Technical Did Ford make a 49 hardtop!?............cuz i just bought one

wow great find. Post progress pictures please.

 

I recall several well publicized customs that ended up in a similar state,a lot of time and money goes into these cars and for some reason they get parked outside in the weather and forgotten when that new project replaces it.

As for the car in question I honestly believe it is the handwork of a skilled craftsman. HRP

 

The car in Dean's post #4 is mine, and is a '51 Vic with all the trim backdated to '50 ('49 dash knobs and hood ornament). I agree with all the assessments that have been posted so far; IMO your car is definitely a '49 with a '51 top added.

In retrospect, the way your car was done would be less labor-intensive than the way I did it; the '51 Victoria top was designed to fit all the convertible panels and glass.

Should be a pretty car when it's restored!

 

A couple more observations: yes, the hubcaps are '51, as somebody already pointed out. The bumper guards appear to be '50. The stainless side trim strips on the front fenders are from the '49-50 cheapie model rather than the Custom or '51 Victoria; I think they're cleaner looking and I used them too.

Everything else appears to be original '49.

 

49,50, 51 ? I love the car, please keep us in the loop on the build or sale

 

Wow...love it ... and what a find..
Good for you..
Please keep us in the loop on what you do with it

 

Cool find!!! I have a soft spot for 50 ford two doors. and this does look factory ( like a merc capri) but better

 

okay well heres the deal. the auction i was at was all just model t, model a and 49-51 ford stuff as thats all the old guy ever collected. anyways i always buy a large truck load of parts when i go to an auction like this. i didnt intend to buy any cars this time as i already have so many cars waiting to be parted out. but this one caught my eye for obvious reasons but i expected it would go for good money.......well the bidding ended at like $400 and i was like WTF! that should be selling in the 4 figure range so i bid on it hoping to get it up there.......but i won it for $550......so in a few minutes after posting this i gotta unload some of the crap i bought from the auction and get my trailer and unload the car thats on it now and then go get it. and as far as plans go i already got a few projects im working on like my 48 chevy wrecker (which i will be doing a massive update on soon) and the 47 DT i just bought. so this ford i will clean it up so how bad the rust is and do a bit more investigating on the car to assess the value and i will list it for sale.

 

I like that hardtop! Nice score.

Looking forward too updates on the wrecker
All in all a good day!

What is the 47 DT?

 

It's missing a hubcap.....I woulda passed. Great score!

 

this.....

 

So you got a cool custom, a 48 wrecker and a Diamond T.
I don't know if I love you at hate you!.
Just kidding, I'm just a little jealous, and it feels the same way.

Do you by an chance own a Jimmy low cab forward, any truck with a DD 2 cycle diesel, IH loadstar or a mid/late 20s Chevy roadster dry lake build stashed away? Because that would make you an awesome person!!!!

 

I agree, it's a mix and match job. '51 was the first year Ford made a hardtop, so you have a '51 body. The cool think about the '49/'50/'51 Fords is that you can do a lot of mixing and matching, '49 has pull-out door handles like an old refrigerator, '50 and later has push-button handles. '49 has an exposed gas filler, '50 has a door in the quarter panel for the gas filler. Never did like the '51 dash. '49-'50 dash is a big improvement. '49 has the best looking grille. Like the '49-'50 taillights much better than the '51.

 

Really cool car, looking forward to seeing more. I have always liked the '49 best with the turn signals integrated into the grille but I love the hardtop roofline, this was a beautiful car in it's day.

I would like to know this too, I hadn't heard about any WI old car auctions lately, would have liked to have gone. Anything else cool there, what were prices like?

 

I think i will be bringing it to the BTT50's this weekend if anyones interested

 

in the swap meet?

 

This is like finding a car with a chopped top, in a junk yard. Long time ago, I saw a 55 Chevy in a junk yard just outside of Kittery Maine, upside down----go figure.

 

Looks like you picked up a really cool ride, my friend!
There's something about the old shoe boxes that makes them one of the iconic Ford's ( IMO). This one used to belong to a friend of mine- still had the 6 in it, 3 on da tree- I loved the way it looked ( subtle , but cool as hell!)

Good luck with yours!

 

What happened with this at back to the 50s??

 

Nice score. For $550, that's a steal. You were there at the right time.
Somebody else could have bought it for that price, then took it over to Iola and sold it for a lot more.

 

Agreed, a great deal, even if it will cost $$$ to make it really nice.

 

Same car?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1949-ford-c...ash=item281ae761f8:g:zHUAAOSwmtJXWN9g&vxp=mtr

 

Has to be. Looks like the guy who found it is trying to make his year on the sale of this one car.

 

That would be a great year.I know they are super popular,but do they sell for that much out that way?Im just curious becuase i will be getting a 50 coupe soon.

 

There was a 50 Victoria, but it was Canadian.
I talked to a guy who told me about a 51 that was craftily made into a Canadian 50. He sold this fake as a real, rare, 50. Later I saw it at a car show. I talked to the owners who said it was a Canadian 50 Vicky. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he had been snookered. Besides, he woulda just got mad at me, and most certainly wouldn't have believed it. I figured it was better he go on believing it was something special.

Anyway, I had a 51 Vicky. One difference is in the top of the vent window. As I remember it, the top of the convertible vent widow was pointed. And the Vicky was flat. Perhaps it was the other way around. I can't remember.

As a side story, my dad had my car before me. He had had the car painted, nosed, decked, and shaved the door handles. Days later it popped into reverse as he was trying to drop the idle. As it went through the yard the driver side door was open. The door hit the back of his Toyota pickup. It continued into the street, missed the neighbors car, came back into the yard, went between a tree and my 64 Impala SS vert before someone was able to jump in and stop it. It tore up the door a fender.
When I bought it later, I bought a convertible door from a guy on Hemmings Motor News. When I pulled it out of the box, much to my surprise, it's door handle was shaved. It was almost like it was ordained for this car.

 

Probably this car:

And there's another Canadian fake, made into a '49 (has a '49 grille):

Both of these appear to be quite nice cars, but they're no more real than mine is.

 

I see I was notified that the ebay seller dropped the bin price by a thousand.

 

what an interesting thread, some eagle eye spotting and shoe box knowledge. Certainly an awesome find and one that will be a good time to own. Congrats

 

Hey guy's, back in the mid fifty's Robert Martinez (Old Styler's Kustom Shop in National City CA) had a very nice full Kustom 49 Ford convertible that he put a Victoria Top on, one of the early little magazines did an article on it back in the day. Needless to say, it got some attention back then, even for a young kid still riding his bike down to Styler's to watch them work. BTW, this is my Vic that I built way back in the early 80's.

 

I have a near-complete collection of Hop Up, R&C, Honk, and Car Craft little pages. If you have any idea which title that appeared in, and ideally an approximate year, I'll look for it. I'd really like to see it.