1931 Ford Tudor Sedan Grants Pass, Oregon 97526 For Sale
THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD!
Please click "back" or on the top menu for other listings.
Please click "back" or on the top menu for other listings.
[click on the image below or scroll to the thumbnail images at bottom to view the gallery.]
1931 Ford Tudor Sedan
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
Price: $33,500 USD - PREVIOUSLY SOLD
Our old buddy Dave uncovered another one of his custom Hot Rods recently, this 31 Ford Tudor Sedan, and made sure we knew this was his personal favorite of the three he has built over the years. Not because of the finished product but because of the roof line and the engine which he claims to have pushed the speedometer to 140mph on an unnamed stretch of road between Bly and Denio Junction coming back from Bonneville one year and turning the quarter mile in 13.25 seconds. Not too bad for a cruise ready Rod.
As with the other cars, we have been given a copy of the receipts and other paperwork for the build. The car started as a local original steel bodied car that had been garage kept for the past 30 years. Ford Tudors came from Ford with a fabric top in the Tudor Sedan range. There was no rust and the body was absolutely straight.
The first task was to close the roof opening in steel. Many have done so, but usually with a flat piece of steel with no radius or curves. Dave went to another collector who has stacks of vintage roof panels. They went through these stacks, one at a time, fitting the roof sections to the ’31 in an attempt to match the contours of the car. They found that an early 50’s Desoto front roof section worked well and that the back was best matched to a ’55 Chevy Coupe. Dave mated the two roof sections in the middle after supporting them with internal bows and tied it to the Tudor creating a perfect seamless roof line that is incredible. There is no way to see from the outside the different panels or where the curves and radiuses look out of place. It is remarkable. Dave then channeled the bodied 4” and chopped the top another 3 ½ inches leaving the car drivable for almost everyone. He moved the rear cross member to the inside of the car to clean the line from the back. The next challenge that no one else would normally notice was the rear fender openings were sectioned 4” to fit the tire size being run. To make the drive quite, he added a double walled floor which has a sandwich of rigid foam. The entire body was then powder coated with a Zinc rich primer before painting the car with Glasurit 22 Line Single Stage Paint.
Dave left the body as we see it today. The underside of the roof is exposed showing the ribbing and seams from the roof fabrication. One of the interesting features of this Tudor is the roll up windows in the back seat area. They work! He also incorporated the dash from a 38 Ford Delux and still allows the front windshield to tilt out. A ’32 front grill was used along with a new Walker radiator. To cover the engine, a Rootlieb Custom Louvered Hood was added. The car was meant to be driven and as such was a constant work in progress. Externally it is ready to be left alone or color applied for another look. Dave had extensive pin stripping done by “The Fly”, his only input was that it be green and orange. It has some very small blemishes that would need to be cleaned up before paint, but they are minor at best. As I mentioned before, it must be pretty tight as it did see 140mph at least once and nothing came loose!
The chassis is a TCI Rolling Chassis which came new in boxes. It included a 4 Bar Rear Suspension which a Ford 9” rear end with a 3:70 Posi was installed. The frame was Powder Coated before assembly. A drilled and Chromed Super Bell Front Axle was caped with Willwood Brakes backed by Pete and Jakes Fined Backing Plates in front and was supported with Stainless Steel Hair Pins. The front end steering is through a Vega box.
The Chevy small block 327 was completely rebuilt by Peckham Precision Engines. The bottom was balanced and topped with 202 heads. A Comp 280 Cam operates roller tipped rockers which were fed by an Offenhauser Cross Ram Intake with Two 450 Holly Carburetors and emptied by a custom set of Sanderson Headers. A set of Vintage Cal custom Valve Covers also cover the 202 heads. A sample of the detail is how Dave took the time to machine down and install an Alternator assembly inside of the Generator housing. All of this runs through a rebuilt Munci 4 Speed manual transmission.
As mentioned, the car was meant to be driven and was a work in progress. Most of that progress was next aimed at the interior. A Limeworks Steering Column was capped with a Vintage Cal Custom steering wheel. Dave used a set of Classic gauges to keep track of things and had Greg’s Upholstery take care of the front seat and kick Panels. The head liner material was purchased, but along with the rear seat area, nothing was ever installed or finished. What you see in the back is the Custom made Fuel tank and battery. What you can also see is how the roof was assembled and the steel bows that were created to support it. Nice work.
What Dave created was a very unique Tudor due to the incredible work he did creating the roof which has top shelf components installed creating a Rod that can answer the question of “Show or Go?” both ways. Leave it the way it is or finish it the way you would like, you will not find another car like it.
As with the other cars, we have been given a copy of the receipts and other paperwork for the build. The car started as a local original steel bodied car that had been garage kept for the past 30 years. Ford Tudors came from Ford with a fabric top in the Tudor Sedan range. There was no rust and the body was absolutely straight.
The first task was to close the roof opening in steel. Many have done so, but usually with a flat piece of steel with no radius or curves. Dave went to another collector who has stacks of vintage roof panels. They went through these stacks, one at a time, fitting the roof sections to the ’31 in an attempt to match the contours of the car. They found that an early 50’s Desoto front roof section worked well and that the back was best matched to a ’55 Chevy Coupe. Dave mated the two roof sections in the middle after supporting them with internal bows and tied it to the Tudor creating a perfect seamless roof line that is incredible. There is no way to see from the outside the different panels or where the curves and radiuses look out of place. It is remarkable. Dave then channeled the bodied 4” and chopped the top another 3 ½ inches leaving the car drivable for almost everyone. He moved the rear cross member to the inside of the car to clean the line from the back. The next challenge that no one else would normally notice was the rear fender openings were sectioned 4” to fit the tire size being run. To make the drive quite, he added a double walled floor which has a sandwich of rigid foam. The entire body was then powder coated with a Zinc rich primer before painting the car with Glasurit 22 Line Single Stage Paint.
Dave left the body as we see it today. The underside of the roof is exposed showing the ribbing and seams from the roof fabrication. One of the interesting features of this Tudor is the roll up windows in the back seat area. They work! He also incorporated the dash from a 38 Ford Delux and still allows the front windshield to tilt out. A ’32 front grill was used along with a new Walker radiator. To cover the engine, a Rootlieb Custom Louvered Hood was added. The car was meant to be driven and as such was a constant work in progress. Externally it is ready to be left alone or color applied for another look. Dave had extensive pin stripping done by “The Fly”, his only input was that it be green and orange. It has some very small blemishes that would need to be cleaned up before paint, but they are minor at best. As I mentioned before, it must be pretty tight as it did see 140mph at least once and nothing came loose!
The chassis is a TCI Rolling Chassis which came new in boxes. It included a 4 Bar Rear Suspension which a Ford 9” rear end with a 3:70 Posi was installed. The frame was Powder Coated before assembly. A drilled and Chromed Super Bell Front Axle was caped with Willwood Brakes backed by Pete and Jakes Fined Backing Plates in front and was supported with Stainless Steel Hair Pins. The front end steering is through a Vega box.
The Chevy small block 327 was completely rebuilt by Peckham Precision Engines. The bottom was balanced and topped with 202 heads. A Comp 280 Cam operates roller tipped rockers which were fed by an Offenhauser Cross Ram Intake with Two 450 Holly Carburetors and emptied by a custom set of Sanderson Headers. A set of Vintage Cal custom Valve Covers also cover the 202 heads. A sample of the detail is how Dave took the time to machine down and install an Alternator assembly inside of the Generator housing. All of this runs through a rebuilt Munci 4 Speed manual transmission.
As mentioned, the car was meant to be driven and was a work in progress. Most of that progress was next aimed at the interior. A Limeworks Steering Column was capped with a Vintage Cal Custom steering wheel. Dave used a set of Classic gauges to keep track of things and had Greg’s Upholstery take care of the front seat and kick Panels. The head liner material was purchased, but along with the rear seat area, nothing was ever installed or finished. What you see in the back is the Custom made Fuel tank and battery. What you can also see is how the roof was assembled and the steel bows that were created to support it. Nice work.
What Dave created was a very unique Tudor due to the incredible work he did creating the roof which has top shelf components installed creating a Rod that can answer the question of “Show or Go?” both ways. Leave it the way it is or finish it the way you would like, you will not find another car like it.