Who will take care of old vintage cars as time moves on? And who will value them? It’s a topic that appears on and off again in these pages. As time passes, will the cars that a certain generation lusted after remain desirable? Those Cougars, Chevelles and GTOs of the ’60s are worth beyond anyone’s imagination nowadays. But will they remain so in the years to come?
True, Duesenbergs remain million-dollar machines today. But is not like it’s a nameplate that rolls off the tongue from my Gen Z pals, much less millennials. And on that line, the names Pope Toledo or Pierce Arrow don’t come often in those circles either.
But as with many other human creations, some buck that trend and find devotees among newer generations long after. We’ve seen it time and time again; songs that resist the passing of time, books still read decades later. Buildings and cities that inspire awe centuries after. Ideas so appealing that seem to speak to some inner area of our souls.
So, could the Ford Model A be the Parthenon of the automotive world? A design to be known and remain relevant for ages to come?
After all, this almost 100-year-old design is so desirable that folks the world over go through the trouble of hunting, searching, and acquiring one. As proof, here’s this recent addition to the city of San Salvador, just brought in from the US and now awaiting restoration.
It’s a find that goes against most American metal local collectors lust after. No Mustang, no Camaro, no Impala on this occasion. Instead, it’s one of Henry’s two evergreen classics. Back from a time when the man was still alive.
Classic-era cars are a true rarity in this city, as their numbers didn’t even break the thousand mark before the 1950s. It’s obscure automotive history in this region.
Still, a few standouts from that era do awaken desire among some in this city. This particular one belongs to a nouveau-rich restaurant owner who’s made a (greasy) killing with a trendy franchise of tasty burgers.
Needless to say, the car cuts an impossible-to-ignore shape against the fierce-looking Asian cars that populate this city. It’s unlike anything else around it. Tiny, and despite its classic lines, looking rather sprightly.
It’s a design where everything looks right; the essential classic-era car shape.
Now, if you prefer this Model A’s condition as is, I regret to inform you it won’t remain long as such. I briefly caught the car in front of the car shop where it will be refurbished, just as it had arrived from customs.
Not that I’m sure of what the car’s eventual fate will be, since the current owner restores some for driving, and some to display as props in his restaurants. Maybe it’ll depend on what the local mechanics can do with the Model A, who are otherwise trying to sort out the carburetion on an Opel GT project belonging to the same collection.
Clearly, the Model A’s background has been covered at CC, most notably by our Chief Editor. One of Henry Ford’s most notorious exploits, and as with most stories revolving with the man, stuffed with melodramatic turns worth an opera.
Who needs A/C with this nifty ventilation system? Though it probably won’t do that well in the tropical rains of this region.
Tired of those dashboards filled with distracting tech and flashy screens? Can I interest you in an old Model A?
Rumble seat! Neat! Ideal for old-style individuals not worried about minor issues like rollover protection.
Kidding aside, I would love to take a short ride sitting there.
I truly love the old-time craftsmanship of many of the car’s details.
Being a 94-year-old car, how to tell what accessories are original and which ones aren’t? What mods have been performed?
I mean, even the newest update on this one would be legally vintage now, right?
Clearly, against our modern and more posh transport, these old classics are there mostly to be seen and enjoyed as such. And if driven, only to do so for short stints. But isn’t that the true quality of a classic?
Newer stuff comes and goes, far better suited to our current needs. And yet, we reach back, bringing stuff from the past and putting up with their foibles and inadequacies. All that, just because they look and feel so right.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1929 Ford Model A – The Best Ford Ever – Maybe Even The Best Car Ever
COAL: 1929 Ford Model A Standard Coupe – Chapter 12, A Is For Awesome by JP Cavanaugh
Generally old cars should be preserved.
F41 Malibu suspension on an 85 Monte?
Replace the roto Hydramatic on a Gran Prix?
(Would a 200R4 fit?)
Are these maintenance items?
I think we can agree to stop butchery.
A stock looking LaSalle with a modern engine and A/C?
I get stock and I get custom. Like one of those old three-way kits.
But restomods seem to be missing the point somehow. Perhaps a bit nouveau-riche? People spend silly money on some.
Having built many Model A kits, I’m rather fond of them too. I’ll take it just as it is and just refresh the bits one cannot easily see.
What a sweet little car!!
This one looks all stock to me, and if I had to guess, I would ID it as a car restored long ago that spent too many years being neglected. But the nice thing about a Model A is that no matter how long one is neglected, it can usually be counted on to wake up easily and provide fun and smiles with very little effort.
I hope this one has roads in its future and is not going to be used as a scenic prop in a restaurant.
The headlights seem wrong; perhaps too shallow from front to back.
Looks very nice to me, I hope he _drives_ and enjoys it once refurbished .
-Nate
My Dad’s cousin gave me this tiny vintage cast iron toy Model A when I was a little boy in the 1950’s. Happy to still have it in my fleet.
I’m wondering just how relevant the old car hobby is now. When I was Kindergarten age I had a thing for ‘teens to early ’30s classics. Then I switched to ’50s/early ’60s because I liked the looks of those and I remembered seeing them when I was very young.
In the late ’70s to ’90s, fifties nostalgia was big. ’50s cars were in movies, TV shows, commercials. It was great to be driving a ’50s/early ’60s classic. Everybody loved them, remembered them, could relate to them.
Now it’s 2024 and I’m driving my 1958-59-60 cars and they seem very conspicuous and out of place. Younger people have never seen them and can’t relate to them in the same way. I still get a lot of comments (What year is it? How many miles? How much did you pay? etc.) Some people are really enthusiastic–but if they’re so enthusiastic, why don’t they have an old car of their own?
So that’s my question: Why am I (unlike the thousands of people who surround me), so enthusiastic about these cars that I put up with the expense and hassle of owning them, while others couldn’t care less or just have a kind of surface interest? Am I weird? Am I wrong? What makes ME so different? It’s an established fact that functionality-wise, new cars are vastly superior to old cars. Yet I persist with the old stuff, and still love owning and driving these cars. If anyone here on CC has some answers, I’d like to hear them.
I know I don’t have the answer since I am in the same boat. For the younger crowd, under 30, I would say one reason is very old technology.Talk to my 15 year old and something from 2009 is “really” old. He, they, seem to look at old very differently compared to us.
Now imagine, when my son turns 16 and wants to drive to school since he is going to a friends house after. Fine, take the 98 Sable wagon which would be equivalent to a 1955 Chevy in my high school parking lot in 1971. In Danville, in high school, they will laugh him out of class. The high school farther north can see high end cars driven by students due to parents with more money than brains.
In the late 80s I was thinking about getting a hobby car that I could reasonably drive in the city in the summer. I seriously considered a Model A, but I decided that it was not quite up to modern city traffic. I ended up getting later Citroen 2CV which met my requirements. Both cars are simple to maintain and get parts for, but I was concerned about the Ford’s brakes. I now live in a small town and there is a wonderful Model A cabriolet that I see all summer long, so maybe it is suitable for a town but not a large city.
I do love rumble seats but I have never had a ride in one.
I wonder if attendance at car museums and events has recovered from the pandemic. Old brown furniture is out of style among young people, but it was in the 50s & 60s, too, so it may come back one day.
I like them because of what they are … old cars; I own three examples of “automotive history.” I saw this ’55 Lincoln a few months ago in my neck of the woods…
Went back that way a few days later and it was gone. I hope someone enjoys restoring it. I have several on-going projects, so all I could do with this Lincoln was to take its picture.
One of my newer YouTube addictions is Jennings Motor Sports, in which a personable Arkansas small town mechanic attempts to get the engines in rusted and abandoned 75-100 year old vehicles running again. The surprise to me has been that, while it may take a lot of patience and solvents, it’s almost always successful.
But the charm is in the attitude and language. I’d never heard a gear shift lever referred to as a ‘jiggle stick’ before, and his constant entreaties (“C’mon, ole girl, I know you wanna run”) grow on you. You may find yourself trying on an Arkansas accent for the rest of the afternoon.
Here’s his struggle with a 1929 Model A.
I own a “30 5 window coupe just like this…It is redone to original specs….John Boy Walton style rumble seat and all….Hopefully this Model A will be restored to original condition….As a lot of guys will buy one in this shape and hot rod it in order to get a legitimate real steel bodied car…And then another original style car is forever gone….Fiberglass is for sissies.