Abandoned roadster

[old31]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

I met a girl in college in 1966 who said there was an old Ford in a field on her parent’s property, and I could have it free just for the taking. She drove me out to the farm and as we approached the field I could see a roadster that looked pretty rough but sorta complete sitting under a tree. As I got closer it showed as being somewhat picked over, and pretty straight, but the tree had grown up right through the middle. It would have taken a pro arborist a full day to cut that tree out safely, and a way lot of hard labor to move what remained of that roadster from its 30+ years in that field. It’s been over 60 years, but…
…It might still be there.

Ya but, but, but what happened with the college girl?

[gdmn852]

I too remember that famous quote,Owner will not sell, is going to restore it "someday"remember a nice 1930 coupe rot away near a fruit stand, sat there for about 30 years until owner died and was finally scrapped, not much left to it by then.

[gdmn852]

As a side note, the 31 roadster I currently have was most likely a Standard model new, had pins in quarter panel for trunk, and found remnants of Lombard blue in places when stripping it , apparently converted to Deluxe when it was restored.

[WRA]

They are still out there. I found a 1916 Model T that had sat since 1957. Car was on cinder blocks in a nice dry Texas Barn. For years the old man wouldn’t let it go, always the same thing about restoring it. Only a few people even knew about it. Old man eventually passed on as well as most of the folks that knew about the car. His estate also had a very nice 69 T-Bird and 1931 Model A. Basically same story, old man just could let them go.

[700rpm]

The college girl is a very sad story, I’m sorry to say.

[ModelA29]

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Originally Posted by oldspert

Owner will not sell, is going to restore it "someday"

Yes - It's not abandoned - owner exactly where he parked it 30 years ago.

[tin man]

a few hours of metal work required there.

[ModelA29]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

"$45 was a lot of food in the 30s."

True. But after a week or two, that $45 worth of food would be history. The same $45 put instead towards upgrading to a DeLuxe Roadster over a Standard Roadster would still be present until the car was sold way down the road.

I doubt a used car buyer during the depression would care if it was a Deluxe. In the late 30s cars looked different and I doubt the deluxe package would have helped you sell that slow old car with running boards. In the war years you bought any car available for a premium. I'd wager it wasn't until the 1960s when a deluxe started bringing a little extra. Even then was there a way to tell if it was a factory deluxe or something the owner created.