Never Restored? 1930 Ford Model A
With a car as old as this 1930 Model A, it is unlikely that you’d ever find one still with the original owner, if not impossible. This particular example is no exception, minus the fact that it is still in the same family it has been in since new! With an 88-year-old car, one-family is just about as good as it is going to get. Though covered in a thick layer of dust from being stored since the 1990s, this appears to be a complete and intact car needing some repairs and some love. Find it here on Craigslist in Iowa with an asking price of $6,850. Thanks to Pat L. for the tip!
Even the inside is dirty! Unfortunately, this doesn’t exactly come as a surprise considering the age and how long it has been tucked away. The seller states that it is original, which suggests that perhaps it has never been fully restored. If this is indeed the case, the interior deterioration is perfectly normal for a car this old! It will need the interior fully replaced, but an ambitious buyer could find a way to enjoy it as-is.
Under the hood is, you guessed it, an engine! This appears to be the correct four cylinder flathead Ford engine, and given the seller’s description it may be the original one for this car. The seller makes no mention of engine condition, but one can assume that after sitting for a couple of decades it probably doesn’t run! With any luck, it isn’t seized and will fire right up after some basic maintenance.
As can be seen here, this car is seriously dusty! It is also packed in tightly, a testament to how long it has been where it is. There are no pictures of the rear of the car, and it is easy to see why. The seller describes the body as being in great condition, and I suspect that under all this dust is halfway decent paint over solid sheet metal. This would be a great starting point for a restoration, or a quick route to a nice driver-quality Model A. What would you do?
Auctions Ending Soon
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1Bid Now20 hours$7,100
2003 Porsche Boxster SBid Now21 hours$6,000
1966 Lincoln ContinentalBid Now23 hours$500
2000 Jaguar XJ8LBid Now4 days$1,250
1977 Datsun 280ZBid Now5 days$275
Comments
This is the kind of “find” I have wanted to stumble on ever since I was a wee lad! Of course back then, I could have taken the proceeds from my paper route, converted them into a crisp new C-note, handed it to the owner, and (with my father’s help) dragged it home where, over the course of a summer or two, I could have pulled out my Basic Hand Tools and a J.C. Whitney catalog, and gotten it back on the road!
Those days are past, unfortunately, both monetarily and in regard to my energy level and available spare time. But I still love the car (and Model As in general), and more than a little envious of whoever gets this. Doesn’t look like a terrible job to get it in nice shape.
Great story RayT. I remember round ring toilet dents in my ass after I spent too long sitting and reading J.C. Whitney catalogs, wishing, hoping, and dreaming.
Would be nice to see it cleaned up. Might even sell for more money. As found pics are ok but then clean it. This ( A ) is to dirty to tell if it’s good or bad.
Looks like a nice car and a great find. Good luck to the new owner (I wish it was me!).
And its not riddled with bullet holes! But hey, not sure if there was a lot of gang activity in IA back then…
We still had booze runners during prohibition and most of them did business in Chicago. Heck, my great grandmother got caught once.
another desirable old timer
Looks like a great car to get running and redo the interior and just drive. I happen to be friends with a man who inherited his father’s 1930 model A that his dad bought new when he was 15 years old. Unfortunately Sr. Passed away about two weeks after his 100th birthday and now his son has it. He tells me it will never leave his family until he dies! Unbelievable a one owner vehicle for 85 years.
wow, this like stumbling on an artifact from the titanic even the dust is antique
When I was 16, back in the 50’s, on vacation away from home, shopping for a taillight lens for my cousin’s ’41 Pontiac fastback (not a great car at all) in a junk yard, we came across a Model B station wagon, red, with all the wood, but the canvas top insert was shreds and the wood slats that held it up were mostly no good, V8, turned over with the crank that was in the crank hole in front, but did not run. Had a Christmas tree in the back, complete with tinsel. Could have had it for $50, but my father, quite practically, said, “How are you going to get it the 120 miles to home? We are not towing it behind our car, even if we could find a rig to tow it with.” But every time I see a Model A or B I sigh, the ones that got away. I did eventually, years later, buy a ’40 Standard wagon, for $75, it had a live tree growing up through it, and sold it for $250 when it became clear that restoring it was far beyond my skills or wallet. It had most of the wood, including the wood that held up the canvas top, sheet metal and glass were solid, floors and frame too, but no engine or transmission. And it was, to me, the ugly sea mist green that Ford used back then. Sort of like the off-green that Subaru does now – family joke is that “it’s snot green”.
You guys that want to drive stock model As must not drive in SoCal traffic. You can keep up with street traffic,but you can’t stop with it.
I had a ’30 Ford 5 window coupe. Perfect shape, put in an Olds motor, Ford rear and loved that car. Late 60’s. Lots of pep for sure. Nov 2020.