1929 2 door phaeton?

[Brendan]

Hi i saw the movie the 1985 The Color Purple , there was a 29 2dboor phaeton in it, i have never seen one. but i know they where made in 30 and 31

[40-A Twins]

This one ? director probably wanted a fake movie prop car instead of the real thing

[Marshall V. Daut]

Using only this photo as a basis, it looks to me as if someone had removed the left rear door handle on a 1929 Model A Phaeton. Or maybe it just fell off? There was definitely no Two-Door Phaeton made in 1928-29. I have seen Tudor Sedan bodies cut down to look like a Phaeton, but of course, they all missed the mark by a wide margin.
Marshall

[ronn]

that car does look a tad long..............

[Oldbluoval]

There were/are fiberglass knock offs

[Marshall V. Daut]

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It is not too clear in that photo, but perhaps someone incorporated the rear doors into the body to make it seamless in the quarter panels? I don't see any rear door hinges or defining lines/shadowing marking the front and rear edges of the rear door. That would make the section behind the front door seem excessively long, as "ronn" suggests. But if the rear doors were "glassed" in or welded in, how would passengers get in and out of the backseat area? Lord knows, the front door openings in a '28-29 Phaeton are barely wide enough for the driver and front seat passenger. The rear seat passengers would have to climb over the front seat! Now, THAT'S real convenient for all concerned! And then, too, one wonders: Why go through all that effort to seal up the rear doors? To what end? It will NEVER be confused with a true two-door (1930-31 Deluxe) Phaeton, for Pete's sake! A closer view of this car would be helpful. Was it only shown in the film from a distance?
Marshall

[Randy in ca]

Just found this statement made on an online site where the same picture was posted:


It is in fact a 1928 Model A. The only reason I know is that it is owned by my father. I was a teenager when he "rebuilt" the car, and we were on the set when it was used for the movie. There is a lot of history about the car. It was a chopped-down 2-door sedan when my dad bought it. It looked like an oversized MG. He re-designed and built it back to a phaeton style body. What throws everybody is that it is now a 2 door phaeton. But Ford only built 4-door phaetons in '28 and '29. They didn't offer 2-doors until '30 and '31. People who really know Model A's are always stumped when they see it.

[nkaminar]

The average viewer is not going to know the difference, and that includes 99% of the people who view the movie.

[Marshall V. Daut]

Randy -
From what I can see if the photo, your father did a good job making the conversion. The Waterloo of most such attempts is the windshield area. Most guys just leave the closed car windshield in place, which looks clunky. A great deal of thought and work went into making that area look like a factory open car windshield. Did your father mate an open car cowl to the Tudor body from behind the doors? That would seem to be a logical way to make the conversion. With those outside door handles, dark body moldings over a lighter body color, windwings, and what appears to be a black steering wheel, one would first think of a 1929 Model A Phaeton, not a 1928. No matter, though. Where is the car now?
Marshall

[ronn]

Marshall- Randy doesnt own it. found the statement "online"

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by 40-A Twins

This one ? director probably wanted a fake movie prop car instead of the real thing

yes that is it

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by Randy in ca

Just found this statement made on an online site where the same picture was posted:


It is in fact a 1928 Model A. The only reason I know is that it is owned by my father. I was a teenager when he "rebuilt" the car, and we were on the set when it was used for the movie. There is a lot of history about the car. It was a chopped-down 2-door sedan when my dad bought it. It looked like an oversized MG. He re-designed and built it back to a phaeton style body. What throws everybody is that it is now a 2 door phaeton. But Ford only built 4-door phaetons in '28 and '29. They didn't offer 2-doors until '30 and '31. People who really know Model A's are always stumped when they see it.

it through me off, when i saw the movie

[wrndln]

It would be nice if more pictures of the 28 2 door phaeton were posted here. It sounds like Randy's farther did a nice job creating it. I wonder why Ford didn't manufacture a 2 door phaeton using the Tudor body as a base for a 2 door phaeton in 28 and 29. It seems it would be fairly straight forward to to do, the interior would be identical or nearly identical, however the A pillar, doors and fold down top areas would be the tougher things to change.
Rusty Nelson