Vehicle Description
: 1929 Ford Wooden Boattail Speedster Full frame-off restoration.
Antique helmets and goggles plus 4 new spoke wheels and tires and
another set. Said to be the only numbers-matching one left. This
car was found after living 18 years as a coupe in a barn outside of
New York. The car was not made the way it is by Ford. This idea
came from engineers who had other ideas... they constructed the
boat tails from metal, not wood, 96% of these cars were metal.
Around 1946, the engineers decided to try making the tails from
wood but they discontinued the idea a few years later. Around 1980,
new engineers and some teenagers continued this idea, 5 years worth
of ideas and labor went into this car. Today, it is said to be the
only wood boattail registered in the USA. Following story and
photos by Dan Keep in the Car Corner: You might have seen Tom
Spoonerow driving around town in his 1929 BoatTail Speedster. Is is
quite an eye catcher! He purchased the car about ten months ago
from the National Model A Club in North Carolina. Tom purchased the
car because he loved the wood boat tail and the fact that the car
is all original and has matching numbers on the major components of
the car, both of which are very rare. It is said to be the only
wood boat tail registered in the U.S. It appears that Boat Tails
were custom made cars and Tom mentioned that his was built on a
shortened Model A truck frame. Over its history, the car has gone
through three frame-off restoration. One of the most striking
things about the car is the yellow wheels. Tom said that he
considered painting them a cream color but changed his mind and
went with yellow. I think they look great and really make the car
pop when you see it! The car has the original four-cylinder engine
and three speed transmission. Tom also has two complete sets of
original leather racing helmets and goggles to go with the car.
What a fantastic example of a unique and beautiful classic car!
