1947 Sedan, The Toad

[Sod Buster]

I picked up this 1947 a while back, it was customized in 1968 by a guy with a paint shop in Beloit Kansas, it was in a garage under a tarp for years then sold four years ago, where it sat in an old warehouse.

The interior trim and dash were painted candy apple red then striped with a torch and clear coated, he did the same to the hubcaps, when I went to look at the car it didn't have the hubcaps on, after the deal was made as an after thought I asked if he had hubcaps for the car, he said yeah, they're ugly as hell and in the trunk, lol.

The interior is an eye opener, to say the least., all the trim including the rear view are painted, the seats are a fake leather with silver walking liberty fifty cent pieces as seat back buttons, two across the front and three across the back, the interior is pretty spotless other than the drivers side carpet which is worn out, like new every where else, 1968 new.

The dash ash tray handles are small pistons.

And another one on the hood pull.

The linkage is flipped too left hand shift, the story on that was the guy liked to put his arm around his girl and he could hit second faster, with it flipped first is straight up second down and away, and just to really be different he installed a amber shift knob with a Toad imbedded in the center, I call the car the Toad.
My wife thinks the toad is gross, the knob not the car. lol

I know I will have a ton of stupid questions going forward.

The car seems pretty unmolested, other than the paint, lol, it had a Columbia two speed at one time, had.
The old car is just funky enough that I love it, other than going through the mechanicals I'm not going to change a thing.

[Mike in AZ]

Whewwww. Lol. Now that is a customized interior. Go thru the mechanical stufff and get the Toad on the road. You’ll definitely be a hit at car shows. Mike

[Tinker]

It's quite Electric!


Unless you are going to redo everything, I'd loose the caps (maybe some black wheels and whitewalls) Lower it a tad and drive it. Some white or red fantasy fur (angle hair) is not out of line either! .

[FortyNiner]

Just a guess, but I'll wager there isn't another one like it. Enjoy.

[Sod Buster]

It's probably haunted, lol, the previous owner way back then definitely left his mark on the car, I found a mercury dime and three wheat pennies on the intake manifold, this car is a hoot.

[JSeery]

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Cool time capsule!

[Sod Buster]

You can get a feel for the age of the custom interior by how worn the carpet is on the drivers side, the kick panels are the same material as the floor carpeting and spotless through out the car as is all the carpeting other than around the brake clutch pedals, maroon head liner is in great condition as well as the seats. Drivers side is a little droopy but no tears or worn out spots, a few chips in the trim paint but nothing nasty.
The pink bath matt rug was a nice touch, lol.

[RalphM]

Cool car, that must have been quite the mechanical feat to move the shift lever to the left.

[RKS.PA]

Sod, I can't begin to appreciate the time and the determination the "creator" put into your new '47. I'm a bit partial to that year and appreciate the way they drive and handle. Looks like your coil was replaced with a can type and save for the fan assembly, apparently the engine compartment didn't deserve the same sprucing up as the rest of the car!!! In it's day, this might...or still could be.....quite the Chick Magnet!!!

[corvette8n]

Sure is unique, looks like a cool daily driver.

[Sod Buster]

The coil was working but had a pretty good chunk cracked out of the top, the car runs great but I am trying to give it a little TLC before spring breaks, as far as the left hand shift I do believe it is just a matter of flipping the gear shift and hooking the linkage back up. It does reverse your shift pattern, down and towards you reverse, up and towards you first, down and away second, straight up third.

[Heard]

Reminds me of an Oldsmobile I bought back in the '70s. It had red velour everywhere. My dad said it looked like a coffin.

[rotorwrench]

The guy may have either been left handed or something wasn't right with his right arm.

[tubman]

Trust me about the left hand shift : You only saw them on the cars of guys with "steady" girlfriends. (And it actually was easy to do, on Fords, anyway.) If you did this, a "Necker's Knob" was an almost mandatory accessory.

As to the car, I can live with everything but the hubcaps. I believe that a few weeks of driving it would instill a great desire for change in me, though.

[JSeery]

It is a snapshot in time, why would you want to change it to match todays taste? The left hand shift is normally a girlfriend/date thing.

[Darrell S]

Originally Posted by JSeery

It is a snapshot in time, why would you want to change it to match todays taste? The left hand shift is normally a girlfriend/date thing.

I had a girl friend that knew how to shift.

[Sod Buster]

Originally Posted by Darrell S

I had a girl friend that knew how to shift.

Lol!

[Sod Buster]

Originally Posted by JSeery

It is a snapshot in time, why would you want to change it to match todays taste? The left hand shift is normally a girlfriend/date thing.

I really have no urge to change a thing on the car, other than maybe add a little of my own weirdness to it before passing it on, .

[RalphM]

Originally Posted by Sod Buster

The coil was working but had a pretty good chunk cracked out of the top, the car runs great but I am trying to give it a little TLC before spring breaks, as far as the left hand shift I do believe it is just a matter of flipping the gear shift and hooking the linkage back up. It does reverse your shift pattern, down and towards you reverse, up and towards you first, down and away second, straight up third.

Ahhh, I see! That would still take some getting used to.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Darrell S

I had a girl friend that knew how to shift.

That's another approach! I always like the floor shift conversions!!