1931 Roadster Picture

[37 Coupe]

Hopefully this will show up it has been several years since I posted a picture on Fordbarn and those were on the V8 site.This is the car I have been asking so many questions about. It was an amateur restoration in the fifties or sixties and never used much at all,not a "barn find" but a building find. It has a great interior,the top is something that was available back then sorta a vinyl or nylon over canvas inside.Not perfect or a potential Model A Club award winner but it needs a lot of mechanical work that I can do.I don't know if the two shades of green is correct for the year but I like it. Someone has told me it was the model for a Hallmark Christmas ornament but I doubt that because it was pretty well covered up and forgotten about.

[dpson]

It looks pretty good from the photo you posted.

BTW: If you post a few more photos and ask how much it's worth, you'll get a lot of responses.

[37 Coupe]

I don't think I want to know what it is worth but I do think I could have gotten a much better car if I had been more patient and I don't mean one of those big money cars. A very nice blue roadster sold on Ebay just about a month ago in Northern Michigan,pretty far for me to look at it and it was a 10 year restoration.Guy had to have taken a big loss on it at $22,000. One on Ebay now is near $50,000 buy it now. I can only afford ones with issues but the car I bought does have a lot of nostalgia for me.Everything on it looks like what I used to dream about when I was just 16 years old with a brand new J.C.Whitnet catalog in hand and the Model A section on rear pages. The roadster I have has Sears Allstate tires on it,remember when Sears also had a Model A section in their catalog? A buddy of mine bought a Sears rebuil engine for his '29 sedan but it would always tighten up after driving it awhile and wouldn't turn over to start. I would love to be able to put new tubes in the Sears tires that are not worn just cracked a little. I do not want to buy new Cokers but probably will.I bought 6 18" tires for a '32 Plymouth from them,BF Goodriches and the were 4" larger diameter than the Cokers that were same size that were taken off.Harold Coker sold them 50 years ago.

[1931 flamingo]

That's a nice looking Roadster, in my opinion. Paint, upholstery look good, and I don't care if the greens are correct or not.
DON"T be picky about the mechanicals, just make it SAFE>
With the hood closed are the welds visible??


Drive it.
Paul in CT

[Tom Wesenberg]

I agree. Your Roadster looks great, and I'd keep the Sears tires and tubes, as long as the tubes hold air and the tires don't have cracks deep enough to expose the cords. Your left headlamp looks like it's aimed a bit low. Grease and oil all moving parts and enjoy driving your great looking car.

[Jeff/Illinois]

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You do have a fine looking Roadster. I like it. Looks good in the picture you posted. It had to have been a pretty straight Roadster when it was re-done. See if you can track down the history of this car. It will make a good story, post it here if you have any luck!

I'd just keep it cleaned and oiled and lubed and enjoy it. The more you drive it the better it will run. It has held up very well for a restoration done in the 60's and 70's.

Those Charlie Brown shirt zig zag tires from Sear-Allstate-Bedford sure lasted a long time. Rayon tires. Not the best looking in my opinion, and I am stuck with a set myself. They are like new no cracks anywhere. But as nice as they are I can't see chucking them someday I may.

[37 Coupe]

I would like to find a set or one each of the Sears tires if whitewalz,I just like the whitewall width and very disappointed with Coker tires I bought a year ago.BF Goodrich 18" tires were almost 4" larger than old Cokers that were put on a 1932 Plymouth in the 60's.The new ones would not even fit good in the fender wheel wells.I think they are using repolished moulds that are getting larger. They actually fit too loose on the rims and would move on braking,slipping. Cokers have cornered the antique car tire market now and quality has gone out the window.

[Brad in Germany]

Here is the Hallmark Christmas ornament "Roadster" for comparison:


Brad in Maryland

[Bob C]

I agree with Tom, keep the old tubes, they are probably better than the new
Chinese ones.

Bob

[37 Coupe]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I agree. Your Roadster looks great, and I'd keep the Sears tires and tubes, as long as the tubes hold air and the tires don't have cracks deep enough to expose the cords. Your left headlamp looks like it's aimed a bit low. Grease and oil all moving parts and enjoy driving your great looking car.

Both headlamps are facing down at to sharp an angle and need adjusted

[Tom Wesenberg]

Wow, I just looked at your car again in the picture Brad posted. Do you have a 29 headlamp on the left side?
Maybe it's the camera angle or just a reflection, but it sure looks like the teardrop shell.

[37 Coupe]

They both look like '30-'31 headlamps to me.Pictures still don't help .

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by 37 Coupe

I would like to find a set or one each of the Sears tires if whitewalz,I just like the whitewall width and very disappointed with Coker tires I bought a year ago.BF Goodrich 18" tires were almost 4" larger than old Cokers that were put on a 1932 Plymouth in the 60's.The new ones would not even fit good in the fender wheel wells.I think they are using repolished moulds that are getting larger. They actually fit too loose on the rims and would move on braking,slipping. Cokers have cornered the antique car tire market now and quality has gone out the window.

That's interesting...... thanks for passing it on.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by 37 Coupe

They both look like '30-'31 headlamps to me.Pictures still don't help .

Yes, your picture shows they are clearly 30-1 headlamps. It was the reflection in the radiator shell making it appear more teardrop shaped.

[Jeff/Illinois]

One quick question- is that a LeBarron Bonney interior? The darker brown looks more authentic than the later orange-ish brown interiors that came out in the late 70's.

[37 Coupe]

You know I doubt it.I think the person who restored this car had a very good local upholsterer install and also make up the top. My dad got to know the man who started Lebaron Bonney when he (my dad) worked on my '30 roadster in 1964,it was a pretty small operation and growing then. I do like the workmanship on this roadsters interior and it is not very authentic as is the rest of the car but pretty nostalgic of the fifties and sixties. My dad took over restoring my '30 Model A roadster in 1965 when I went into the Navy and his goal was to have something major accomplished on it everytime I would get home on leave.

[Kahuna]

You have a very nice car there.
I like it a lot

[Jeff/Illinois]

Got it.

That is still a very very nice Roadster and it's hard to believe that restoration was done that long ago, presents very nicely. If it was restored in say 1960, the car was 'only' 30 years old at that time. Think of a 1989 model car today same time difference. They don't look as 'different' or 'antique' to my eye, today, as a Model A Ford does, or would have, at 30 years old back in '60.

And that top and interior today are almost 60 years old, twice as old as the original that was replaced in say, 1960.

Neat thanks for posting I enjoyed reading about your Roadster