1930 Ford Model A Cabriolet 68-B

1930 Ford Model A Cabriolet Convertible Description

1930 Ford Cabriolet Convertible, Model 68-B.

Just in time for the Holidays, and ready to hit the road now, or when warm weather returns to your area!

One of 54,000 built by Ford, the Cabriolet Convertible is a “Deluxe” or Premium model that included wood grain paint on the steel interior pieces, carpet (note I put a rubber mat in place of the damaged carpet when I purchased the car), stitched material on the rumble seat, and higher grade wool upholstery. The King of Spain ordered a Cabriolet for his personal use.

The Cabriolet offers the full sized interior of the Coupe model (as opposed to the smaller interior of the Roadster model-useful for larger drivers), Roll up glass windows, glass rear window (that folds up if desired); allowing the ease of open air motoring by dropping the top, along with driving comfort in inclement weather by rolling up the glass windows (unlike the Roadster which had “plastic” panels instead of glass windows). You get the best of both worlds with a Cabriolet, making it one of the most desired versions of the Model A.

I purchased this car from the estate of a Model A collector, this was the “touring” car for the collector, and I have continued in this manner.

· Radiator overflow tank and leak less water pump (Mike’s-A-Fordable)

· 2 bladed aluminum fan for cooling and the ability to remove the fan (if necessary) without removing the radiator

· Rexaco temperature gauge that reads off of the top of the head at the radiator inlet

· Flathead Ted Full floating brake kit for improved braking

· Halogen Headlamps and LED tail lights for night driving

· “Cat Eye” driving lights for night driving

· Headlamps are directly grounded to the battery (positive ground 6 volt) so no issues with corroded body grounds, Cat Eye's ground to the bumper irons.

· Turn signals (cowl lights and LED tail lights)

· Travel trunk (lockable) on rear fold down rack

· Dash cup holder

Seatbelts

· 60 amp, 6-volt alternator for excellent charging and electrical power even idling (lights especially). I had this alternator rebuilt in November 2017 and now it charges better than new.

· Heater mounted on exhaust manifold

· Transmission dipstick kit added, access through floor panel under passenger’s floorboard.

· Battery is wired for a plug in battery tender so you'll never have a dead battery.

· Re-chromed the rear view mirror, it also has a 3 day wind up clock in the mirror.

· Grill protector over the radiator

· Rubber mat, firewall insulation, and floorboard insulation over the muffler added to reduce heat in the cabin.

· I used modern liquid gasket material between the block and oil pan, so there is virtually no oil leakage on this car.

The mechanicals of the car are in excellent shape as it starts and runs flawlessly and strongly. I’ve recently changed or topped off all fluids (oil, coolant, transmission, rear end, shock fluid). Car does not overheat even in the steamy Southeast. Engine number indicated August, 1929 manufacture of the engine, I don’t have any information on when the car was built.

Recent work:

· All brakes, including parking brakes, relined and arced to new steel drums within the past 1,000 miles.

· Block and radiator back flushed November, 2017. Radiator was boiled and rodded in 2013.

· Tune-up; I added a pointer mounted on the front of the engine to align to Top Dead Center on the Crankshaft pulley so you don’t have to use the timing gear pin method. New points, condenser, and cam.

· Completely rewired in 2013.

· I didn’t like the reproduction black plastic light switch distribution disk within the light switch so I had Bert’s in Denver ship me Ford used old stock bakelite disk that I wired into the system to provide more positive power distribution to the headlamps, driving lamps, tail lamps, horn, etc.

· Rebuilt the vacuum powered windshield wiper motor.

· Motor was rebuilt in the early 2000’s before I purchased it. When shimming the “big end” on the #3 connecting rod in 2014 I saw where the rebuilder had painted the date of the rebuild within the crankcase.

Extras that come with the car:

· 30’s era screw jack and crank rod that fits under the front seat

· Combination manual engine crank and wheel bolt tire iron

· A 6th wheel and tire. I had considered making this a 6 wheel car by mounting a spare on each front fender but decided against doing this.

· Compression gauge modified for Model A spark plug threads.

· An extra 6 volt battery

· “Wheel a Matic” toe in gauge to set front wheel alignment and toe in/out.

· Two custom chrome plates that allow you to mount glass wind wings to the doors of a Cabriolet. These are necessary as there is no steel at the top of a Cabriolet door. These plates are no longer made.

· Several Model A books, including my much used (and greasy) Mechanics handbook as I do almost all the work on this car myself.

· Custom PVC pipes that allow you to back flush the radiator and block from a strong garden hose

· Generic dust cover

· 4 original connecting rods. If you ever have to have a rod re-babbited, you can use one of these as the “core deposit” without having to take the rod out of your car before the new one arrives.

The car has been stored indoors as long as I’ve owned it, and only rarely driven in inclement weather. No fiberglass parts (fenders, etc), some surface rust and dirt on the under carriage, “Ford” steel plates on the running boards. I can see no evidence of wrecks or destructive rust in the automobile.

Work you may wish to do on the car:

· Paint. The original Yellow/Brown/and black make this a “20 footer” car. Repainting has never been as important to me as making sure it started, ran, and stopped, as it should.

· Speedometer cable. The speedometer is a later model oval and requires a special cable. The original cable kinked and I could never find a custom replacement. As I don’t drive the car over a few hundred miles per year, and never at over 40 mph, it wasn’t something I was interested in fixing.

Fine Print:

· No warranty expressed or implied.

· Subject to prior sale.

· By contacting me or bidding on this car you acknowledge that it is legal for you to purchase, own, and possess this vehicle.

· A bill of sale will be provided. No title is available (although eBay requires a listing of "clear").

· Certified Funds or cash paid within 72 hours of the end of the auction by the successful bidder/purchaser.

· Pickup must be made within two weeks of the acceptance of the Certified Funds.

· Car and parts are sold “as is” and “where is”.

· Delivery, pickup, shipping, taxes, registration, licensing etc. are the responsibility of the purchaser.

· The car is located in a secure storage locker in Savannah, Georgia; approximately 10 miles East of the intersection of I-95 and I-16.

· I will be happy to work with your shipper to get the car to the road at the storage space for the shipper to take possession of, and remove the vehicle.

· Please don’t waste your time and mine asking about the Reserve Price. It is set fairly for a vehicle of this condition and rarity. Don’t bid if you don’t intend to complete the purchase if you win the auction. This is a car worth having for the person who wants it and will take care of it-whether driving it as it is, hot rodding it, or restoring it.

Contact me if there are specific parts you would like photographed and I will attempt to get them for you.