Went to family reunion last night and there was talk of a old Ford Coupe with a rumble seat that my father wanted to buy back in the 60`s. The guy (realtive that bought car new) sent the car back to ford to have it rebuilt. Few months later the car came back brand new with new paint and fiberglass fenders on it. To cut this story short the car changed hands twice but still in family and its been sitting not being used.

They say its a 1929. My father says 1930. Looked at some photos and a 1931 is the closest one that looks like it should be so it could really be a 1929 - 1931 with a rumble seat.

My question is how much would said vehicle be worth? They claim it started up but that its just sitting rusting away so I dont know the shape its in though.

Reason I am asking is because my father mentioned a trade of the bike that he cant drive no more (too big) for the car. Most likely would have to ask for some money for the bike as well considering I dont think a 31 Ford coupe would be worth as much as a 84 fully loaded Honda Goldwing with only 32,000 orignal miles on it.

Doesnt mean that we are going to give them a trade for the value of the car just curious about a value so if they want more can try to talk them down.

If it helps I know it has fiberglass fenders for sure, its a I4 in it, and has what my father says (he got to drive it after it came back) a clutch pedal and regular floor shifter. I am not too big on this but I know Jay leno`s 23 roadster wasnt like that but could have changed it by 29 - 31. As far as how long been sitting I am not sure but I would say its been sitting for a while maybe ran once in a while in the past 10 - 20 years but I cant say for sure.

Nada guide is listing like $5,000 for the car in low value. But goes on to say low value is for a car that is most useable as is that it has wear and tear and needs some mechanical reconditioning. I think this would need alot and the fenders might even be messed up cause theres stuff piled on the car I hear and I know fiberglass cracks easily.

 

> I dont think a 31 Ford coupe would be worth as much as a 84 fully loaded Honda Goldwing with only 32,000 orignal miles on it.

Your Goldwing is worth $25,000?

Get a copy of Hemmings, that should help determine value. If ownership can be proved since brand new, it was rebuilt by Ford, and is unmolested, it is worth a lot $$$

Using NADA for something like this is worthless.

 

It was rebuilt by ford in detroit but I wouldnt say it is unmolested because ford installed fiberglass fenders on it in the 60`s when they rebuilt it instead of keeping the steel fenders. As far as being worth $25,000 I dont think its worth that much cause the high retail for a 31 came back as only $20,000.

Thing is though the guy who bought the car is dead he sold it to his son in law then his daughter divorced him and she got the car in the divorce and its basically been sitting since then.



Like wise the guy that was with her at the reunion he was saying that should get rid of it cause its sitting rusting away. The way how he was talking makes me think the hood and body was rusting through so like I said i dont know what shape the car is in but was just trying to get an estimate on value for one that is in **** poor shape and gauge from there.

Was looking on ebay just now and saw some orignal ones in pretty bad shape up around $2,500. But bidding is not the same though as value.



I was how ever talking to my father and he was saying that what hes going to do is offer $2,000 as the value as the most. If they want more he will say that why pay more when they got the car in mint condition 1 year after ford rebuilt it in the 60`s for $3,500.

 

Sounds like a classic misunderstanding of terms. Unless the car has been sitting outside I really doubt it has rusted away, if it has been outside it wouldn't be worth buying at all. Of course without pics no one can say what it is worth. If it was rebuilt and never driven and stored inside it is worth a LOT of money. I'd pay $20K in a heartbeat for a clean "high retail" '31. Unmolested steel bodies are very hard to come by, fenders are a very small part of the value since most rodders take them off anyway.

 

The story that I know of so far is the car was rebuilt by ford fiberglass fenders put on it. The car was drove a year. Then sold drove for alil while longer then its been sitting I would probably say since 1965 ( ? ) or so till now. I know dust and dirt will cause rust. My 56 fairlane sat in a shed for 20 years and it rusted just due to dust settling on the car and never being cleaned for 20 years. They said the car was rusting up. There was also something about stuff being set upon the car but I dont know. They did say the car did start up lately but I dont know how lately or if they scratched the cylinder walls up trying to start it (they arent really automotive people).

But I wouldnt say its unmolested considering the fenders arent orignal. The fenders are part of the car in my book.

I guess all I can do is look at the car and guess how much its worth. I was wishing for a value of one that doesnt run and would need to be redone.

 

There's a few fuzzy areas in their story. First of all, if they are willing to trade you a 1931 Ford Coupe for an '84 GoldWing, jump on it with both feet. I don't mean to badmouth your 'Wing, but no matter how nicely cared for it is, I seriously doubt it's worth anywhere near what a complete Model A coupe. These coupes have gained quite a following lately with the hot rod crowd and they would have no problem snagging $6,000 for a complete, older restoration. The 'glass fenders did not come from Ford, no how, no way. There are tons of suppliers that have been making 'glass Model A parts for more than few decades, so my guess would be the "rebuilt by Ford" story started out as a misunderstanding and got repeated until it was accepted as fact. As for the running gear, Model A parts are very plentiful and very cheap. They all interchange bewteen years (1928-1931) and ae very easy to work on. If the car had rust, it's likely most prevalent in the lower cowl, door bottoms and lower quarter panels, all easily fixable since patch panels are available and the thick sheetmetal is easy to do a nice weld on. Check ebay for a good cross-section of prices, but don't expect to find any good deals there. The body alone is worth a minumum of $3500+, and I'm talking bare body, no interior whatsoever. It's your call, but I'd be all over it. Good Luck! Jim

 

Also, ALL Model A's an T's came with clutches and floor shifters. The shifter was part of the transmission (think early truck) and to my knowledge column shifters were never on any Ford prior to the late '40's. The motor and trans are the least of your worries, just concentrate on the body, everything else is dirt cheap and not even close to being rare, regardless of what the family may think.

 

Well the 1923 Model T that Jay leno has the shifter is a foot pedal. Far left one press in for reverse. let up for neutral basically. Press the far right pedal down for 1st gear, let up for 2nd gear. Center pedal was brake and your heel had a contact button for the starter. Spark advance and throttle was on the steering wheel. His had the 2 spd rear axle and had a floor shift for the axle but not for the transmission. Thats what had me thrown I didnt know they got that far away from the 1923 Model T to the 1931-32 cars.

But in the end found out from friend that he starts the car and that its in good shape and runs still. He said that someone offered them $20,000 years ago for it and they turned it down cause they wanted to keep the car in the family. Either way we gave up on the idea cause at the time of the post we thought they didnt know what it was worth seeing as those relatives are out in the country and not really too computer bright.

But like I told my father why do that when on craigslist theres completed hotrod model A coupes going for $25,000. He could get one all ready to go for $5,000 more over one thats orignal with the 4 cylinder engine in it. Likewise I saw one that was orignal that was complete for $10,000 and ran just needed minor work. On Ebay there was a rusted out one needing a full restoration that just recenty ended for $6,000 and it was all there just in pretty bad shape.

 

Sorry, you are right about the T shifters, for some reason I was thinkning column shift, my bad. As for hot rods bringing more money, that's long been a fact of life in the Model A world. Stock model A's have mechanical brakes, are slow on the freeway, and just aren't as easy to adapt to for today's (or yesterday's for that matter) driver. The people who loved model A's from their youth are a dying breed, and the people who would rather have a neat model A with a small block, automatic and disc brakes far outnumber them. If they were offered $20,000 for a stock model A coupe, and they were at al interested in selling, they should have jumped on it. That's well over twice what any unrestored coupe would be worth, as you have found out. I love those years of coupes and currently have a '30 Model A pickup hot rod, but they really aren't worth what lots of people think, and I know that sometimes you can't put a price on sentimental value.

 

Well this $20,000 offered was back in like the 1970`s or so. Thats why they werent so adapt to giving a price they wanted for the car they wanted us to make an offer which we dont do. In the end though we basically lost interest when we found that out. We typically get vehicles as cheap as possible thats why we were interested. At the time didnt know they knew the value. In the end just focus on the projects going on now and if they come around fine if not oh well. Personally I rather get my 56 fairlane up and running over a model A. Atleast she has a radio and can drive highway speeds.

 

LOL, you and I think alike. My family has had hot rods for as long as I've been alive (I'm 47) and while I have my '30 pickup, it hasn't run in years. I was about this close (picture me holding my thumb and forefinger about 1/8" apart) to rebuilding my A a few years back when I spent a day with my brother in his '31 Tudor sedan hot rod. It's a great car for a hot rod, it's low, fast and easy to look at, but after a day in it, I had a splitting headche. Not only that, but you can't lock it, the thing leaks (they all do), and I for one would not care to be in even a minor fender-bender in it. Not long afterwards, I bought a nice '68 Mustang fastback and never looked back. It's still neat to look at, but it's also neat to drive, even on longer trips. Good luck with the '56, those are neat cars.

 

Yep they are. One thing I had always wanted to do was build a 1/4 scale R/C roadster with a real flat head V8 in it. I can get one ready to go though but its $18,000 for the 1/4 scale roadster and the 40 hp stinger 609 engine with small blower.

As far as I am concerned I could build the frame and the body myself I just need the engine since I cant cast or machine small 1/4 scale engine blocks or heads from square stock. But in the end I am looking at $2500 at the least and personally I rather put that into something else.

But the closest I have gotten to that is having these 1/6 scale diecast engines I have put together. But would still like a reproduction stock flat head in 1/4 scale that ran off gasoline though just to sit on my desk.