Abandoned roadster

[Dave Mellor NJ]

From pinterst. Know nothing about it

[Dave Mellor NJ]

From pinterest. nothing known about it

[mercman from oz]

Abandoned 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Roadster - Dave Mellor NJ

[Canton_Model_A's]

That will buff right out and look good as new!

[Marshall V. Daut]

This is how I prefer to see Model A's and T's, not in a line-up of shiny red and yellow restored ones. When I was younger, my greatest passion was combing through local farm fields, ravines, woods and creeks for abandoned Model A's, let alone peeking in rundown barns. Sometimes I found some gems, sometimes nothing. I still revel in that ditch near Washington, Iowa, that contained about 40 Model A, T and early V-8 bodies that had been dumped there in 1940 to fill the ravine for eventual farming. Boy, do I miss those days! The excitement of the hunt and "kill". This abandoned roadster photo awoke memories of all those years of excitement and hunting for abandoned antique cars. Thanks for posting it. I sure hope someone saves this car before nature completely reclaims it.
By the way, it looks more like a 1931 than a 1930 with that radiator shell.
Marshall

[47topless]

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......Boy, do I miss those days! The excitement of the hunt and "kill". This abandoned roadster photo awoke memories of all those years of excitement and hunting for abandoned antique cars. Thanks for posting it. I sure hope someone saves this car before nature completely reclaims it.
By the way, it looks more like a 1931 than a 1930 with that radiator shell.
Marshall[/QUOTE]

You nailed it!

WW11 took a lot of the old cars to recycle into arms. It appears that was a good thing.

[frank55a]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

This is how I prefer to see Model A's and T's, not in a line-up of shiny red and yellow restored ones. When I was younger, my greatest passion was combing through local farm fields, ravines, woods and creeks for abandoned Model A's, let alone peeking in rundown barns. Sometimes I found some gems, sometimes nothing. I still revel in that ditch near Washington, Iowa, that contained about 40 Model A, T and early V-8 bodies that had been dumped there in 1940 to fill the ravine for eventual farming. Boy, do I miss those days! The excitement of the hunt and "kill". This abandoned roadster photo awoke memories of all those years of excitement and hunting for abandoned antique cars. Thanks for posting it. I sure hope someone saves this car before nature completely reclaims it.
By the way, it looks more like a 1931 than a 1930 with that radiator shell.
Marshall

I can relate to what Marshall said about hunting for As in the 60s and 70s. My first "A" a 29 Tudor I found in 1963 in a cherry orchard in Idaho, where it sat for over 20 years. It cost me $25. My second "A" a 28 roadster also found in 1963 was missing a lot of parts but the body was intact and good condition, was sitting behind a barn in Washington state. It cost the large sum of $2.

In the 70s there were two 29 Tudor Sedans sitting in a small town about 20 up river from Davenport, Iowa (perhaps Marshall also knew about them) that I tried several times to buy. So the story went that the owner told me, he had bought them both new and parked 1 while driving the other. When the driver needed to much work he parked it in the backyard and started driving the other "A", when it too was about worn out he parked it next to the first "A" where they both sat for many years. He would not sell either car "as he planned to restore one of them and use the parts from the other to do the job. They had been sitting so long that about 6" of the bottom of the wheels closest to the ground were rusted off. To my knowledge they were still there in 1984 when I left Iowa for Delaware. Frank

[Oldbluoval]

Ran when new!

[oldspert]

Owner will not sell, is going to restore it "someday"

[AzBob]

Originally Posted by oldspert

Owner will not sell, is going to restore it "someday"

X2, That was commonly heard remark back in the 1960's and 70's when I would find Model A's in similar condition out in a field or behind a shed in Idaho farm country.

[700rpm]

I met a girl in college in 1966 who said there was an old Ford in a field on her parent’s property, and I could have it free just for the taking. She drove me out to the farm and as we approached the field I could see a roadster that looked pretty rough but sorta complete sitting under a tree. As I got closer it showed as being somewhat picked over, and pretty straight, but the tree had grown up right through the middle. It would have taken a pro arborist a full day to cut that tree out safely, and a way lot of hard labor to move what remained of that roadster from its 30+ years in that field. It’s been over 60 years, but…
…It might still be there.

[old31]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

I met a girl in college in 1966 who said there was an old Ford in a field on her parent’s property, and I could have it free just for the taking. She drove me out to the farm and as we approached the field I could see a roadster that looked pretty rough but sorta complete sitting under a tree. As I got closer it showed as being somewhat picked over, and pretty straight, but the tree had grown up right through the middle. It would have taken a pro arborist a full day to cut that tree out safely, and a way lot of hard labor to move what remained of that roadster from its 30+ years in that field. It’s been over 60 years, but…
…It might still be there.

Ya but, but, but what happened with the college girl?

[ModelA29]

Originally Posted by oldspert

Owner will not sell, is going to restore it "someday"

Yes - It's not abandoned - owner exactly where he parked it 30 years ago.

[Chuck Dempsey]

Deluxe '31? I see a step plate for the Rumble Seat, and a chrome windshield frame....

[Big hammer]

Damn it ! That’s where I left it , it was a good party though!

[Stretch Cab]

Is it just me or do you try to see into every old barn you pass that has a door open? I often see cars that aren't there but I can't help but keep looking.

[Marshall V. Daut]

Yup. I am constantly looking in open garage and barn doors while driving around. 'Haven't found anything for decades, though. Either the cars are hidden from sight under mounds of cardboard boxes and tarps, or the cars are stashed in more dedicated storage facilities away from prying eyes - like mine. Time was, you could count on seeing a Model's rear end in an open garage while the owner was cutting his lawn. Those days are apparently gone, too.
Marshall

[oldspert]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

Either the cars are hidden from sight under mounds of cardboard boxes and tarps

Neighbor down the street has a 34 Ford 5 window in his garage, stuffed under mounds of boxes.

[Marshall V. Daut]

"Deluxe '31? I see a step plate for the Rumble Seat, and a chrome windshield frame...."

Could be. The stainless steel windshield posts seem to be the right height versus Standard Roadster posts, which are taller. The cowl lights are another possible DeLuxe identifier, although many Standards received them from owners or dealers, akin to rumble seat additions post-factory. The windshield frame itself would have been chrome plated. But after years of exposure in this environment, the plating would have certainly gone away, resulting in the frame looking like it does here.
The odds are also in favor of this being a Deluxe Roadster. According to the DeAngelis book, there were only 5,499 Standard Roadsters produced in 1931, while the DeLuxes reached a whopping 52,997. That equates to about 10 times as many Deluxe Roadsters that year than Standards. Why wouldn't anyone back in the day pay an extra $45 or so to upgrade from a Standard Roadster to a DeLuxe, considering all the extras one got with the DeLuxe model? Yes, $45 was actually $45 back then and a hefty chunk of change during the Great Depression. But what a difference between the two models for a measly $45 Yankee cartwheels!
Marshall

[Chuck Dempsey]

According to one Inflation Calculator I found online, $45 in 1931 equals $910 today. So it would equal almost 5% of a modern car costing $20,000. Not a bad deal....