What was in there part 2

[Wick]

1930 Model A 4 door. Parked in 1938 (74 years) Miles.....1370! This is the Real Milage ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDERD AND SEVENTY.
Was in D.C. all 6 orignal tires still on it! We have been all over the car,all the factory parts are there. We were the first to pull the wheels off,everything is like New! I will provide more details and pictures this evening.
Wick

[james hitchcock]

AAAAAAAAhhhh. Why don't I ever find such things.

[Jordan]

wow what a find. This should be a feature car for the Restorer.

[Ross/Kzoo]

Besides pictures you also need to give us "The Rest of the Story". Who, what,how, when and where.

[Roadster62]

Something GOOD came out of Washington DC, hope the photos prove that. Bob

[Tom Wesenberg]

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Some people have all the luck! How about buying me a lottery ticket.

How's the paint? Would love to see many detailed pictures.

Oh, BTW, this should be an easy restoration, maybe a group effort, 2 guys to strip the body and repaint, one guy to strip the upholstery, etc............

[jkcrosson]

1370 miles in 8 years. Less than 175 per year. Talking about only to church on Sunday. That must be the case and the church must be close.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Roadster62

Something GOOD came out of Washington DC, hope the photos prove that. Bob

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[bogdonj]

Can't wait for the pics.... If its in good shape I would leave it as a preservation car not restoration car

[Wick]

We pulled the wheels,nice black pint behind the wheel and on the Hubs. The ring gear shows no signs of wear. The pedals look like they came off the shelf. The Zenith 1 is perfect. The Radiator looks like N.O.S with the Orignal wide Red strip hoses still on it!

[harleyjj]

Wick,

Nice find! I can't wait to haer the story!

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by fordgarage

A couple of recent barn find posters on FB would already have it reduced to a pile of parts.

Yes, I was sure disappointed to see what happened to a couple of A's recently. No matter what the condition, the best advice I've learned is to leave it for at least a year and drive it if possible. Really get to know the car, then only restore it if it needs it. So few originals left and fewer every day.

[Tom Wesenberg]

OK, Wick............lier, lier pants of fire!

What do I win for guessing the correct year and model?

[Roadster62]

The story that goes with this find should be a good read. Too bad the car isn't perfect in every way. This is one car were an artful "Faux Petina" will be needed on the parts that need it, unless the plan is to just leave it as is. Bob

[jkcrosson]

Is anything left of the interior. From the original post, looks like it was parked in a damp dirt floor dungeon.

[Wick]

The interior is complete and had seat covers on it. The window shades (3) work. The shocks are all there. Every hole that a pin goes thru are perfect. The top is still on the car,headliner is great.
Shift know looks like new,Brake adjusters have never been touched till today.
Steering is missing and theres 1 bullit hole in the firewall.
The car will be left like it is...except the engine will go to Schwams,and the rusted fenders will be replaced with N.O.S.
Ive got alot more pictures to post.
Wick

[Flop]

wow!! can you take a picture of the cowl lower bead line and how it matches up with the door ?

[jkcrosson]

Can't wait to see the other pictures.

[james hitchcock]

Well post'em already........Please.

[Special Coupe Frank]

Wick,

That's some artifact you've found there...

Too bad that running-board / apron are rotted on the driver's side... What kind of environment was she stored-in ?

Was it partly disassembled when you found it ?

More pics, please !!!

[swo4rd]

Following 911, the port authority in NYC started opening shipping containers going back over 75 years. In one, someone found a perfectly preserved 31 Vicky. The door was locked so they cut a hole in the roof to get into the car. The last picture i saw showed the interior gutted. Does anyone know what happened to it?

[Roadster62]

I never read about the 911 Vicky, but there were a lot of brass era lights that were in an effected building that hit the market. The Duesenberg in the NYC parking garage, was a great story for years, Jay Leno finally got it. I've always wondered how many cars are still in the big cities around the contry. bob

[Wick]

There was 2" of dirt in the floor,water would run down the alley in the front area of the garage. Someone couldent figure out how to pull the engine out. They unhooked the drive shaft tube from the rear,pulled everything off the motor they could. The head is still on the motor. We will pull that off this weekend.

[Buz]

Very interesting car. Do you think someone was trying to steal the engine and that's why it was loose? Seems unusual that it would need major engine work if it was a low mileage car.

Was this a Craigslist find?

[QGolden]

Bullet hole in the firewall, low mileage car abandoned for nearly 75 years. Covered seats. Back window blown out.
Sounds like the makings of a great story, did you look for blood on the seat or floor?

[Steve Wastler]

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Neat Find, too bad it was messed with and allowed to 'weather' in such a way. will be a great reference vehicle......

[The Hot Rod Grille]

Intersting that it looks like "US Royal" tires and no pin striping. Can you tell what color the wheels were? Neat find!

Jim

[Flop]

thank you wick! you have one hell of a piece that sure could tell a story !!

[Tom Wesenberg]

Are you sure the odometer didn't turn over?
If it actually has such low mileage, then that's the worst case of storage I've ever seen.
Just seems hard to believe that there could be that much rust on a low mileage car.
And, as mentioned, why the need to pull the engine on such a low mileage car?

[FL&WVMIKE]

WICK .......................
I hope that you give the body a rubdown with GIBBS OIL, before you decide to repaint it.
MIKE

[bogdonj]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Are you sure the odometer didn't turn over?
If it actually has such low mileage, then that's the worst case of storage I've ever seen.
Just seems hard to believe that there could be that much rust on a low mileage car.
And, as mentioned, why the need to pull the engine on such a low mileage car?

I agree with tom, Looks like it has a lot of rust for what was low mileage. Did the shed flood for many years? Doesn't make sense to pull an engine and everything out for no purpose?

[tombia]

I was a member of the AACA, National Capital Region back in the 1960's. DC was full of cars then. We used to pull all kinds of neat old stuff from garages back then. Once found a 31 A coupe that the owner (A preacher) drove home from the dealer and died that night. His wife would start the car up and run it every week in the garage , Another fellow found a 29 Buick that had been setting in Security Storage since 1929. Hardly any miles. Another time found a 1912 Pierce Arrow that had been taken apart for shipping and set in a garage in Georgetown ever since. Other find were 36 and 37 Dodge convt' sedans, 33 Imperial dual cowl phaeton, and I got a 1933 Terraplane Eight coupe from my uncle that was setting in his garage, at the time I didn't know what I had.

[Bick in New Zealand]

"I got a 1933 Terraplane Eight coupe from my uncle "

A few years ago a '34 Terraplane coupe turned up in a small town near here. Had been put on blocks in '39 and its owner never returned from the war. It never saw the light of day again until his mother passed and the estate was settled. I also remember a 50's era Studebaker making national news here when it went up for sale with 26 miles on the clock. Owner had died the day he bought it. It ended up back in the U.S. in a museum. This sport coupe was found in a derelic shed out back when the current owner bought the business

[SteveB31]

I agree with Tom. That was the hardest 1300 miles I have ever seen on any Model A. I have a 60,000 mile 1931 tudor that is many times nicer then that car, and have seen a dozen or so cars with 14,000-50,000 miles on them that look pretty nice. I guess it boils down to where it was stored huh?

[Brentwood Bob]

Wipe that smile off your face, please....Bob

[FL&WVMIKE]

Originally Posted by tombia

I was a member of the AACA, National Capital Region back in the 1960's. DC was full of cars then. We used to pull all kinds of neat old stuff from garages back then. Once found a 31 A coupe that the owner (A preacher) drove home from the dealer and died that night. His wife would start the car up and run it every week in the garage , Another fellow found a 29 Buick that had been setting in Security Storage since 1929. Hardly any miles. Another time found a 1912 Pierce Arrow that had been taken apart for shipping and set in a garage in Georgetown ever since. Other find were 36 and 37 Dodge convt' sedans, 33 Imperial dual cowl phaeton, and I got a 1933 Terraplane Eight coupe from my uncle that was setting in his garage, at the time I didn't know what I had.

tombia ........................
I believe you. A friend of mine, who helped me learn about "A"s, back in the sixties, had worked in D.C. Close to where he lived, was an estate, that had a Cadillac Town Car, which had sat for decades, in the garage.
MIKE

[Wick]

The Tires have a red square on them lined up with the valve stem. The bullit hole is rusty,but there is no hole in the hood? The foot rest on the floor board looks new.
Im going to get more pictures tomorrow. There was old boxes on the front end,the frame is rusted in 1/2 shes seen alot of water. The women living there died 3 years ago. Im doing research. The Wheels were black. The Row house is a couple of blocks from the Train yard in D.C

[tombia]

Originally Posted by FL&WVMIKE

tombia ........................
I believe you. A friend of mine, who helped me learn about "A"s, back in the sixties, had worked in D.C. Close to where he lived, was an estate, that had a Cadillac Town Car, which had sat for decades, in the garage.
MIKE

WHO WAS YOUR FRIEND, I MORE THAN LIKELY KNEW HIM, I got a good one for you, In the late 60,s a fellow turned up at the Rockville, Md car meet in a Dusenberg town car he found in a garage in Bethesda, Md, Needed a lot of work, but it ran. !!!$75.00!! he said and no reason to doubt him. I know of 2 salvage yards near Gettysburg, Pa. that have several buildings loaded with decent cars, from T's on up. 20/30 cars each. Fellow south of me now has a barn full of A's, If you look they are still out there. Once I bought 3 T's from 1913 and 1 1930 A, with a bunch of parts less than 2 miles from my house. I could go on about the finds I made in 55 years of collecting this stuff.

[Wick]

Here a few more Pics

[Roadster62]

Ok, What is the grand plan for this find, will the above parts just get a coat of Gibbs oil or will they be repainted? Neat find for sure, but it needs both restoration and preservation, drawing that line on every part is a tough desision. Bob

[rollingsculpture]

congrats dont know how you find em but you sure do ....also dont know how you keep track of so many projects good luck

[Wick]

The Grand plan is to just wipe everything down and put the parts back on where they belong. Will replace the rear window...the decal on the windshield we dont want to loose so the windshield stays.
Found the car on Craigs List,it was on there for 1 week before I found it. First response is no-way on the milage...then too many things start to add up,roadtrip.
What/where is the lowest mileage Model A?

[mhsprecher]

Tombia,

Was that Duesie white? If so, I remember seeing that car way back when.

[zzlegend]

I gotta agree with Tom. Why is the motor out with such low miles? Just wondering.

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by Wick

T Will replace the rear window...the decal on the windshield we dont want to loose so the windshield stays.

Please take a very close look for the original "bug" on the windshield glass. It will be very difficult to see if the glass is separated in that area since it's usually in the celluloid.

[tombia]

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Originally Posted by mhsprecher

Tombia,

Was that Duesie white? If so, I remember seeing that car way back when.

Sort of a off white, worn paint I remember it driving around the show, You must be old like me.

[Wick]

The head is still on the motor but not for long. No busted water jackets that we can see. Car might have been used for vacations to the beach or short trips.Battery could have died and car started to set in 1938....then comes WWII and it sets some more. After the war the motor could be stuck and who wanted to drive a 16 year old car then or get it fixed. The 46 model with a V-8 was out then. Then one day someone want to fix her up and pulls the stuck motor. They did pull everything you could unbolt off of it.They even unbolted the driveshaft tube from the rear end housing. The Steering coloum is missing?
You could write your own story on this one,gonna try and research all we can on who owned the car over the years.
Wick

[John Duden]

so what ever happened to this car? are you restoring it using NOS parts? total restoration? POST SOME PICTURES!!!!!!!!!

[Wick]

The car is still inside the trailer,no room in the shop right now. The motor is apart except the head is stuck on it. The Babbit,cam,look brand new. The clutch,starter,flywheel all look like they are New. The transmission has been flushed out,when you select a gear it just clicks right in...theres no way to describe how nice it feels. We are soaking parts down with "Gibbs" Thats some Great stuff! Picking up some NOS parts when we can find them for the car. Really missed out when all the NOS parts from Bird n hand were sold. Right now trying to catch up with a owner of a T Touring car that was parked when the Model A came out,because the dealer would not take the T in on trade. (Car has been located)
Wick

[Randy in Illinois]

Your a lucky man Wick, I see the beauty in your car. put it back together with the patina, only do what is necessary, preserve it for now, when you restore you remove all the history and originality. keep those pictures coming

[Wick]

This A here only has 16,000 miles on it. Car on the left.

[The Hot Rod Grille]

Originally Posted by Wick

This A here only has 16,000 miles on it. Car on the left.

Wow, what an awesome looking garage building! How about some more pics of it?

Jim

[Randy in Illinois]

Wick, I'd like to see the interrior when you remove those seat covers. from what I can see, makes me want to see more. Is that your shop? Nice, a great place for model A's. I came across a old studebaker dealership, years ago, in indiana that still worked on studebakers. looked very simular to that building.

[Wick]

The Shop is called "HookemFair Garage" belongs to Bobby Diggs." A few car clubs have been by to visit. I found the car and Bobby bought it. I did not have a place to keep the car. Im working on getting the permits I need to put up a 3-5 bay building now.
I will pull back the seat covers and get a picture...the Radiator looks brand new also.

[Bill in Al]

Thanks for including us!