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CAR OF THE MONTH

Checking the Value of One Car Leads to Buying Another

by Jay

Over the years I have owned several antique cars (some just being old cars). The car I have owned the longest is a 1929 Model A Ford Roadster. I bought the car in May of 1976 and still have it in the garage today. I had subscribed to Hemmings Motor News for many years, but discontinued the magazine around 1990. About November of 2018 I wanted to look at the value of my roadster, so I went online to check out the prices of Model A’s on Hemmings’ website. Since I was already on the computer, I started searching around for other cars. The 1935 Ford Cabriolet caught my eye with its beautiful grill, the sleek lines, and the fact that you could roll up the windows. 

I noticed a particular car that was for sale in the Boston area and kept going on the Hemmings website for a few months just checking to see what was for sale. About the end of January 2019, I noticed the car in the Boston area was not listed. I had kept the Hemmings listing number and called them, asking if the car had sold or what had happened. The person I talked to said the listing had expired, but he gave me the phone number of the owner of the car. After talking to the owner of the car regarding the history of the Cabriolet and the restoration that he had done on it, I was very interested. I had to do some homework on what I should be paying for this, so again back to the computer. I found the Early V8 Ford Club of America’s website. Well, as you know in California there are 19 groups (chapters). The website shows the name and phone number of the president of each group. I live in Tarzana, and the Valley V8 group is close to me. So, I called that phone number, but it was the wrong listing. Next, I called the Southern California group and got George on the phone. I explained the reason for the call. He was very nice and gave me a ballpark idea of what I should be paying for the Cabriolet. He said I should contact Ralph, who does valuations on old cars. I called Ralph on his cell phone and asked the same question regarding what I should pay. After telling me his estimate for the car, Ralph asked me where the car was located. I said the Boston area and he gave me the name of Larry (no last name to protect the innocent) in the New England area. He advised I should only have him check out the car before I hopped on a plane to look at it myself. Sounded good. “What is his phone number,” I asked. Ralph said he was pulling up to a meeting and I could find the Larry’s number in the register and hung up the phone. What register?  As a person that loves the hunt, the amateur detective in me took over, and I finally was able to locate Larry’s phone number. Turns out that Larry knew the owner of the car and they had sold each other parts. He lived about 40 minutes from where the Cabriolet was. 

 But now the story keeps going. The fellow selling the car put the car in storage for the winter. And he could not get it out until April. Well, my wife and I were leaving for a trip to New Zealand and Australia on March 23, 2019, and returning on April 20th. The car was coming out of storage the second week in April. I asked Larry to check it out for me. When we returned from our trip, I spoke to Larry. He confirmed the owner had done an excellent restoration on the Cabriolet. I flew to Boston on Thursday, April 25th. The owner of the car picked me up at the airport. Larry met us at the owner’s house. After going over the car, the owner asked if I wanted to drive it. I said Larry will drive it with me as passenger. This way Larry could tell me what he thought of the way it handled and what I should expect when driving the car. I bought the car the following day and had it shipped to Tarzana. Oh, turns out Larry was a contributor to the 1935-36 Ford Book! Could not have had a better person check it out.