
Replacement 221 Ci 3.6l Flathead V8 | 85hp 150 Ft Lbs Trq | Manual 4 Wheel Drum |
Deluxe Package | 3 Speed Sliding Gear Trans | All Original Lacquer Paint |
The car itself is very rare, being one of about 4,800 or so Model 40 deluxe roadsters produced in ’33. The deluxe option gave you simple options we take for granted nowadays, including two taillights and horns instead of just one. A new deluxe roadster would set you back about 600 dollars in 1933, a price we would gladly pay today! The early flat head motor was plagued with major mechanical problems and failures which most likely led to the engine being changed out in the 1950’s, but due to budget restrictions and the damages from sitting six decades, the 8BA engine couldn’t be rebuilt and was replaced with an early 40’s flathead engine. We are estimating it to be one of only a few left in existence with original lacquer paint and not cutup and “hot rodded”.
The restoration of the body was done in a minimally invasive way to protect and preserve the eighty-year-old original black lacquer paint. Being a popular choice for hot rodding since the 1950’s, these ’33 and ’34 Fords have become extremely rare in original or unrestored condition, so much so that companies like Factory Five Racing now make complete replica bodies kits for this body style Ford dubbing them the “33 Hot Rod”. Careful measures were taken to fix only what needed fixing and leave the body as it was. As they say, “they’re only original once.” Overall, the restoration was a success and took about 1,000 hours to bring this vehicle back to life.
One of the favorite parts of the project was being able to drive it once again after all these years and getting to take the vehicle to a local old mill town in Massachusetts where my grandmother grew up. Make sure to check out our YouTube video of this build as well.