Vehicle Description
1931 Ford Model A Tudor
Henry Ford liked to play with names and there are two theories why
he used the word Tudor for his Model A's they are 1: The House of
Tudor, the royal house of Welsh and English origin, descended in
the male line from the Tudors of Penmynydd. Tudor monarchs ruled
the Kingdom of England and its realms, including their ancestral
Wales and the Lordship of Ireland from 1485 until 1603. Henry Ford
thought that was cool. And 2: It was a marketing ploy.
Manufacturers had pet names for different body styles. The model T
touring car became a phaeton on the model A. It sounds better. The
tudor (2-door) and fordor (4-door) were marketing terms designed to
stick in the minds of the public.
For consignment, a beautifully restored 1931 Model A Tudor which
was the beneficiary of a full restoration courtesy Carl Taylor,
noted Model A restorer from Delaware, and performed in 1977.
Looking authentic, with two tone exterior, wire wheels, mohair
interior, and a bit upgraded with Berber carpeting, and woodgrain
moldings, right down to the rear window pull roll shade. This car
also works on a 6-volt positive ground system, and has powder
coated wheels, and new tires (less than 1,500 miles).
Exterior
Looking the part of the gangster era with its tall roofline,
extended cabin with wide rear windows, fenders and running boards,
along with the essential cowled hood, chromed radiator surround
flanked by chromed encased head lighting, dual bar bumpers in
front, and split dual bars on back. The beltline down on the body
is brown, and upwards for the roof is black along with the fenders
and running boards. A red pinstripe delineates these two colors and
runs from stem to stern. On the top of the cowl hood is plenty of
crazing in the finish. Nicely chromed cowl lights, round mirrors on
stalks hanging off of both sides, door handles and another dual bar
split rear bumper all show nicely. On the back of the tall back is
a mounted spare tire, 19-inch powder coated like the other 4
corners in red wrapped with wide white sidewall tires. A note to
the top, which is wrapped in vinyl in black, as technology of the
day would not allow for a large piece of steel to be pressed into
shape.
Interior
Mountains of mohair cover most surfaces of the door panels with a
nifty small elastic pouch and shiny handles, and a small strip of
dark tan Berber carpeting below at the lower door jamb. Inside tuck
and roll mohair buckets are in front, and in back a long tuck and
roll pattern couch with armrests and seat belts. More mohair
covering the vertical surfaces of the interior and the headliner
which is nice and tight. Seen on the rear window which has a roll
shade is a CHMSL (3rd brake light in LED). The dash top has been
wood grained, and the front is painted black with red pinstriping
negotiating its way around a center chromed "mask" style shiny
instrument cluster. A nice shiny original steering wheel is mounted
and extending proudly from this nice dash, and berber carpeting in
dark tan covers all the floors. Noted is a modern day cup holder
mounted near the glovebox on the passenger's side.
Drivetrain
Under the hood is a nicely restored and award winning 201ci
4-cylinder engine. It is fed fuel by a 1-barrel carburetor and the
original 3-speed transmission is on back pushing power rearward to
a 3.78 gear rear axle.
Undercarriage
Extremely clean with no rust in sight, frame and running boards, as
well as body hangers are solid and rust free. Some wood is on for
the under floor pans and is all solid and painted black. Transverse
leaf springs is the suspension on all 4 corners, and mechanical
drum brakes show up also on all 4 corners.
Drive-Ability
This old gal fired right up running on all 4 cylinders, and as I
slipped it into gear, we were ready to take on the test track. It
has a nostalgic feel to the ride, nice smooth acceleration, a
wonderful sound, and good handling. Braking needs to be planned a
bit ahead but works just fine.
A nice older restoration, a few dents and dings along with the
crazing on the hood, but all steel, all rust free, and looking good
in the two tone paint along with the highlighting chrome and pin
striping. Amazingly clean undercarriage, and definitely could be a
shower, as well as a driver. Just do not plan open cruising down
the highway at more than 40MPH!
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.