do so was arguably William K. Vanderbilt, who showed up in 1904 with a Mercedes and immediately rocketed the record to 92 mph. The ensuing decades saw hundreds of would-be record setters aim their cars down the wide expanse of packed sand. In 1906, Massachusetts-born Fred Marriott pushed the Stanley Rocket steamer to more than 127 mph.
The record runs proceeded south on the sand from Ormond Beach on a course that grew necessarily longer as cars grew faster. We spoke with historian Buz McKim, the founding executive director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, who explained that the beach course actually existed in three varying forms. Americans like Frank Lockhart and Ray Keech, both Indianapolis winners, were part of the push to 200 mph that saw Lockhart killed in 1928 when his car tumbled into the surf for a second time during a record attempt.
As the cars grew in speed capability, the speed course stretched south from Ormond Beach through Daytona Beach and into the suburban communities of Daytona Beach Shores and Ponce Inlet. It was the coming of British record-breakers like Major Henry Segrave and Sir Malcolm Campbell, who battled over the record during the 1920s, that inadvertently obsoleted the beach course for record runs: Campbell’s 1,000-horsepower, aero-engine Blue Bird pushed the limit to more than 276 mph on the sand by 1935. After that, the really fast guys vamoosed to the endless shutdown areas of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in search of even higher speeds.
Photo courtesy Bus McKim
“When the land speed record guys went out to Bonneville in 1935, Sig Haugdahl had the idea to make a race track on the beach in 1936,” McKim says. “They ran that course from 1936 to 1947, which was in Daytona Beach Shores, and then they moved south to Ponce Inlet, to the course that we all know, in 1948 and they ran there from 1948 to 1958.”
A transplanted Norweigian who came to make his home in Daytona Beach, Haugdahl was a very early IMCA Sprint car champion who had built the monstrous 836-cu.in. Wisconsin Special to take the speed crown away from future Indy champion Tommy Milton in 1922. Setting the record at three miles a minute (“He was sideways with AAA, and they never gave him credit for it,” McKim says), Haugdahl wanted to preserve racing on the sand after the fast guys split for Bonneville. He laid out a 4.1-mile oval course that raced south along the pavement of A1A in Ponce Inlet before looping through the dunes and heading back up the beach. Haugdahl scheduled a stock car race for early 1936, with Daytona Beach officials underwriting the purse and the American Automobile Association’s Contest Board handling the rules enforcement. After a scoring dispute, Milt Marion was declared the winner.
Photo courtesy Bus McKim
Placing fifth was France, who had relocated to Daytona Beach from Washington, D.C., and opened a midtown garage not far from Haugdahl’s shop. The two racers became fast friends, and after several money-losing beach races, Haugdahl convinced France to take over as promoter beginning in 1938. Before founding NASCAR up the road at the Streamline Hotel in 1947, France turned the beach race profitable, and even managed to win one before World War II intervened.
France is particularly recognized in racing history for organizing the Daytona races, and NASCAR, on a shoestring budget. As McKim explains, “The races had lost a ton of money at first and France couldn’t find anybody (to fund a purse). Bill first called a guy named Ralph Hankinson (a well-known Midwest promoter who wintered near Daytona Beach), but he couldn’t afford the 25-cent toll call so he called collect, to try and talk him into helping promote the race, and (Hankinson) didn’t know who Bill France was, so he wouldn’t accept the call. So Bill was complaining to a friend of his named Charlie Reese, who was kind of a gangster, ran nightclubs and was a bootlegger, and he told Bill, ‘If you want to do the legwork, I’ll put the money up.’ So they promoted the 1938 race and they split $200. It was the first time the race had made any money, and that all evolved into what became NASCAR after the war. You had people basically racing through other people’s back yards, so France dealt with the county and moved the course further south through Ponce Inlet beginning in 1948.”
After the war, the beach races (and speed trials) formed the nucleus of what would become Daytona Speedweeks, which would draw thousands of racers and fans to the beach course each February. The second race ever presented for NASCAR’s novel Strictly Stock division was held on the beach-road course in July 1949, with Red Byron, NASCAR’s first champion, taking the win. Early stock car heroes like Marshall Teague, Bill Blair, Lee Petty and Fireball Roberts captured NASCAR wins on the long loop of sand and blacktop before Paul Goldsmith, still a race fan today at age 97, won the final beach race in a Pontiac prepped by Daytona Beach mechanic Ray Fox.
Beach damage at the North TurnPhoto by Zetta Baker
McKim, who has a lifetime of NASCAR backgrounding and now lives near its global headquarters in Daytona Beach, said that portion of the coastline has never recorded the level of hurricane damage as it has recently. “It’s pretty rough,” he says, comparing the damage to that sustained when Hurricane Donna struck in 1960, and noting that a beach parade of historic race cars set for Speedweeks 2023 in Ponce Inlet has already been canceled. Racing’s North Turn, a landmark eatery in Ponce Inlet located at the northern end of the beach course, sustained heavy damage but hopes to reopen in February. Other hurricane-related issues will include dune restoration along A1A and the re-creation of nesting grounds for endangered sea turtles.
The sand that engineers will be trying to replace is very special, and not just because of racing. “The U.S. Geological Survey had done an exhaustive study of the sands here, and they learned that over the eons of time, it came down from the Piedmont region (of the Carolinas),” McKim says. “And it was mostly quartz. Just because of the way the coast sits, you once had this incredible speedway, which was 500 feet wide and 23 miles long. Basically, this was God’s natural race track. I think they’re going to do the best they can to get it back.”