How Many Know The History Of their V8 Since New ?

[FL&WVMIKE]

I would like to start a thread, that was the original idea of "al's28/33", from Redwood City, Ca., in The Model "A" Forum.

.....HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF YOUR V8, SINCE NEW ? .....
MIKE

[charles in east texas]

I have a 53 Ford I bought from the original owner. She lives in Colrain, NC.
I also have a 36 Ford 5W coupe that one lady bought new and her niece inherited the car in 1996 and I purchased the car from the niece last year.
Charles

[40cpe]

This is going to be a short thread

[SUHRsc]

My 39 Sedan Delivery was bought new by a company in Sunbury PA called "Real French Cleaners".
During the war it was sold to the Stahl family and used to deliver produce from their farm.
In 1948 Mr Stahl got married. His new wife had enough of farm living so the '39 was parked in a shed on the farm and they bought a house in near by Northumberland, PA.
at some point it was moved from the farm to a small garage in Northumberland.
A year or so ago they moved it out of the shed and parked it in the back yard of a 2nd house in order to sell the first place.
Eventually they came to the realization that it was deteriorating outside... so they listed it for sale.
I bought it in september of last year.... and plan to keep it!

Zach

[Vic Piano]

Not a V8 but our '39 Lincoln Zephyr V-12. When we bought the Zephyr I contacted the LZOC and provided the VIN and Body#'s, the club published the information in their monthly magazine and as a result, I subsequently received a phone call from the cars second owner. He bought the Zephyr from the original owner, a Doctor that lived on the East end of Long Island (where he purchased the car new, from a local Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealer) The second owner got the car in 1948 and drove it from Long Island to Lakeland, Florida where he went to college. He told me that he worked at the Tampa Lincoln Agency as a mechanic and in '52 he rebuilt the '40 Zephyr V-12 that is in the car. The transmission is original to the car with the VIN# stamped into the top of the transmission. He told me that the original owner had served as an Air Raid Warden during the war (under the rear seat I found a windshield plaque that says Civil Defense Suffolk County, NY, with instructions on the back stating what to do in the event of an air raid... I also contacted the "Henry Ford", provided the VIN and Body #'s and they sent me the "Build Sheet" on our '39 LZ Convertible Club Coupe. The car left the factory on April 22, 1939 to be delivered to the dealership on Long Island. The cars build sheet list only two options, a black convertible top and red leather interior. I found this odd because the car was also equipped with a hot air heater (not a dealer installation on the Zephyr). Right now we've got the rear and transmission out of the car to repair the transmission and install the Columbia rear. Hopefully she'll be back on the road in time for the "Barner's Bash", March 16th to 18th. Vic

[blucar]

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I have owned my '36 Ford Deluxe 5 win cpe since September, 1952. For all practical purposes I am the second owner, however, two friends of mine briefly owned car..
The whole story:
My High School Wood Shop, Mr Blondel, purchased the car new in Idaho Falls, ID. When I was in the 9th grade my friends and I would admire the car, it was always parked in the same spot, adjacent to the vocational shops at our school. The car was black with an apple green pin stripe.
At the time I did not harbor many thoughts about owning the car. My father always had Chevy's, so Fords were not a big thing around our house. Actually Fords were generally shunned in Eastern Idaho because they were very hard to start at 30 below zero where-as the Chevy stove bolt six would start every time.
In early 1952 a friend of mine was working in a Conogo gas station across the street from the school.. Mr. Blondel came into the station driving a brand new '52 Ford, Dean asked Mr. Blondel what he had done with the '36 Ford, Mr. Blondel responded that he was going to sell the car... Dean quickly made a deal to buy the '36.
Dean only had the car for a few short months when he decided to sell it.. He had fallen love with a girl, quitting school to get married... The new wife did not like the '36.
Dean sold the car to another classmate of mine.. Bob took the car home, not telling his father what he had done.. When Bob's dad found out what Bob had done, he had a fit, refusing to place insurance on the car which meant Bob could not drive the Ford.
Bob's dad bought Bob a new Chevy to drive, he felt the '36 Ford was unsafe with it's mechanical brakes.
A couple of months passed, summer was over and it was getting close to the start of school.. I had been driving a '42 Chevy which blew a rod. My uncle gave me a '41 Ford to use until I could get the Chevy going, the Ford got hot and cracked the block so I was a foot. A friend of mine had a '41 Ford conv. that had lost the rear end, he said I could have the car if I wanted it.. In a few short hours I had the trans/diff out of my '41 and into the '41 conv... I had wheels again.
It was now late September and staring to get frosty in Idaho... Not a good place to have a convertible.. My friend Bob had been gone for the summer, for some unknown reason I stopped by his house to see if he had come home yet. He had not.
While talking to Bob's dad I noted that the '36 was sitting in the back yard with weeds up to the door handles. I inquired about the car, Bob's dad said that he had been meaning to call the local wrecking yard to come and pick the car up..
In short order I made a deal to buy the car for $125. I went after a battery and some gas.. In short order the car was running... I drove it home, cleaned it up and hit the streets... The car had a little over 51k on the clock... A fifty-nine year love affair with the car had started.

[jim1932]

I have fragments. I know my Uncle owned it from !961 till I got it. I know who he bought it from..... and I know who owned it in th emid 40's (found thier license in the car. Other than that.....no clue.

[Mart]

Enjoying the stories guys.

Mart.

[Dave D]

My 35 Cabriolet was given to the original owner as a high school graduation present. He kept it until he was 83 yrs old and sold it to the guy I bought it from. I have the original sales receipt and a copy of the first "pink slip".

[jdl]

My Avatar...

[wga]

'49 Station Wagon - original owner from Great Falls, Mt. She left it to the C.M. Russell Museum also in Great Falls. After several years, the museum decided to sell it, and I got involved. Ended sold to a gentlemen in Jupiter, Fla. After a few years of ownership, he wanted to sell it and over 6 months we talked about it, and I brought it out here to the west coast, northern California. A few changes, overall original.

[al's28/33]

Good thinking Mike, I forgot to post my question here too since I have a '33 pickup. I got it in 2004 from Dixon, Illinois and it was supposedly changed out from a Model "B" 4 cylinder by Rich Bickle of NASCAR fame.

It has a beafy "helper" spring over the rear axle and the previous owner told me it was used by the US Forest Service in Wisconsin.

[Kube]

I had bought my 40 coupe from the family of the original purchaser. Quite a long story but it has the sales slip, confirmation letter from Ford, etc. with it. Probably the best 40 I've ever started with.

[49r]

My 1949 F1 was built/assembled at the Ford Seaview plant, Wellington, New Zealand, 25 km from where I now live. I have the original ownership papers which indicate that it was first registered on 23 March 1950 to a gentleman in Manunui. It was registered to its second owner, a farmer in Taumaranui, on May 29 1951. He had moved to Kuku, 10 km south of my home town Levin, at the time I bought it in August 1973, aged 15.

[rotorwrench]

One of my 51 Mercs was owned by a little old lady that only drove it to the post office & store then to church on Sundays. It only had 26,000 miles on it when my pop bought it in 1954. My other 51 was owned by a lady from Clovis, NM whose father gave it to her sometime after he bought it new. She kept the records on it clear up into the early 70s when it likely was used by her children or grand children as a bumper car. The fellow I purchased it from bought it from her and never really did anything with it except store it. After I tryed to get it running I found out why. The bores are still standard after one re-ring & valve job done in 1963. The poor thing was plum run into the ground back in the early 90s. I've never seen rings worn as bad as these. It finally just got so low on compression that it would no longer run. The speedo was replaced back in the 60s so I have no idea how many miles are on it. I'd venture a guess at several hundred thousand from its condition. Pretty good shape though since NM is pretty dry and the Mercs are heavily built. My Kansas car has about the same rust as it does. The two came out of the Saint Louis, Mo. plant about 2-weeks apart.

[47COE]

My truck was purchased new by a local farm in 1947.

Since 1974 I've been its second owner.

The distance by road from the first owner to my place is 8.5 miles. Shorter as the crow flies.

It was a well used working farm truck when I got it and it is still working.


Tom

[donhunt]

I don't know who owned my 39 DeLuxe coupe before me but I've owned it for the past fifty.

[19Fordy]

My 40 Ford was bought new by Ira Relyea in Poughtkeepsie, NY where I lived. He had an accident an the insurance company totalled it. My friend Bobby Rose bought it, repaired it and drove it for a year or two and then sold it to me for $400. I still have it. Here's a photo of it after the accident.

[4t8v8]

My dad bought the engine in mine new in 1948. I learned to drive with it. Still drivin' it.

[ford38v8]

I bought my '38 Convertible Coupe from an oldster in Clayton, Ca, who had found it without engine at the back of a used car lot in Alameda California, in 1963. He did a restoration that included correct upholstery and paint color, and a great 59L block engine. At some point (he didn't remember), it had also recieved a differential transplant, having 4.44 parade gears, which of course have since been traded out for 3.78 gears. During my various rebuilds, I found a political card inside the passenger door dating from 1938 touting a candidate for Mayor in Alameda, which I believe confirms the car never left that city since new. That's as far as I was able to trace it.