3 window coupe

[Dave Mellor NJ]

I thought this was just a prototype. This one has had some use

[Marshall V. Daut]

As I recall a story in a 1970's issue of the "Restorer", this coupe was a prototype that made it into the public. In the 1950's, a Model A lover saw this car parked on a Los Angeles street and took photos of it because it was so unusual. Not much was known about it at the time and everyone assumed that as a prototype, it had been destroyed by Ford. But it hadn't been. It had at least 25 years use by who-knows-how-many owners by the time the photos were taken, which were printed in the article. One could clearly see 1950's cars parked in front and behind the coupe, so that sets the timeframe as being reliable. Was there more than one of these three-window prototypes?
I know that the 1929 Cabriolet prototype also escaped Ford's destruction boys after its New York Car Show debut. Larry and Gwen Machek in Texas have the remains of the body, which has a couple distinctive identifying features that didn't make it into production 1929 Cabriolets.
Marshall

[mercman from oz]

Prototype ? 1930 Ford Model A Three Window Coupe - Dave Mellor NJ

[fried okra]

Very interesting.....

[ModelA29]

This area looks different than 28-31 steeper and taller at the back. 1935 wheels? Bigger hubcap. License says OLD 817 - I wouldn't read anything into it since this is pre personalized plates in CA.
This may be a typical engineering car. Use it for several years testing misc parts. When they were done with it an employee may have offered to purchase it. Henry being Henry would of course opted for putting a little money in his pocket rather than spending it to scrap it. Even today some styling/prototype/test cars show up years after they were to be scrapped.

The photos in the archives say "experimental" and on the back 1930 Coupe Deluxe. It's said Henry loved his 29 Coupe I wonder if he drove this one on a regular basis.
BUT looking at the photos I think the maroon 3 window is much later since it has a slant windshield and the 30 prototype doesn't. Could it be a 32 body on an A chassis?

[Retson the Racer]

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I'm curious, is there any way to contact Larry Machek about that cabriolet body? I sure would love to see it!

[Chris Haynes]

Those black CA license plates came out in 1963.

[jb-ob]

If Ford Motor company was in the business of building and selling cars, why would they destroy a prototype when it could be sold as a 'new car'. Most of those 'unique' Fords when new were just another car to be sold.

[rotorwrench]

The slant windshield cars were all Fordor, Victoria, or Cabriolet models built by the body subcontractors Briggs and Murray. That car is likely a custom built either from a Fordor, Victoria, or a Cabriolet. It was a much better than average alteration but it was not built by Ford.

[nkaminar]

I would guess that Edsel had it built.

[Gary Karr]

The prototype slant windshield Coupe was on display at the 1976 MAFCA National Convention in Long Beach at the Queen Mary. I remember it and it is the same as pictured above. The last I heard was in 2011 and that it was still somewhere in Los Angeles.

[A Model A]

There were (at least) two prototype 3-Window Model A Coupes built by or for Ford.


The straight windshield one posted by ModelA29 earlier in this thread is dated 10-16-29. The photo was taken in the Ford engineering building in Dearborn (look on the far right of the image and see the full size chalkboard with part of the front end of a Model A).


The slant windshield 3W coupe was photographed outside of the same building in photos dated March 12 1931. Interestingly this photograph shows the car has an aftermarket style horn attached to the headlight bar. More recent photos of the S/W 3W can be found in the Nov/Dec 1990 Restorer.

There was also a slant windshield Tudor prototype, photos of that can be found on Vince Falter's site.
https://www.fordgarage.com/pages/EGBudd55BSlant.htm


We did a video on the Slant Windshield Pickup Truck Prototype if anyone cares to learn more about that vehicle.
https://youtu.be/2iSKmvT1j4Y

A lot of Prototype Model A's were made luckily several of them survive.

[rotorwrench]

Edsel Ford worked with the subcontractors like Briggs and Murray to build concept cars. He had his eye on European design but he had a hard time getting those ideas past his father. With Lincoln, he could do what he wanted but the Ford line was another story. After he hired Bob Gregorie, they would work on more. They worked with the craftsmen they had at the aircraft plant across the road from the engineering lab to fabricate one off body parts. The trimotor plant was only building parts at the time since full production was shut down so the employees liked the change of pace. The horn on that coupe was a European design that they used on another sports type concept car.

Edsel eventually had a full design studio at the lab where they made both small and full size clay mock ups. This was the only way to make major yearly design changes quick enough to consider full production. Bob Gregorie's book has a lot of info in it of his time with Ford Motor Company. Bob came after the model A years but his model Y design was upsized to produce the 1933 & 34 Ford designs.

[Randy in ca]

Another picture - at Obsolete Ford Parts with the hood open!!

-

[katy]

How many versions of Model A coupes did Ford sell?

[rotorwrench]

Edsel used to drive some of the one off cars but would give some of them to company people. Some he kept a long time and others for a short time. One of the perks of being second in command. He got to know Bob Gregorie due to his interest in boat design. Edsel liked boats too and would commission companies to make them the way he wanted them. He found that Bob could instinctively know exactly what he wanted in a specific design. Both he and Henry were fortunate to find people like that.

The Ford photo of the deluxe coupe design shows the 1930/31 wheels and the European horn. The later photos show the smaller diameter Ford wheels and a standard type horn so that car was definitely used by the owners it went to.

[ModelA29]

Originally Posted by jb-ob

If Ford Motor company was in the business of building and selling cars, why would they destroy a prototype when it could be sold as a 'new car'. Most of those 'unique' Fords when new were just another car to be sold.

Many reasons. Cobbled together, no replacement parts, and today no emissions or crash testing. They are a liability suit waiting to happen.

[atch]

Originally Posted by jb-ob

If Ford Motor company was in the business of building and selling cars, why would they destroy a prototype when it could be sold as a 'new car'. Most of those 'unique' Fords when new were just another car to be sold.

Originally Posted by ModelA29

Many reasons. Cobbled together, no replacement parts, and today no emissions or crash testing. They are a liability suit waiting to happen.

Note that the four Thunderbirds that Ford used in their commercials when they reintroduced them in 2001 toured the country beforehand. They spent a day in Jefferson City Missouri at the state capitol building. Folks who had two-seat T-birds and/or Mustang convertibles were invited to bring them there. I have neither but have a friend who at that time had both. He asked me to drive the Mustang and he drove the '55 'bird.

While there we were invited to drive these prototypes around Jefferson City. These were hand built for promotional use and looked/drove just like the later production models. We asked what would eventually happen to these four cars and were told that they would be crushed so as to never have any liability issues should they come into the hands of the public.

[Bob Bidonde]

There are 8 Model "A" production coupes & 3 experimental coupes:
1928 & 29 45-A Standard Coupe
1928 & 29 49-A Special Coupe
1928 & 29 50-A Sport Coupe
1928 & 29 54-A Business Coupe (3 variations)
1930 & 31 45-B Standard Coupe
1930 & 31 45-B Deluxe Coupe
1930 & 31 50-B Sport Coupe
1931 190-A Victoria Coupe
Experimental 1931 3-window coupes in 3 variations