Pre War Hot Rod: 1932 Ford Model A
If you tried driving a stock Model A around in modern traffic, you would certainly find yourself terrified being swarmed by grandmas and overly aggressive Uber drivers (sometimes one and the same!), but on the other hand a more modern Chevy 350 powered hot rod is seriously played out. Head for the middle ground and get a classic pre-war style rod instead. Find this 1930 Ford Model A here on eBay bidding for $13,000 reserve-not-met with 4 days to go, located somewhere in the Midwest.
From the seller:
Pre-War Hotrod Roadster Model A Survivor
We realize that the car featured in this auction is not going to be eveybody’s cup of tea. For those that can only be satisfied with a TRUE PRE-WAR MODEL A ROADSTER HOTROD, that exists today in its basic hotrod form and condition, paint and interior as it was made from 1942-1945.
This car could be the car for your museum or collection!
The two gentlemen that produced this hotrod were both accomplished engineers of the day.
This Model A Roadster has a Model B engine, dual carbs, Burns intake overhead valves.
Yes, yes, period correct overhead valves on a 4-cylinder Model A engine, can you believe it!
Casting on the overhead says, “use anti-knock fuel and use high compression plugs, Schofield Inc. of America, Los Angeles.
Like we said, this car is the REAL DEAL FROM THE 1940S.
This car runs good and it runs fast! Ask for information on video of the car running!
It has new tires and tubes. Other than that it is in its basic form from the 1940s.
Yes, we know that there are some car collectors that like the cars in their collection, that are pure to their originality. In order to achieve that goal there is always the hope of finding a true survivor as it existed during its time. This is one of the those cars that every car collector of California pre-war style hotrods dreams of finding. Yes this car is just as it was built with all the best of speed equipment of the day including the overhead valve engine conversion (yes, we have to repeat – this is an overhead valve engine) from the parts that were available during the early 1940s.
It is all metal, sorry you fans of fiberglass, you won’t find any fiberglass on this car.
The car drives like a 1940s period hotrod, Fast & Loud, and looks like a 1940s hotrod (all Henry Ford Metal). It can keep up with modern traffic, try doing that with your production Model A Ford. The speed equipment on this car and the overhead valve kit from the 1940s is irreplaceable especially when you consider that it is all together in one piece on one engine and in totally great running condition. (See video in this listing of the car running).
If you want a true piece of history and are willing to spend the money for it then this could be the car that you need in your collection or possibly in your museum of super rare American hotrods from the 40s.
This car is fully documented and the buyer will receive all the original documentation to prove up the history of this car. Please do not call us and ask us for copies of the history they are being held exclusively for the new buyer.
This is genuine, true American hotrod history and very few cars can compare with this car for its historical significance and documentation. We welcome all serious buyer inquiries.
See a better way to drive a metal classic? tips@dailyturismo.com
This car has historical significance and documented history… but we won't tell you what it is unless you're the winning bidder. Nice. (eyeroll)
It's a cool car and more of a purist hot rod, so it's going to stand out against the typical '32 carbon copies out there. But unless the history is shared, there's no trusting that it was really built when they say. A parts hoarder with an old Model A could have built this in the last 10 years. But at the current price, no harm done.
Also, I can't remember, does this thing have overhead valves? 😉
Whoa
Apparently the head was designed by Leo W. Goossen
Did a little googling and found this in a description of a similar car
bonhams.com/auctions/14018/lot/545/?category=list
The basic 200 cubic inch displacement engine, built by Ford in April, 1930, is equipped with a high performance rocker arm head designed by famed racing car builder Harry A. Miller's engineer, Leo W. Goossen. The head was produced by the Miller-Schofield Company then by the Cragar Company. This rare piece alone is worth the purchase.
Miller conceived the cylinder head in 1928 when the Ford Model A first came on the market and shortly before he sold his racing car and engine business to Schofield Inc. of America, but Schofield produced it only briefly. The design is a typical overhead valve conversion, similar to the Two-Port Riley and the Rutherford, using forged steel rocker arms to actuate the valves. The conversion more than doubled the original horsepower from 40 to about 90 HP at 3,200 RPM, particularly with the use of two Ford Chandler-Grove carburetors as in this installation, which is on a slightly later Model B block with pressure oiling. The original compression ratio was 5.75:1, but with the availability of better gasoline that could be upped to 7.5 or 8:1. The engine also has finned aluminum side plates and a mechanical fuel pump.
The head provides two oversize intake valves and four exhausts. The original owner, Robert Rein, installed with it better ignition and a lightened flywheel. With aluminum pistons and a re-ground camshaft, the car would be capable of more than 110 miles an hour on a smooth course. At an original sale price of $82.50, it was a bargain, even in the Depression-ravaged thirties.
Unlike some other Model A conversions, Goossen's design produces a deep, powerful exhaust note, not unlike that of the famous four-cylinder Offenhauser racing engine.
Schofield failed in December, 1930, when a director, Gilbert Beesemyer, admitted to embezzling more than $8 million from the Guarantee Building & Loan Co. he headed in Los Angeles. Harlan Fengler, the Indianapolis driver (1923-24) and later racing official, bought most of the designs and equipment at Schofield's bankruptcy sale and continued production of the Miller-Schofield equipment under the name Cragar. The original Miller-Schofield heads are extremely rare since they were only produced between January and December, 1930, when Schofield declared bankruptcy. The later Cragar version is vertical on the left side, whereas the Miller-Schofield head is slanted inwards.
and sold for $32,151- which sounds about right