1938 Ford Deluxe Fordor Model 81A
The current owner of this car knew about her for at least 10 years before he became the conservator. The owner before him, an old friend, had the car for decades and never even registered it. In 2022, when he got the car back to his garage, he set to work immediately on her to see what her needs would be.
The car started and ran, 221 Flat Head 24 stud V8, but didn't much else.
The first order of business was to removed the original interior, including the unfortunately tattered headliner, and assess the metal needs beneath it all.
A fiberglass(? - it may have been something else) patch on the driver's floor was pulled and new floor beaded/rolled and welded in. A weak spot next to the windshield wiper mount also needed tending and a crunchy/crusty area along the top of the frame, also on the driver side, was fully repaired with 1/4" steel, cut and fit into place, not just welded over the bad stuff. It's hard to see where the work was even done.
All in all, the owner replaced the front and rear windshields, adjusted the brakes (these are cable and not power, but they do stop the car well), the aforementioned metal work, he constructed and installed a new headliner in a material that nearly matches the door cards and used the rest for the new carpets. The rest of the plush interior is all original.
He addressed some fuel issues by rebuilding the entire fuel system, flushing the tank, rebuilt the distributor, and installed a new, 6V electric fuel pump. This helps immensely on cold starts, but once warm, is often not needed for restarts. The car retains it's original 6 volt system.
Now, with the engine running well, the car driving easily under her own power and stopping when she's supposed to, he focused on appearance. His first thought was to sand her all down and repaint her, but with everything else original and the paint possibly original, he just cleaned her up and applied some Patina Sauce to her.
Mabel, as she has been named by his family, is ready for the road. As a four door, she may not have the mass appeal as a two door but that makes her all the better for rides out for ice cream with the family.
Three of the four tires are original Ford wide white walls, they are probably just a little younger than the car, they may be original and as such, were kept on the car. They look pretty good and while definitely not suitable for highway drives, would be fine for around town.
She now starts reliably, runs and drives great and is quite comfy.
All the gauges work, the lights work, the horn toots, the wind up clock keeps time, and the wipers turn, albeit rather slowly as they're 6V ( a new set of wipers and arms is included, as well as other spare bits), the radio does not work and is out of the car, it comes with her.
The 54221 miles shown are believed to be original, based on the oil change tags on the door, the last oil change taking place at 49,000 miles, in August of 1969
All the rust was repaired, so she is really rather solid.
The owner will provide a folder of all receipts and a notebook with every bit of work done.
The asking price of Mabel's dowry is $9000.
Any questions, for many photos and video, to schedule a time to see in person, or to just make an offer, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for the interest!
