Barn Find In Canada - 1930/31 Model A Coupe

[jojofilo88]

welcome john!
that looks like a great barn find! get it in a drivable condition and enjoy it! you'll have a lot of fun, and get tons of attention with it! especially being a coupe!

flush the fluids and make sure everything is lubed up and take her for a spin! and check the brakes too before you head out.

another way to tell the year of manufacture is to look on the firewall. look from the engine side of the firewall, on the drivers side and you should see a date stamped in the metal. it is pretty faint, but should be in the form of something like 10-13-29 which would be october 13, 1929. that could help you identify the year it was made.

[JohnRAKerr]

I am really grateful for everyone's input, I am glad I joined the Ford Barn forums. After talking with Bogdonj and reading the post I am going to make my first priority to get the hood and rad off and see what shape the rad is in and try to make it safe for the road.

[JohnRAKerr]

I have been researching engine numbers to find out exactly when my car was built. The number I found on the motor plate is CA129656. I understand that it is a Canadian number but I am finding it difficult to pin point a date. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance

[Dave Boyer]

Did you get an ownership with it? If not, get it in your name before you do too much. You'll have to get it appraised, to transfer ownership.

[JohnRAKerr]

Dave, that has been taken care of

[swo4rd]

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Congratulations John...what a find for the current time. Finds like this were plentiful in the 1960’s when I got my first A. Not so today.

In your posts, I did not read that you told us what the engine number is. With that number, if the engine is original, The number stamped on the sill will give you the assembly plant and other information that was used to coordinate the assembly...Dick Deegan's link to Dave Sturges article will give you some leads.

From all indications it is an early (before June) 1930 assembly year but it also appears to be a Deluxe model with the wood grained dash. If I am seeing garnishes on your doors and the quarter window correctly, they are wood grained, more indication of a deluxe model. Also the hardware on the door also appear to be deluxe fittings. The colors that I am seeing on the dash with the pin stripe don’t fit the understanding of the finish schedules shown in the Paint and Color Guide for the 45-B Deluxe. It looks like it might be Andallusite Blue (1929 Color) with the French Gray pin stripe? Otherwise, the only thing that I can figure out is that it was black with the Apple Green stripe that has faded to white. If it was a 45-B Deluxe, it would have had cowl lights. I cannot see from the photos if it did, and they were removed? Does it have those different Canadian bumper clamps? I also recently salvaged bumpers from a 1930 Town Sedan and they were exactly the same as Marco described.


Marco, I will be putting them on the site to sell in the near future.

Even with the interior in poor condition, I hope you saved it to check patterns and fabric colors...because even the kits need to be trimmed to fit. If you have the original pieces, it makes it easy. Also, 50 YO rodent urine can still be sanitized with pet urine cleaners available today.

As an aside, is the number on the cross brace, written anywhere else, such as the seat bottoms? I have this idea that the number occurred on other parts of the car…a method of indexing parts that were coming down the assembly line to coordinate their proper installation.

Finally, do not get in a hurry, as everyone here has recommended. Get it running and drive it so you can feel and get to know it.

[HoarseWhisperer]

Originally Posted by JohnRAKerr

I have been researching engine numbers to find out exactly when my car was built. The number I found on the motor plate is CA129656. I understand that it is a Canadian number but I am finding it difficult to pin point a date. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance

Welcome to the Barn, John.

CA129656 would indicate an engine from May of 1929.

[Tom Wesenberg]

How were Canadian engine picked out and numbered?
Was a certain amount picked out each month and given the CA prefix but kept in numerical order with the rest of the engines?

[swo4rd]

The engine has been exchanged...when the body is removed for restoration, the frame number will give the date off the assembly line.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by swo4rd

The engine has been exchanged...when the body is removed for restoration, the frame number will give the date off the assembly line.

Actually the frame number is the same as the original engine number, which may have been made months before being installed in the frame. My slant window, flat firewall Town Sedan is March or April of 1931, but has a November 1930 engine number. Overstock and slow sales during 1930-31.

[Tudortomnz]

Bear in mind, for Canadian production, most chassis were not stamped with the engine number, but the engine number itself was the cars serial number. Only for 1928 were chassis stamped. This was usual practise in most countries except the US. Records of the original number passed from owner to owner, also with the govt. authority.
CA engines went to 150K in mid 1929 then batches of 10K blocks received CA with a letter from the top of a typewriter keyboard for each batch to mid 1931.

[columbiA]

I have seen a very early 30CDN A tudor with the number stamped on the frame.All the other 30-31 CDN frames Ive seen had no number.

[WRA]

I would get it running and enjoy "As Is". Welcome and nice find.

[JohnRAKerr]

Hey everyone, have not posted for awhile, but there has been much progress. Since last November I have decided to start restoring my Coupe and now that the weather is right I am having a lot of fun.

I installed new wiring and spark plugs just to get the motor running, and it did not disappoint, it started up first try!

Please go to this link to watch the video of its first run.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0gHq-CS_B8

[JohnRAKerr]

These are pics from this past weekend. We transferred the body and frame to my girlfriends grandfather's shop where we will be doing the restoration. We also managed to pull the motor and transmission. The motor and body were placed on some make shift dolly's with casters so that they can be moved around easily.

I will post more photos later.

[JohnRAKerr]

Tonight I pulled the rear and front end off and placed the frame on some horses. This weekend I plan to sand blast the frame and prepare it for primer and paint.

I have boughten semi-gloss black paint and gloss paint for painting the chassis. From what I understand the frame itself was originally semi-gloss black (essentially) and the other parts on the chassis were gloss. Can anyone help me confirm this?

[spike]

checthe frame for straightness befor you go and paint it. if it has to be straightened it would not be nice to screw up a new paint jpb.....just me 2 cents worth...good luck

[Steve Plucker]

Originally Posted by JohnRAKerr

Tonight I pulled the rear and front end off and placed the frame on some horses. This weekend I plan to sand blast the frame and prepare it for primer and paint.

I have boughten semi-gloss black paint and gloss paint for painting the chassis. From what I understand the frame itself was originally semi-gloss black (essentially) and the other parts on the chassis were gloss. Can anyone help me confirm this?

John,

I hope you get a copy of the MARC/MAFCA Restoration Guidelines and Judging Standards...It will answer a lot of your questions.

Congrats on the find and pay attention to detail if you are that kind of person.

Pluck

[partridgekelley]

WOW! Lots of real good advice too. Your car looks to be a 1930 = split aprons and flat firewall. What a find! I thought I'm lucky to have my A's and stuff - but you've done better that me. Mine cost me $20 -- back in 59 , and I still have it. Drive it and enjoy it!! Good Luck, Gary

[Rock Hornbuckle]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Actually the frame number is the same as the original engine number, which may have been made months before being installed in the frame. My slant window, flat firewall Town Sedan is March or April of 1931, but has a November 1930 engine number. Overstock and slow sales during 1930-31.

As Tom stated, slow sales in '30-'31. My '31 was Jan-Feb of '31, and has an engine and matching frame date in Sept of '30.