Stored For 70 Years: 1925 Ford Model T Tudor
Some folks are lamenting that not every single vehicle shown here was actually found in a literal barn. Well, here ya go. This is a 1925 Ford Model T Tudor and it was parked in this barn/garage in Georgia from 1946 until 2016. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Conroe, Texas with a current bid price of just over $4,500 and there is no reserve.
Having been parked indoors for seven decades has gone a long way in preserving this car, but it does still have a fair amount of surface rust on it. Who am I kidding, it’s coated with surface rust, but at least it doesn’t appear to be rusty like most of us think, as in big, gaping rust holes and missing floors. Although, since the floors are wood they wouldn’t be rusty, says Mr. Obvious. Being in Georgia for all of those years is a bit dicier than being in most parts of Texas, or at least the bone-dry parts. Conroe is just 40 minutes north of Houston which is about as humid as it gets so that may not have been much better than Georgia. In any case, it sure looks well-preserved.
The car was purchased in Georgia in 2016 and relocated to just north of Houston, TX and although it ran well the seller wanted it to be drop-dead reliable so they removed the drivetrain and sent it off to a specialist to have it gone through. Here is a photo of the original owners, it’s always fun to see that. This car was originally green according to the seller.
Seven decades of storage, or was it the total of 93 years of being alive, has turned every square inch into a patina-mobile. I’m not sure what I would do here, I would hate to have rusty fingers every time I touched anything in or on this car, but I would hate to ruin the originality. Any thoughts as to what you would do? They say that the “original wooden floors, all the original interior, original glass and top cover are in place. The original glass is there, however the four regulators do not work and the passenger door glass is cracked. Replacement window regulators are available, however I just didn’t want to tear into the original door panels and mess up the original interior.”
This is Ford’s 177 cubic-inch inline-four which would have had 20 hp. It really sounds like a winner in the reliability department – the “engine received new valves and springs, piston rings and complete new gasket set. The cylinder walls are good enough that the original steel pistons are still in use. The transmission had a complete make over with new Kevlar bands and new bearings. The original thrust washers in the rear-end were replaced along with new axels, bearings and seals. The car starts and runs as it should and a new battery was installed about one year ago.” I can’t imagine that the seller will break even on selling this nice Model T but sometimes it’s nice to move onto the next project. Have any of you owned a Model T? I have not but I sure would like to someday.
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Comments
I seriously doubt that this Ford came off the line with old Tatared cloth and no paint, so the originality is long gone. If something isn’t done to arrest that rust there will be holes. So if this car warrants rebuilding the drive line and let’s face it the engine no longer has original parts in it neither does the transmission or rear axle then how can you call it an original car. Is it because you can’t see the new parts. I’ve never been one to buy into this only original once crap if this was mine there would be no question about a restoration. These older cars are simple and a good start for a DIY guy.
It’s already sold, so it doesn’t matter. But all it needs is about two cans of Gibbs. One for the body, the other to get the engine running and cleaned out. Simple technology.
The engine and drive chain has just been overhauled and runs well, so won’t need a clean out.
If your house and inside furnishings looked like that, you’d fix them. Unless you’re Fred Sanford.
Hey!…I resemble that remark………….
Nice one Woodie!
Beautiful. Well, not really beautiful, but certainly an honest and earned patina. What about a good washing and then rubbing the whole thing with wax till it shines? Or I heard recently about someone who treated exposed surface-worn/rusted body panels on an old Scout with WD40. Or what about doing what regular folk might have done way back in the day: give it a cheap rattle can or other repainted just to protect it? What a cool “specimen”. I’d love to have one of these some day
I believe costing an already rusted surface with WD-40 would only worsen the situation. WD-40 actually absorbers moisture
Plus it would smell really bad….
The seller probably could have gotten the same amount of money without doing any mechanical work. My guess it was wasted money. I see a street rod in its future.
Sold for a little over 7 g’s! I am sure that the person who was selling it is happy with their profit! Seems like a lot of money for what it was!
Restored Model T’s are a dime a dozen, and boring, IMO. Buy about 100 of these and construct a huge basin to drop the car in. Fill er up and come back in a few days! LOL Seriously, one could apply this stuff with a garden sprayer over a period of a few weeks…
Still surprised one slipped through the WWII scrap drives…..most likely it was stillrunning around……
As a past owner of several of these I can testify what a POS they are. They are fun to drive, however, until the rods start knocking.