Vehicle Description
1931 Ford Model A Coupe
It takes a certain amount of faith to dive headlong into a
do-it-yourself, traditional hot rod build project, especially one
that begins with a basket-case shell of an old Ford. Faith that
you'll find the parts you need. Faith that you can marry disparate
- and sometimes ancient - components into some cohesive whole.
Faith that the end result will not only move under its own power
but do so safely, while looking good, too. Many of us have this
dream. We know a lot of people with garages full of old parts. But
not everyone has the skills and patience to put them all
together.
For consignment, in classic style, a fender-less 5-window coupe
rodded to excellence, old school through and through, a hot engine
under the open hood, and some flames painted on. I'm behind the
wheel and ready for the girl in the polka dot skirt to drop the
handkerchief! Named the "Duckworth Special '', in honor of the
consignor's brother, and he also gets lucky number 7. Zoom!
Exterior
All steel covers this classic with a black flamed hood (top only)
and white body named the "Duckworth Special" complete with a racing
number 7, rounded tail and 5-window roof. Gaps are looking good,
and it reminds me of the early stock car days at the Reading
Fairgrounds dirt track oval where we would show up with our
brimless felt hats airbrushed with our favorite car and driver, and
smell the burnt racing gas and feel the dirt. Those racers would
work that steering wheel to get the cars to float into the turns
never getting out of the throttle. This car harkens back to that
great time but is reserved for the street. Some chrome trimmings
like the football helmet guard chrome bumper, flared bar
"protectors" in front of the rear wheels, headlight casings and
bezels, and 15-inch shiny wheel covers. On the back of the rounded
tail is a nicely painted pinstripe flourish, along with dual pipes
peering out of the bottom. And the green flag waves, with a roar of
accelerating engines all vying for the front, kicking up the
dust.
Interior
Opening the small simple doors, we see some charcoal gray vinyl
smooth outer panels with a tuck and roll gray broadcloth bordered
by red piping. This provides an excellent threshold for the
cockpit, which sports nice bomber style buckets covered in black
smooth vinyl bolsters and more tuck and roll gray broadcloth
inserts, and more red piping. Beautiful tweed low cut pile
carpeting creates a calm sea for the seats to float in. Upfront a
red topped dash with white flourish pinstripes curves upward around
an eye shaped dash front painted in black and in a full metal
jacket. A series of white faced gauges evenly curved and soaked out
in the center, along with a few simple knobs and pulls, and it's
fully dressed and ready for the party. A shout out to the trunk
where a collection of vintage sponsor and racing stickers abounds
harkening back to the days of Sinclair gas, Hooker Headers, Sugar
City Speed Shop, and the obligatory pin up gals.
Drivetrain
With a Comp Cam inserted, and lubed by synthetic oil, a 350ci V8
sits snugly under the open sided front of this car. The black
flames lick at a Holley 4-barrel carburetor, nice headers, supple
hoses and wires, Edelbrock valve covers, and an electric fan to
keep it all cool during a hot race. On the back is a TH350
transmission in 3-speed automatic form and a Ford 9-inch rear with
Moser axles.
Undercarriage
A dropped front axle with disc brakes is up front with transverse
leaf sprung suspension. On back is a 4 link with coil over
suspension and drum brakes. All solid, rust free steel, and all
looking structurally sound. Glasspack style mufflers are on, and
overall, it's a very clean environment.
Drive-Ability
A race car styled classic looker rod, stepping inside its quiet
luxurious. A quick starter with a roar and it was off to the test
track, where I had so much fun, I took it to the streets of
Morgantown, PA. Here it turned heads, turned on a dime, and people
stopped and really looked, as the car came to a smooth stop at the
traffic light in the old town. I even had one person shout Reading
Fairgrounds! So, see.... I was correct in my assessment.
A classic rod looking like a classic dirt track car, but with
comforts of a nice interior, and classy wheel covers, and no dirt
anywhere. Just the look is enough and with the power it has you
will be more than satisfied to be tooling through your
neighborhood, stirring up the dust and leaves on the suburban
streets, shades of the old Fairgrounds dirt track. Lucky Seven,
"Duckworth Special".
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.