Clean, very original car. I've owned for about 10 years. It runs really well and sounds great but can use a tune. It sat for some time before I bought it but not sure how long. I cleaned it up, changed the oil, replaced the plugs and battery, and it runs great. It can sit for weeks and it'll crank like it ran yesterday. The numbers on the frame and engine both match the title. It runs great and the clutch feels solid and shifts good, so I have no idea what if any driveline work has ever been done.

I bought the car because it's so solid and straight. There's one BB-sized ding on the front right fender, but it's otherwise straight. The only (minimal) rust issues are in the trunk spare tire well and the inner fender panel under the battery, which the older guys tell me were always issues for these cars. NO one can seem to tell if it's been repainted because it cleans up really well for 80+ years, but if it's been painted it was a partial respray a long time ago and it was done in lacquer. It has the typical lacquer crazing and lifting in areas. The car is very solid.

The interior appears original and is in really good condition considering the age. Someone added carpet years ago and the rear portion remains, but the front section was removed by me because it disintegrated. I looked into dyeing the original door and seat fabric back to original but thought better of it. I just cleaned up the interior and left it alone. The front seat has one separated part along the passenger upper back edge and is otherwise in good condition with no rips or tears.

Here's the work I've completed to keep it as original as possible and make it driveable: replaced the glass (the original was fogged), replaced the wiring, except the dome light and horn wiring, with factory-authorized reproduction wiring from Dennis Carpenter, rebuilt the carb and generator, cleaned the gas tank and replaced the sending unit (I haven't checked the accuracy of the gas gauge) and the gas line, adjusted the brakes, replaced the hood hinges, and more things that I'm forgetting. You get the idea. This is an early production car for 1940. I've replaced the rear bumper with a better-condition, original bumper and I've kept the original you see in the pictures.

The things to do (my opinion) would be fix the speedometer, replace the fluid in the rearend, trans and brake system, think about the tires (old bias ply's that look great and don't leak but no idea how old they are-and it needs a spare), a good tune, and replace the door and trunk weatherstrip (which goes with the car). Easy stuff.

I originally intended to modify the car but decided against it when I learned its history, and it's turned out to be just a really cool original car that's fun to drive as is.

The person I bought the car from owned it for 20 years and said his dad told him it belonged to James Brown but he lost some type of paper he had. I did a title search through the South Carolina DMV when I transferred the title, which showed to be true. That prior owner's dad bought it from a guy that dealt in cars or car parts, which had the car for around 15 years, that bought it from the Browns. Until me, the car remained in the Augusta, Georgia and North Augusta, South Carolina area since Mr. Brown owned it. It's still in South Carolina.

I researched the oil change sticker that's in the driver side door, which is in the images. Ben Froelich was the Ford dealer in Los Angeles, and the sticker is from 1959 as per the phone prefix for LA. There's a great, longer story to it but nothing I'd be willing to say is certain.

The pictures tell the story. If you enlarge the pictures, you can see the age and condition of the car more closely. The pictures of the car when it was under a carport and on the trailer is when I bought the car out of Graniteville, SC, which is near Augusta. I was told I should keep it dirty and "display" it. Yea, right. The car has been respected and brought back as far as I'm taking it.

Don't bid if you don't intend to follow through-it's ok just to watch. If you don't have great feedback with plenty of priors you should contact me or your bid will be cancelled.

Cash, cashier's check, or money order for the balance within 7 days of the end of bidding. The car stays with me until the payment clears. I can help with loading, but the buyer is responsible for shipping-pick up within than 30 days unless we've agreed prior.