Old School! Custom-bodied 1941 Ford Hot Rod
This could be a nifty custom-bodied vintage hot-rod, or it could have been slapped together a few years ago on a lark. Potential buyers should contact the apparently lonely seller for answers because the listing here on eBay consists of 53 words, 41 of which constitute a warning not to double-cross the seller… or else. Based on a complete 1941 Ford that “runs/drives great,” this Fort Lauderdale, Florida machine could be yours for the “Buy It Now” bid of $8800.
All jokes aside, I can think of worse ways to finish a fully-functional 1941 chassis and drive-train. I’ve thought of designing and building a complete ’30s style roadster from scratch, and this project appears to have been admirably followed through to completion. This custom eschews the cobbled-together “whatever parts were lying around” look, telling the tale of a Ford that lost its body to a damage or tin-worms. In absence of any back-story, tall tales and other alternative truths are welcome in the comments below.
The large round gauge does not resemble the stock 1941 Ford art-deco dash and, since $8800 did not justify lowering the car for proper pictures, the rest of the interior remains a mystery. Let’s assume that’s a three-speed column-shifted manual transmission, and the body structure seems to consist of tube steel.
I love the “Mr. Horsepower” decal. Flathead newbies may count three zoomies on each side and identify this engine as a V6, but Ford’s iconic Flathead V8 siamesed the two center exhaust ports. Thus decades of Ford V8s count up four cylinders on each side but only three exhaust pipes (thanks to midstateantiquestockcarclub.com for some details).
This does not look like a 1941 Ford rear bumper; Who can identify the visible parts? Apparently the car’s great running and driving ability occurred sometime before the air escaped from its tires. Setting aside its half-baked representation I like this car! There are enough perfectly restored 1941 Fords out there to respect this custom creation — which may have saved one from the crusher. Normally I’d ask who sees $8800 of value here, but based on the top-secret listing I’ll simply ask for stories about how you think it came about? Vintage hot rod, ’90s high-school Vo-Tech project, or what?
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Comments
I’ll hazard a guess that this was perhaps cobbled together around 1961-63 in their garage and has had a freshen-up from time-to-time, over the years. That funky-looking top may have been a later addition.
The Clay Smith Cams woodpecker decals looks like a recent addition, lacking the ‘Mr Horsepower’ moniker.
The Covico/Grant/whatever manufacturer’s steering wheel may date it to that era, as do the taillights and overall ‘East Coast’ look. Perhaps the gauge in the middle is something like ’49 Ford?
Is it worth the seller’s asking price? Not to me, at any rate.
Looks to me like they used the ’41 Ford frame or a similar one rather than tube steel, along with transverse leaf springs. Based on the funky top, which resembles a ‘glas dune buggy roof, looks to me like a creation of the late 50’s/early 60’s.
Taking a peek at his other items for sale, he has an eclectic mix of vehicles available…flipper?
Not much to go on there but my best guess is that it’s a relatively recent build, it just don’t smell right. On the other hand the seller has sold several other vehicles to happy eBay buyers with only one who left negative feedback, claimed seller “lied about obvious flaws”, seller then blamed buyer for not coming to inspect the vehicle. Hmmmm. Really?
Ugly…. plain and simple ….
Cool as it gets. Judging by the oil leaks, somebody actually drove this for a while. I bet someone had a blast driving this.
I’d like to know how the seller can claim this buggy “runs/drives great.” It looks to me like it’s been on that lift for quite some time. The pics are terrible! Too lazy to push the “Down” button on the lift? If the lift doesn’t work, ever hear of a ladder? I’ve read many comments on Barn Finds about the lack of undercarriage pics. This car is up in the air and the seller couldn’t walk under it to snap a few details? The seller is apparently arrogant enough to feel the crappy pics and lack of details don’t matter; this “gem” will sell itself.
I’ll pass, especially at that price.
If…it’s an old Hot Rod, it’s certainly cool. Since Harbor Freight hadn’t yet opened up, most guys didn’t have access to specialty tools that most every garage now has. They typically worked with a torch, and an arc welder. If it’s a mock up of an old Hot Rod, I think they pulled if off quite well. I especially like the custom lowering springs, that appear to have been created with a little heat from that torch, which they had in the garage.
More pictures, and description certainly would be nice.
The Ft Myers Craigslist has had these cars listed for months. Sellers claims he is liquidating his 32 car collection. Same cars are listed again and again with slightly reduced prices. If they are bargains, you would think the list would be shrinking.
Here’s a car based on a ’39 Ford – homebuilt, and wicked fast…built 1953-57 by a college student and raced decades later by the original builder !
http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/QQ499JanowskiMonsterati.html
https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z13755/Monsterati-Special.aspx
https://www.motorsport.com/vintage/photo/main-gallery/1957-monsterati-special/?&i=9255&id=1602454&sz=8&s=-6
Agree with the thought of the build being in their garage / small shop with torch and arc welder. Also believe the build is late 50’s early 60’s as the tail lights are 58 chevy ( I think). Looks like the single round speedo is attached to the column as there appears thee is no other dash on the passenger side
Easy on the Arc welder comments guys, remember ALL the old GREAT Hot Rods were done with a Arc Welder. I still use one on frames but I’m old too. The tail lights are 50-51 Buick. Some good parts on the THING ?? though….
Back in the days of small (Readers Digest sized) Hot Rod magazines, maybe around the mid 50’s, an article ran about building your own “sports car” out of cheap and readily available parts. It appears that this car (less the funky top panels) followed the article to the letter, including the bent ends of the front leaf spring for lowering.
There were several other similar articles including building a custom car with a wooden body and building “The Roadster” for a-buck-a-pound.