If you have been following the business over the years, you know what a huge fan I am of John Heuring, the cars he has built and we have sold for the past ten years. We have the last of his stable being offered, this 1948 Ford Two Door Sedan, described by John as a Cruiser but something special, a car as an expression of how John sees his creations unfolding. John and I did a video which is on the site that does a great job of telling the build story but I needed to do as good a job describing the car in “print” as I could and this follows:

John was contacted by a friend who knew about a San Diego car in excellent, stock condition with no rust and factory running gear. As the ’47 Coupe was done and adding up miles, he decided a new build was in the making, one that would improve upon the Coupe’s attributes but still be of the same “mold” of his previous build. In other words, mostly stock in appearance with the ability to travel long distance with reliability and in comfort. And so a multiple year project was begun, once again.

First thing was going to be the drivetrain. The stock Flat Head and Columbia Rear end were pulled and a 350 Chevrolet installed. Good enough, but fast forward a couple of years and a cashed 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII with a Fuel Injected Twin Cam, 32 Valve V-8 and it’s transmission, found it’s way into the shop. Not being one to leave well enough alone, John grafted the entire engine, transmission and operating wiring loom into his running car, changing the rear end gear ratio to match that of the stock Lincoln pumpkin. A Mustang 11 Front Suspension assembly had been previously added and the front wheel wells were modified to match the radius of the wheel and tire. Power Steering was installed along with Vintage AC. It really drives well, the brakes are excellent and it is what John was looking for, the next great Cruiser.

The body got John’s vision of how a 1948 Ford should have looked. Too bad he was not on the original design team back in the 40’s. John really liked the Hood Ornament but felt the stock height and the trim were just too tall. The hood was modified with a tapered slice of 1 3/8” taken out of the front sloping back to “0” changed in the back. He also smoothed the grill area where it met the hood and mounted 1940 bumpers, front and rear, on the car. John removed the stock outside door handles and replaced them with flush style Toyota units. Now that the door handle was no longer part of the door, the exterior door molding had to be modified and lengthened which was accomplished using the Ford Emblem you see in the images.

The interior is a combination of John’s creativity, excellent seats from a Honda Accord and Greg’s Upholstery here in Grants Pass. Listen to how he formed the center Console in the video. Brilliant. All of the electronics were conveniently located under the rear seat for easy access. The Custom Birdseye Maple Dash holding the new instruments eliminated the stock glove box so two drawers were designed and built to fit under the front seats, giving tons of storage area.

Our selling price is $35,695. The VIN# is ORA4444039 and miles showing are 181. For other interesting bikes and collectible vehicles, visit our web site http://www.automaniagp.com 541 479 8888 or come by and see us at 895 SE Gladiola Drive, Grants Pass, Oregon, 97526. Oregon Dealer DA1287.

Automania LLC is a Consignment Oregon Dealer selling quality, privately owned vehicles including Aprilia, Buell, BMW, Citroen, Ducati, Harley Davidson, Honda, Hummer, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta, Nissan, Ossa, Piaggio, Suzuki, Triumph, Vespa, Classic Hot Rods, Buick, Dodge, Ford, Chevrolet, Lamborghini, MG, Packard, Porsche, Rover, Shelby, Toyota, Triumph, Volkswagen and any other vehicle of interest