Some of you have noticed that I have dropped hints about buying a 34 Ford or saw a lot of things pop up for sale here recently and now I gotta let the cat out of the bag. Heres the story to what all happened. It is long winded, and I apologize for that but I just gotta start at the beginning... I had a 34 roadster, have had it a couple years. It was a decent car, but needed a lot of work putting it together, a wood kit, some patch panels, etc. I was happy with it, I mean it was a real deal 1934 Ford roadster. But sometimes things go sideways....A week before Thanksgiving I was browsing Ebay and came across this other 34 roadster. It was in Louisiana. I called the number in the ad and talked to the seller. He told me his Wife's Uncle had owned the car for the past 40 or so years and had it half restored. He claimed it to be very nice and complete, but taken apart a little and needing some minor patch panels. He gave me a "buy it now" price, and although I thought it was a decent buy, it was waaaaaay outta reach. The auction had a week to go. I decided to forget about it...but like clockwork I then found myself stalking it as the days counted down. I did a ton of number crunching..."If I can get this for my roadster, sell this, that, squeeze here and there, maybe I could afford it". I talked it over with Jamie, and she said if I thought I could do it, then I should do it! I gotta give Jamie a lot of credit- she always supports me and the ol Fords, and encourages me to follow my dreams! I am truly a lucky guy! She and my Parents agreed to float me the money to buy it. So the morning the auction ended, I was rather surprised that the reserve had not been met, and the bid was rather low in my opionion. I decided to bid, and to my delight I met the reserve and ended up getting the car 5K less then his buy it now price! I scrambled and scrapped, borrowed money from my parents and Jamie, making ends meet and got it paid for. I started listing anything for sale that I was not too in love with, and my friend Bruce bought my old 34 roadster. I am still paying on it, but we are down to the final ends. This car was not cheap and over double the cost of any car that I have ever bought, but with the help of my Family made it work. It might have been the dumbest thing I ever did. Wire a guy as much money as I make in a year for a car that I had never seen. I didn't give it much thought then, I was so caught up in the excitement of buying this thing. But once the money left I started to wonder if I did the right thing. What if the car is a pile. What if the guy falls off the face of the earth?? I was nervous as hell for a week. Marcy offered to pick the car up in Louisiana and store it for me. I cannot thank her enough, she did just that and helped me get it even closer to me...more of that to follow. Marcy picked the car up and called me, saying that the car was indeed very complete and was in great shape! I felt much better and could relax a little. Flat-top Bob offered to store the car for a few weeks, and I am very thankful for that! Marcy had a good friend driving to Bakersfield, CA the week before Christmas, and he offered to get the car to Gary Maxwell's hot rod shop and store it until I arrived. I did not want to have the car shipped by a commercial shipper, I was affraid it was too fragile and too many loose parts. I wanted someone I could trust. ANYONE that Marcy said was OK to deal with was good by me! So that was it, I had 3 days off after Christmas and we decided to go get the car. Christmas night at 8pm my Father in law Cory decided we should take off, get a head start. It was his pickup we were using, so I said sure what the hell. My Dad, Brother, Father in law and myself headed south though Oregon and hitting I-5. We drove strait though arriving in Bakersfield at 3:30 pm Monday. We picked the car up and headed strait out. California speed limit is 55 MPH with a trailer and the roads were pretty crummy, so on the way back we decided to head East of Bakersfield thought he Mojave desert and up into Nevada. We got a room in Hawthorne, NV at midnight. We had drove for 28 hours strait. Got a good rest and made it back to my house by 11:00 PM last night. 2,200 miles in 51 hours total! We had a great time, My brother got pulled over doing 81 in a 65 and once the cop saw we were hot rodders, he let us go with a warning to slow down I cannot thank everyone involved enough for the help! Marcy for picking up the car, storing it, and finding ways to get it to me. She is a true friend and I owe her big time! Flat-top Bob for hauling and storing the car at his place until further transport was decided. Gary Maxwell for storing the car My Parents for helping on the money end and my Dad for going along on the trip My Brother for also going on that long drive and helping drive Jamie's Dad Cory for always being up for a road trip, the crude storys, jokes and swearing, and for letting me use his truck! And to Jamie for everything she did to help me. She calmed me when I was worried, she helped out with the money end, and she has never once told me that "maybe something like an old car is just a waste of time and money". Although she does not get old cars she gets me Anyways, heres what your waiting for. The car appears to be a very nice original. It was actually in a lot better condition then I first thought. The chassis is completely rebuilt. It does run and drive, but obviously needs some work. The body is very, very nice needing some minor patch panels but is extremly strait. The wood is original- one reason why I first was attracted to it. It has an old interior, old chrome plated dash, tons of parts. The fenders are all excellent, I think the rears are very early take offs. I thought they were new or NOS, but after looking all over found some very minor pitting were the running board butts up against them. Nicest originals I have ever seen. Things like the original tool tray in the trunk and the original glove box show what kind of car this was- well taken care of. The whole thing is just a nice old car. I would love to have seen it before being taken apart. It was the turquoise color on the hood with black fenders. A lot of the parts have a little turquoise on em. The body was chemicaly stripped. There is no body work, filler, nada done to it. They removed the wood, stripped it and primed it. Then re0installed all the wood but no tacks in yet. It has had another original floor put under it, so it needs some work finishing that up but it is solid. Doors open and shut awesome! So here's the plan: Jamie wants to drive away from it in our wedding this fall. I'm going to put it together best I can as a highboy for that. Then after that I want to take it apart, do the final body work, paint it and upholster it. I have some plated backing plates and a front wishbone, and it will be flathead powered. It will be a lot like my other cars with a good stance, juice brakes, right tire/wheel combo, chopped wind shield/top, 1941 Ford bumpers, etc. It will take a while but I think I have a good start Sunrise in Weed, CA Picked the car up, and wrapped it in shrink wrap to keep and chemicals off of it for de-icing on our way back North Hotel in Hawthorne, NV Pulled over near La Grande, OR
Hey, Chris, Very, very nice! Congratulations on a sweet heart, (both Jamie and your new car!) One question I had was answered when I saw the '41 convertible in the background of one of the pictures! I'm glad you could keep it! You are a very lucky young man, and I for one say "Great!" You deserve a beautiful car like that. Can't wait to see what you turn it into. . . I like your style! Good luck, GA
Yeah for now, the chrome is pretty shitty but I'll run it as-is until I re-do the thing. Heres kind of the plan for the final product
You always have the best luck with finding these early Fords. I really dug the roadster you sold but you have the magic touch with early Fords so this one is going to be purdy. Jamie's pretty awesome too! Best of luck with getting it all together before the wedding as well as the wedding itself. iPhone - TJJ app
Wondering why you were selling off all your toys... glad to see it's for the Roadster and not for the "survival sacrifice"!
That looks like a dandy! Glad it all worked out for you. That's a long haul to B-field and back. Good thing you had some help driving. Should be fun watching this thing come together. Why am I starting to get an itch for Model 40 roadster now? First it was Rory and now you. Maybe someday.
OUTSTANDING, what a great car. Congratulations. I commend you for following your instinct. You will never regret or question buying such a solid and clean roadster.
The Jalopy Journal
