Bonnie and Clyde Barn Find: 1934 Ford Sedan
Outside of TV and the movies, few cars are tied to a moment in American history as closely as the 1934 Ford sedan. It was in the front seat of one of these popular cars that two of the most hardened criminals of the Depression era met their fate at the hands of the law. If you want to find out why Clyde “Champion” Barrow chose to steal Ford automobiles when he could, then perhaps you should contact the owner of this 1934 Ford sedan for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Portland, Oregon. This dirty but complete Ford is looking for a new home and could be a solid car under all that detritus. With an asking price of $21,500, is the seller of this Flathead-powered sedan offering a bargain or are they going to be sitting on this deal for a while?
If you haven’t yet, please try to watch the Netflix movie “The Highwaymen.” This movie, though somewhat fictionalized, takes a look at the whole “Bonnie and Clyde” story from the eyes of the lawmen who tracked them down and ended their murderous reign. While the story of the two outlaws has been romanticized greatly over the years, this movie lays bare their bloodthirsty ways, the public’s sick fascination with them as “folk heroes,” and the necessity of men like former Texas Rangers Frank Hamer and Manny Gault to do what was necessary to hunt them down and kill them. It was a different time then, and the real story is far more complex and nuanced than the legend itself.
Beyond the story, the movie is a treat for lovers of thirties cars, especially Fords. Both the outlaws and their pursuers drive 1934 Ford sedans in the movie. While Hamer’s use of his wife’s new 1934 Ford may have been made up for the movie, Barrow’s preference for Fords has been well documented. There is even a letter displayed at The Henry Ford Museum from Barrow to Ford complimenting him on his V-8 powered cars. As you watch, you can’t help but feel sorry for the cars used in the movie. There was no quarter given to these Fords, as they were driven hard and abused as if they were everyday vehicles that had just been purchased off the showroom floor.
So why were Fords like the one you see in the pictures of the ad so sought after? First off, 1933 and 1934 Ford are some of the most elegantly styled automobiles of the thirties regardless of their price range when new. Second, Ford’s V-8 was the strongest engine in the low-priced field, if only by a few horsepower. This horsepower combined with a wider RPM range and light weight made the car feel rather sporty behind the wheel. Finally, the car’s reputation for being fast, despite marginal differences in top speed from equivalent Chevrolet or Plymouths, was built as time went on.
This Ford is something of a mystery to us. Little is said in the ad beyond the fact that it is very dirty and that there are spare parts inside the car. We are also told that whoever the hoarder was that owned it was prescient enough to have filled the engine’s cylinder with oil to better preserve it. Make no mistake, the pictures reveal a car that needs some work and a lot of cleaning. The last picture is also probably the creepiest one you will run across today. The good news is that it has likely been entombed in this garage for decades, and this protection from the elements may have warded off major corrosion issues. It won’t be an easy project, but it may be a solid one. Just get rid of the dolls first.
Have you seen the movie “The Highwaymen?” What were your impressions of the movie and the two 1934 Fords that starred in it? Did it make you look at the whole Bonnie and Clyde story differently? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Comments
Love the ’34 sedans, but wouldn’t spend a nickle on a dirty car with questionable information that’s sitting in a pile of junk with an over the top asking price.
Are they throwing in the dolls for that price??? That may make a difference in interest.
What do you have in mind? 🧐
I like it, but probably too many dollars for too many doors in this condition and with this presentation. Not sure what the seller is thinking. Would have at least gotten the junk out of the way, gotten rid of the creepy dolls and taken a hose to it.
You might want to remove that comment of “ somewhat fictionalized”. The movie was historically accurate with only a few minor liberties. My good friend Jody Ginn who is the director of the Texas Rangers Museum was also the historical advisor of the film. I promise you he made sure they didn’t take many liberties.
Ask Mr. Ginn about how they depicted Maney Gault.
https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-legendary-maney-gault/
I read that whole story & it was fascinating!!!! Definitely a straight shooter!!! Thanks for sharing!!
A doll can make anything creepy, especially in a dusty barn.
Makes you expect something with suckers and a beak in the trunk.
But worse, there could be a clown. No! Not a clown!
The presentation and price are not a winning combo, a little unpacking would help.
But if this is an estate I feel the seller’s pain. Our parents and aunts stayed in the same houses 50 years, and they were stuffed. (The houses, not the ancestors.) We had to inspect everything in case there was early IBM stock hidden in it. There were lots of photos of people I never met, often, proudly, in front of their new cars. And a few horses. All nice to have.
That generation saved everything in case they needed it again
I think I would’ve taken the car out of the barn and cleaned it up, and maybe even get it running if I were trying to sell it. Zero effort means zero interest from me, even if it were across the street rather than across the country from me.
No doubt the car is a 4-door not so good, but I think the price is OK, if it passes an in person inspection. I have owned my 34 for 60 years and I have an above average interest and knowledge of them. Your write up was very good and factual. So much has been written about Bonnie and Clyde and the 34 Ford they died the truth and fiction just run together
Is the actual car still around?
Seems like something that would have been kept for exhibit at a carnival or museum.
My brother says it’s in the Bonnie and Clyde museum in Las Vegas.
I just recently moved from a horse farm where I had collected practically everything that I thought had value. Tractors, cars, hay equipment, porcelain signs, all kinds of tools that I never used etc.
I even found some new items that I had never used and had forgotten that I had !
With the encouragement of my wife, I finally came to face reality, I don’t need this stuff any longer.
I found an auctioneer from another state that was willing to pick it up and take it out of state and sell it for whatever other folks feels it’s worth? I don’t even want to see it again!
I also sold my property.
When I get my check from the items auctioned off, then I will know what other people thought my items were worth? I’m ok with that.
I now live in a condo with one truck and one car and I haven’t needed a single item that I sent to auction.
It’s hard to watch it go, but seeing all the items that I just saw on FB Marketplace pertaining to this seller just reminds me of what I just walked away from.
I feel the pain that this seller is going through.
I wish him the best!
Just my oponion!
Should have called Mike and Frankie…
hope the guy calls you back……….
Funny thing is Clyde Barrow wrote the same letter to the Hudson Motor car company praising Terraplanes to the skies. LOL. Looks like he would up with a Ford for his last drive.
yep….lot of letters were written by them they say….
On April 13, 1934, a hand-written letter arrived in Detroit addressed to Henry Ford. It was from infamous outlaw and car thief Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie and Clyde), who offered his unsolicited and enthusiastic endorsement of the Ford V-8. “I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one,” he wrote, describing the car as “dandy.” Some speculate that perhaps a prankster wrote the letter instead, but no one ever had the chance to ask Clyde, who was shot dead only six weeks later.
The letter is usually on display in the Henry Ford Museum, but if isn’t when you visit, you can still see it at the Research Library reading room, which is next to the museum in the Benson Ford Research Center.
LCL…….
The original Bonnie and Clyde 1934 Ford is on display at a casino in Primm, Nevada, right at the Nevada /California boarder. Complete with bullet holes. Lots of bullet holes.
I can’t remember which casino, but there are only 4 or 5 in the entire town of Primm.
Next time you’re in Vegas, take the 50 minute drive (sans traffic) to Primm and check it out. Straight down Route 15.
“Lots of bullet holes.”
That’s evocative.
Thanks.
The “Bonnie and Clyde” car used to make the movie is on display at Historic Auto Attractions museum in Roscoe Illinois It is a very interesting car museum. https://www.historicautoattractions.com/
Been sitting at Whiskey Pete’s for years It was at least there in the mid 90s when I lived in LA
Is this price for the barn and contents as well? I suppose it’s the “in” thing to not clean up a vehicle you’re selling. Must be a “rat-rodder” thing. And to think I felt bad my ’50 Merc had primer spots and some rust when I sold it.
The pictures look staged to me.
If staged it is one of the best parts of the listing. The Mickey Mouse, flag, canteen, propeller, toolbox, thick dust and all the other period props are so varied and accurate that it must be real. It would be so interesting to walk through this estate sale..And the car is pretty cool too.
Perhaps the detritus was put up on the car to create the cleared aisle to walk next to it.
It is the only empty spot.
A desperate first step by someone who just wanted to walk 10 steps without tripping.
Been there, done it, reached the angle of repose, after which stuff just slid down.
This barn seems to be a Rorschach test for us commentators.
Sorry day gone buy not worth throwing money down a rat hole
It’s amazing how many people sell stuff and don’t have the few minutes to clean all the crap off it ? Do you really want to sell it or are they covering up something? And get some half decent side shot with the camera it’s not like no one knows how to take a picture!
When I was young, 1934 Ford’s seemed to be quite common on the road — as were ’35s, ’36s, ’37s, and so forth. I don’t recollect as many ’33s — but they were so much like ’34s, that I might have mistaken the one for the other at times. I always liked the look of the 1934s — and I prefer 4-door sedans; thank you. All of that said: at this price, I at least expect a car that is not only complete, but running. And this one is not “complete” — unless the lens for that right tail-lamp.is somewhere in the mix. As it sits, in [mystery] condition, and needing to be towed away, this is about a $7,000 car.