1931 Ford Model A Roadster
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Larger high quality pictures is available only for donators up on request! Vasileios Papaidis 2017 © All Rights Reserved
Some notes and emotions about this car from a friend and current owner Byron Riginos
A long time dream comes true! My ‘new’ 82 years old Ford Model A
I was sharing my desire to acquire one day a prewar classic and more specifically a Ford Model A, similar to a car that my father Emmanuel Riginos owned in the 1930′s in Athens, Greece.
Hence the famous line of Dr. Martin Luther King “I have a dream“ seems befitting. This dream started many years ago when upon shuffling through old family photographs,I discovered few pictures of my Father’s car in the 1930′s. It was a Ford Model A Tudor.
I was looking at these pictures and was wondering about what kind of driving experiences, sounds, smells etc such a car would offer. Slowly the idea to obtain one day such a car settled in my mind. To boot, one evening at the PHILPA Club, Dimitri Vernardakis, our President, told me this: ‘Byron you ought to get yourself a prewar car’, an advise that was never forgotten.
Recently (Spring 2013) that dream became a reality.After an extended search in Europe and in the USA markets, with the help of few good friends, this particular example was found in Canton, Ohio, inspected, serviced and a deal to buy was concluded in mid April 2013. Soon after the car was loaded on a closed transport heading to New Jersey Container Terminal Port from where it was placed in a 20 Foot container and shipped to Piraeus. Of course I was in great anticipation to see and drive the old lady, as this acquisition marked the first time of buying a car from far away without having seen it up close myself…
Special thanks go to my good friends Alex Vazeos,an Etceterini cars collector and Myron Vernis of Glenmoor Gathering Concours d’Elegancewho have been instrumental for my ‘Dream to Come True’; plus to my new friend Bob Lichty of Classic Motorcar Auctions who ‘pro-bono’ looked after all the details of the deal, the US title change, fund transfers, getting the car serviced and arranging shipment from Canton, Ohio to New Jersey!
BRIEF HISTORY
When Henry Ford introduced the famous Model A many were concerned that it would not live up to its famous cousin the Model T. Henry had literally put the nation on wheels with his trusty T that had stayed in production longer than any other car before it. Of course, this wasn’t Henry’s first use on the A in the alphabet.
Indeed, he had already built a Model A in 1903 and 1904, but the first Model A was a huge luxury vehicle that had little in common with the Model T’s replacement. Henry was actually reluctant to end production of the Model T and it was only when the T’s place in the market began to decline that he recognized that a replacement was needed. The first Model A hit the streets in December of 1927 to much fanfare. Everyone clamored for a look at the new Ford and it turned out to be a smashing success. Just a little over one year later one million had been sold with another million six months later. Before it was over five million Model A’s had been built and Henry Ford had done it again. Available in a plethora of body styles, the Model A met the demands of the motoring public in grand fashion and it seemed that everyone wanted a Model A.
The Model A was actually available in no less than nine body styles, but none were as sporty as the Deluxe Roadster offered here. Riding on a 103.5-inch wheelbase, this roadster features a beautiful restoration in Brewster Green with black fenders and Apple Green wire rims. The charming design of the Model A comes alive in this roadster with its twin side mounted spare tires and gleaming brightwork that makes it a standout on any show field. An optional luggage rack is also fitted at the rear and its simple but elegant bi-plane bumpers are rugged yet functional. The top is finished in a tan canvas that also features nicely finished wood bows.
The interior is just what one would expect of the simplistic Model A with a nicely fitted tan interior and Apple Green pin stripping on the dash. A center mounted gauge cluster is basic and functional making this roadster easy to drive. Power for this Model A comes from its trusty 200.5 cubic-inch L-Head inline four with 40 horsepower mated to a simple three-speed transmission. This example even retains its factory correct side bowl carburetor.
The Model A is a legend in American car history and this fine roadster with its excellent restoration and dependable reliability makes it the perfect car for both showing and touring. No collection is complete without a Ford, and this Model A is just the one to complete any world class collection.
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