Autoblog

Bill Ford Jr. brings oldest surviving Ford back into family fold

Zach Bowman — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 08:00:00 EST

We're quickly approaching the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford's birth, and the company he founded is celebrating in a number of ways. Great-grandson Bill Ford Jr. did his part by purchasing the oldest known Ford vehicle, a 1903 Model A, and returning it to its birthplace.

While the Model A was purchased at auction back in October, the red Rear Entry Tonneau just recently received an official unveil at an employee event. Ford partnered with the MotorCities National Heritage Area and the Henry Ford Heritage Association to create a year-long calendar of events celebrating Henry Ford and his company.

This particular Model A is car number 3, chassis number 30. Prior to rejoining the Ford family, it had enjoyed just five owners in its 109-year history. Originally sold to a butter maker from Iowa for the princely sum of $850, the Model A was sold to a Swiss Ford dealer in 1961. The dealer displayed his purchase in the Ford European Center in Cologne, Germany until 2001, when it was finally sold to John O'Quinn in 2007 before Ford Jr. took possession this year.

Check out the both press releases below, along with a full schedule of the planned celebrations. You can also head to the anniversary mini site for more news.

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Bill Ford Jr. brings oldest surviving Ford back into family fold originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 15 Dec 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oldest remaining Ford is up for sale... yet again

Chris Tutor — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:01:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Auctions, Ford

For the third time in five years, the oldest known surviving Ford is for sale. The red, meticulously restored, 1903 Ford Model A is one of Ford Motor Company's first three cars ever produced and over the past 109 years, has had only five owners.

You could be the sixth owner at the RM auction in Hershey, Pennsylvania next month, but be warned: the last time this car changed hands in 2007, it sold for $693,000. For a car that originally sold new for $850, and without adjusting for inflation, that's a more than 81,000% appreciation.

The car's original owner was Herbert L. McNary, a butter maker from Britt, Iowa. Another Iowan, Harry E. Burd, acquired the Ford from the McNary family for $400 for it in the 1950s. Burd had the car restored and sold it to a Swiss Ford dealer in 1961. It remained there until 2001, when it was bought anonymously and shipped back to the States. John O'Quinn was the well-heeled buyer at the aforementioned 2007 auction. His estate offered it up again in 2010, but it was a no-sale when bidding topped out at $325,000.

So, what will bidders in Hershey be going after? Model A Chassis No. 30 is a 72-inch wheelbase four-seater, powered by a horizontally opposed, 100-cu.-in. two cylinder with a whopping 8 hp. That's eight horses, probably less than your lawnmower. But that probably doesn't matter since it's not likely the next buyer will do much cruising in this one-of-a-kind machine.

Oldest remaining Ford is up for sale... yet again originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pilfered 1930 Ford Model A recovered

Zach Bowman — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Government/Legal, Ford

Dearborn Police have been able to give the owner of a stolen 1930 Ford Model A some very good news. His antique car and trailer have been recovered after having been swiped from the parking lot of the Henry Ford Museum a little more than two weeks ago. Neither the roadster nor the trailer, valued at $30,000 combined, were damaged, though the owner's 2001 Ford F-250 pickup was nowhere to be found. Police located the trailer with the Model A inside in an industrial area in Detroit near Mt. Elliot and Gratiot.

As you may recall, the owner was visiting the museum from California when his truck, trailer and vintage car were stolen. The still-at-large F-250 is two-tone white with gold trim, has a NASCAR license plate frame and sticker in the rear window. When it was stolen, it carried California License Plate number 6P95642. Those with any information in the theft are urged to call 1-800-242-4328.

Pilfered 1930 Ford Model A recovered originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hot Rod pits vintage rat rod against Lamborghini Aventador in desert duel

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:59:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Lamborghini, Specialty, Design/Style

Impracticality comes in many shapes and sizes, and that's as true in automotive terms as it is anywhere else. Consider this: Depending on a series of lifestyle choices, a Honda Civic could prove just as useless for one man as a Ford F450 Super Duty would for another.

If there's one segment of the auto market where being practical means absolutely nothing, though, it's supercars. When the goal is blitzing a race track, laying down a thick coating of rubber or attracting members of the opposite sex, the number of grocery bags that can fit in the trunk is completely beside the point.

The boys from Hot Rod decided to put impracticality to the ultimate test by pitting a vintage 1930 Ford Model A rat rod against a 2012 Lamborghini Aventador in a series of tests over a period of 24 hours. So... was one less practical than the other? Scroll down below to see for yourself, and feel free to discuss the results in the Comments.

Continue reading Hot Rod pits vintage rat rod against Lamborghini Aventador in desert duel

Hot Rod pits vintage rat rod against Lamborghini Aventador in desert duel originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Day in History: Ford Model A goes on sale

Jeff Sabatini — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Ford

The Ford Model A doesn't get the historical respect of its 15-million-unit predecessor, the Model T, nor is it as beloved as the 1932 Ford V8 which followed. But when the Model A went on sale on December 2, 1927, it was an important transitional model for Ford.

Following the unparalleled success of the Model T, Ford had been reluctant to develop a new model, or even upgrade the T with features that were increasingly driving customers to other brands. The Model A was the first Ford to feature modern controls, with clutch, brake and throttle pedals, and a gearshift lever sprouting out of the center of the front floorboards.

Selling for as little as $365, the Model A was a huge success. Ford built almost five million units over five years. Had it not unveiled the A when it did, the Blue Oval might have met the same fate as many auto manufacturers of the 1920s that didn't see the other side of the Great Depression.

Surprisingly enough, this 84-year-old car can actually provide somewhat serviceable transportation today, although with limitations. While its four-cylinder engine provides fuel economy in the high 20's, Interstate travel is a bit beyond its meager 40 horsepower output. Mechanical drum brakes are the weakest point in the A's specifications, with a lack of climate control rating a distant second.

For more on what it's like to drive an A everyday, check out the 365 Days of A blog.

This Day in History: Ford Model A goes on sale originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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365 Days of A: One man's quest to drive a Ford Model A for entire year

Zach Bowman — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Sedan, Etc., Ford

Jonathan Klinger's 1930 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan - Click above for high-res image gallery

Spend enough time shuffling through buff books or clicking around enthusiast blogs and you'll eventually come up against the term "appliance" used with a derogatory bent. For fans of the automobile, few things are more terrifying than the degradation of the car's reputation. Whereas vehicles once required their operators to possess intimate knowledge of an encyclopedia's worth of quirks to get them to function properly, they've now slipped into the same realm of soulless servile technology occupied by washing machines, refrigerators and the Shake Weight.

But there are still a few relics of this long-forgotten Age of Involvement bumping around. Just ask Jonathan Klinger. The guy has taken on a brave quest to pilot a 1930 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan as his daily transportation for a full year. Through snow, wind, rain and heat, Klinger will turn no wheel other than the wire-spoke rollers of his A.

Continue reading 365 Days of A: One man's quest to drive a Ford Model A for entire year...

Gallery: Jonathan Klinger's 1930 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan

Continue reading 365 Days of A: One man's quest to drive a Ford Model A for entire year

365 Days of A: One man's quest to drive a Ford Model A for entire year originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Finnishing Touch: Cosworth-powered Ford Model A

Noah Joseph — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:58:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, Tuners, Ford

Click to view more images of the Cosworth-powered 1929 Ford Model A

Ford owners love to swap out their stock powerplants for high-performance crate engines. No news there. But this has to be the most extreme application we've seen yet: a 1929 Model A with a 250hp rally-spec Cosworth.

The custom job is the work of Finnish outfit Mäkelä Auto Tuning, the same firm that built the ice speed record-setting Bentley Continental GT. This time, MAT received a mandate from the Model A's owner to restore the classic to pristine condition while giving it some extra juice. So they took the engine out of a Ford Escort BDA Cosworth Group 4 rally car and dropped it into the restored chassis. The result could very well be the ultimate sleeper: a vintage Ford that hits sixty in five flat and tops out at 124 mph. That's got to be one heck of a scary ride.

Check out the pics in the gallery below and here.

[Source: MAT via Carscoop]

Gallery: Cosworth-powered Ford Model A by MTA

Finnishing Touch: Cosworth-powered Ford Model A originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That's dedication: 84 years old and still driving his first car

Dan Roth — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:34:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Etc., Ford, Lifestyle

We all remember our first car, and some of us have managed to hang on to that car for years. While we all have some kind of impression left on us by our inagural vehicles, Clarence Curtiss' story is far better than any yarn we could spin. The 1929 Ford Model A shown above was purchased by a 15-year-old Curtiss for $10 in 1938, and he's had it ever since. The most charming part is that Curtiss and his future wife Dorothy carved their initials into the steering wheel shortly after he'd bought the car, and they went on to be married for 56 years. To this day, you can see the characters scratched into the bakelite.

Though the A is unrestored and has racked up 200,000 miles, it's not entirely original. Way back in his teenage days, a Hudson Terraplane's powerplant found it way under the front bodywork. It seems that the A just didn't have enough speed to satisfy a young Mr. Curtiss. The Terraplane engine fixed matters, enabling the speedometer needle to twist itself deep to the right. Curtiss, who eventually owned Curtiss-Ryan Honda, still takes the Model A to car shows, and it's just one of the roughly 25 cars he owns.

Thanks for the tip, Matt

[Source: NY Times]

That's dedication: 84 years old and still driving his first car originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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