Belmond, IA. Ford Dealer

[Mike Peters]

A friend sent this to me. Is that a 31 slant window in the line up? Could the 31 Deluxe roadster be Bronson yellow and Seal brown? It's a black and white photo, but a very light color.

[RB]

It also looks as if an A 400 with the top down is in the line up to the right

[1942deluxe]

I don't know if it came up before on Ford Barn but the building is Belmond auto Company. It was destroyed in the tornado of 1966. From what I was told there many NOS parts still there. I started out in Clarion Iowa which is 15 miles away in Wright county. Clarion was the hometown of J Edward Lundy who was one of "The Whiz Kids" at Ford Motor. He never forgot his hometown and would donate money when Clarion needed help. When I got there in 1992 Belmond had Ford/Chevrolet together, Clarion had 4 dealerships (Ford, Chrysler and 2 G.M.), Eagle Grove had Chevy Buick and Ford Mercury. Today Chevy remains in Belmond and Ford in Eagle Grove. The Ford building I started in at Clarion was torn down to put up a Dollar General. It was originally an IH dealership. You hate to see your "landmarks" torn down and gone.

[Marshall V. Daut]

During 1931 FoMoCo sent a message to all its dealers, informing them that NO SALE should be lost because the customer couldn't get the color combination he wanted, whether it was a "standard" combination for that body style or not. The effects of the Great Depression were really cutting into new car sales, so to make potential customers happy, ANY color combination Ford offered in 1931 could be ordered on any body style. I don't know how many yellow Fordors/Town Sedans were ordered (yuch!), but it is documented that Deluxe Roadsters left the factory wearing Bronson Yellow and Seal Brown in 1931, although this combo was not part of the "standard" offerings for this body style. (It was available as a "standard" color combo on 400-A Convertible Sedans, though!) It appears that the roadster in Mike's Iowa photo is one of those animals painted yellow. Perhaps because this color combination was such an oddity, that's why this photo was taken, ignoring the rarer 400-A on the other side of the roadster. Of course, it may just be one of a series of photos taken that day documenting Model A's for sale at this dealership. That could explain why all those supposedly new Model A's are lined up in front of the dealership awaiting their turn in front of the camera instead of being protected inside the showroom. Who knows at this late date?
If the passenger is an owner of this car, he appears to be the type of chap who would order such a striking color combination on a flashy roadster, given the rakish tilt of his hat. He is NOT the town banker most likely.
By the way, the '31 Deluxe Roadster used early in the 1967 movie "Bonnie & Clyde" appears to be fairly original, including the fading factory paint. Guess what color it is! Yup - yellow and brown!
Marshall

[Marshall V. Daut]

Incidentally, this is a great photo, Mike, especially since it was taken in Iowa. A kind of "Blast into the Past" that we'd all like to experience. Thanks for posting it.
Marshall (in Davenport)

[Jeff/Illinois]

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I like this photo also, and I'll add 'thank you' for posting it. I like the signs and gas pumps too, pretty neat

Marshall I recall that Roadster in the 1967 Bonnie and Clyde flick. It was the one that they stopped in front of a bank, there was no money, and Clyde (Warren Beatty) made the teller come out to the car and tell Bonnie (Faye Dunaway) that the bank had failed.

Later when they are in a rural gas station, for service, they are in a Washington Blue '30 Dlx. Roadster. That is when they pick up 'C.W. Moss'. He was a station attendant there.

"Tell me boy, just what was wrong with that car?"

CW--- 'Dirt. Dirt in the fuel line. I just blooo------wed it a--way.'