California Convertible: 1950 Ford V-8
This unrestored original 1950 Ford convertible, located near Phoenix, AZ, is listed here on Craigslist for the reasonable price of $13,000. For a variety of reasons, Ford Motor Company wasn’t doing well financially in the late 1940’s. Some people have said that these are the cars that saved Ford Motor Company from demise. Debuting in 1949, this body style eliminated the dated fat fenders and running boards look of the previous models in favor of longer, lower, wider, slab sided styling which eventually earned these cars the nickname “Shoebox Fords”. The 1949/50/51 models may not have literally saved the company, but the much improved and modernized styling certainly brought Ford back to the forefront when they really needed a boost.
This particular car appears to be in very good unrestored condition. The sheet metal appears to be straight and solid and all the trim seems to be in place. The driver’s side of the car is like a mirror image of the right, straight, solid, and all there. I understand that this a California car, but still I would expect some rust through in the passenger compartment floor and perhaps the trunk floor and rockers. I guess there are a few unrestored, rust-free 68 year-old convertibles in existence, but I’ll probably see a unicorn first.
The seats are about all that can be seen in the lone picture of the interior. They appear to be the original seats and, like me, in pretty good condition considering their age.
The engine compartment is in good unmolested condition. Even an accessory oil filter cannister and the heater fan are intact. The spark plugs, wires, radiator hoses and coil appear to be new. The carburetor looks clean, indicating a recent rebuild. The seller doesn’t say, but I presume he has the car running and driving at least enough to load it onto a truck or trailer. He says he’ll pay up to $500 of the shipping costs, too.
These cars make great street rods. They’re very desirable in restored-to-original form too. But there’s a certain charm about a car that survived many decades in good, unrestored original condition. If there was a rodded one, a restored one, and this unrestored original lined up at a car show, which one would you go to first? I’d make a beeline for this one.
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Comments
Once again… saw it already. Maybe within the last month or so.
@barnfinds – you posted this on June 29th. It’s great that you’re adding new writers and all, but maybe add an editor too.
We already skipped over this bucket of bolts and now it’s back. Where’s the old Ford with the missing headlamp that was posted like 4 times?
Maybe they have lowered the price lol
Quite a lot of repeat offenders in the last week or so.
Keep it up guys, and Biff will come over and noogie your heads. This is his new ride to replace his old one full of horse m’nure.
Didn’t sell, gotta be something seriously wrong with it. Stay away!
I like how this car is also posted in “related finds”.
It always amazes me how there are individuals who complain about the form or content of a free site.
It only confirms.the fact that some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope!
The price did drop from $15k in the last post, and is effectively $12.5k after the shipping boot. The old adage was “when the top goes down, the price goes up”. In this time of serious market realignment those old adages will have to be revised. Maybe some will learn that the next adage to fail is “you didn’t pay too much, you just bought too soon”. All that being said I’m surprised that Ford convertibles are getting so weak this quickly, though this one is likely a condition driven weakness. A couple weeks ago a ’47 Ford Convertible in pretty nice shape with a Columbia rear went for $17k, the week prior a not quite as nice but presentable one (no Columbia) sold in San Antonio for $14k. Just a few short years ago these same types were going for close to double those numbers. Projects like this one seem especially vulnerable.
I didn’t see the ad from a few weeks ago. I like these Fords. And I really like the convertables. I hope Uncle Bob is correct and the price of these are coming down. I really can’t afford anything over about $10k so they still have to come down a ways for me to be a serious buyer.
nice ol car, wish it wuz 1/2 that price, hada orig carb’n on the Right (in more ways’n 1) Coast. But the again – I’m in – sane.