extra spare

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Different lights

[Keith True]

Wonder what country that plate is from.Different horn to go with the odd lights too.

[mass A man]

Do I see little fender lights on top of the fronts? Different horn too.

[mercman from oz]

[old31]

The roof is also different. On each side by the stantions are 2 little bumps and on the right side above the door are 2 lines.

[Joe K]

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The man standing with a cigarette seems to have on a "uniform" of sorts.

I thought to a British license plate, but the car(s) orientation on the road points to a left hand drive.

The car may have a sort of "3rd wheel" trailer or extension to the trunk.

One expects the gentleman bending over may be addressing a "vapor lock" situation?

"Hey buddy, can you bring that cigarette somewhere else?"

Joe K

[Marshall V. Daut]

Photographs usually have a reason for being taken. What do you suppose the reason was for taking this photo alongside the road? Breakdowns on the road were nothing unusual back then. Assuming the owner is the one working under the hood, who took the photo and why? A wife perhaps, documenting her warning to the husband that she didn't want to move somewhere in the first place? SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO unlike a wife to do that.

Does the rear of the body seem to be sitting extra low? Maybe the rumbleseat (this is a 1930 Deluxe Roadster, which came standard with a rumbleseat; note the top irons with wood, which is also a DeLuxe Roadster feature) is full of heavy items? It appears as though the owner is moving all his worldly goods, even strapping boxes on the top. The extra tire may also indicate a long trip with expected tire trouble.

Speaking of which, does the left front tire appear to be shredding apart with a chunk beginning to fall off? I'd worry more about that happening than what's wrong under the hood!

The original Model A horn has been replaced by what appears to be a common Klaxton horn. Odd that a horn would have failed so soon after the car was new. I'd guess this photo was taken in the late 1930's. 'Sure didn't get much time out of the factory horn.
Marshall

[Brad in Germany]

That photo is of a French registered Ford Model A roadster with original Ford Marchal headlights. Note the French license plate.

Starting in May of 1930, Ford Model A's that were assembled in France came from the French Ford assembly plant with those Marchal headlights in order to meet the new French road code for vehicle headlights.

Here is an era advertisement for Marchal which appeared in the French Revue Ford magazine stating that those Marchal headlights were standard on all Ford cars starting in May of 1930:



Decrypting the licence plate on the car in the original photo: the "RL" was issued from May 1937 through August 1938 in the "Seine" department (region of Paris and its suburbs) and the number 1420 with the number 6 after the RL was issued between 10 March 1938 and 23 April 1938.

The Germans invaded France on 10 May 1940 so the photo was most likely taken just before the Germans invaded France (when things like rubber tires were carefully managed) and thus the person in what appears to be a French military uniform and the not-so-new tires. Note that the car owner has hamstered an extra tire as well.

Brad in Maryland




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[Synchro909]

My guess was photo taken in France (Brad in Germany beat me to it.) I was going by the Marchal headlights (French) and the Citroen parked behind the Model A.

[mass A man]

What exactly is the workings of the "Marchal" headlight?

[Marshall V. Daut]

Assuming that the photo was taken in 1939 or slightly earlier, this 1930 Model A would have been close to 10 years old. I imagine that at that late date, a Model A sitting beside the road in France would draw the attention of passers-by, especially a flashy DeLuxe Roadster. There seems to be a little throng of on-lookers admiring the car. Perhaps in America a Model A broken down beside the road would not have attracted much attention in 1939. But that would probably be different in France at that time. The car appears to be in excellent condition for being almost a decade old, worn tires notwithstanding.
Marshall

[Marshall V. Daut]

One FINAL observation to make about this photo: It has been suggested that the photo was taken before the Germans invaded France in mid-1940. Suppose, however, that the photo was taken AFTER the invasion had begun and this man was moving out of the way of the invading enemy? That would explain the car being haphazardly loaded down with the man's worldly possessions, trying to escape the oncoming Germans. The full foliage in the background, the dry, un-rutted dirt road and the lack of men's heavy clothing or protective hats hint that it may have been in the early summer. If the picture was taken then in 1940, that co-incides with the invasion of western France. Paris would have been the goal of the enemy, so this Parisian was taking no chances on the Germans reaching that goal - which they did. Of course, unless this photo appeared in a dated newspaper or magazine during this period, we'll probably never know the circumstances of the picture being taken. From a safe distance of 85 years, however, as Model A enthusiasts, we can be thankful that it WAS taken!
Marshall

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by mass A man

What exactly is the workings of the "Marchal" headlight?

Marchal lights etc were a French brand from the day. Their headlights typically had the globe (bulb) facing backwards towards the reflector. The globe was mounted on a vertical "bar" behind the glass with the filament at the focal point of the parabolic reflector giving an excellent beam. The glass was nearly always plain and clear.
Not long ago, I finished the restoration of a Delage (the French Rolls Royce quality car of the era). It was fitted with Marchal lights.
https://online.doningtonauctions.com...og/36/lot/2671

[Joe K]

What a very "adept" group we have analyzing these old photos.

Almost every day I look for Dave Mellor NJ post.

They're like throwing down a Snap On work glove (gauntlet)

Joe K

[mass A man]

Thank you Synchro909! I learned something new today.