Found another back hole to pour in time and money!

jimmyx

jimmyx

True Classic
Look what followed me home! Just the prescription when 3 currently active projects are just not enough. There is a medical term for this condition - insanity, I believe........

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We assume you will be putting a 124 spider twin cam in it....but then the body will start to rust.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Yes, very cool and looks to be in great condition overall considering its age.
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It is one of a handful of completely rust free bone stock survivors. It was in climate controlled storage for five decades plus. It's a 1951 and in stock form the ultimate POS. It is nothing more than a Ford Model A with a different body. If it was not a drag icon of the 1960s gasser wars, probably none would exist in the US today. They are worth zero restored. It's only value is in the shell itself. Would be a great candidate to add to the engine cooling discussion if it were a Fiat. Doesn't even have a water pump - relies on siphoning for coolant circulation! The mechanical brakes are a treat too. I'm sure it would boil over just being within sight of the Baker Grade.
 
jimmyx said:
It is one of a handful of completely rust free bone stock survivors. It was in climate controlled storage for five decades plus. It's a 1951 and in stock form the ultimate POS. It is nothing more than a Ford Model A with a different body. If it was not a drag icon of the 1960s gasser wars, probably none would exist in the US today. They are worth zero restored. It's only value is in the shell itself. Would be a great candidate to add to the engine cooling discussion if it were a Fiat. Doesn't even have a water pump - relies on siphoning for coolant circulation! The mechanical brakes are a treat too. I'm sure it would boil over just being within sight of the Baker Grade.
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That's what I like about it; perfect to modify any way you want without worrying about destroying a valuable collector car or losing its appeal as stock original. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to modify a valuable one otherwise anyway, but most would not. ;)
 
carl said:
So, no joking aside, what are you plans for it?
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I've had 4 or five of these over the years and the motivation has always nostalgia. When I was a youngster, I would sit in class and draw pictures of an Anglia gasser as it was infinitely more fun than what ever was going on in my 4th grade class at the time. Growing up in NYC, I wasn't very far from the drag strip in Englishtown NJ. I had misspent youth, so I got to see the gasser wars up close on a regular basis which must have had a lasting impression. Along with the '48-'52 Anglia, the '51-'52 Henry J and the '41 Willys make up the trio of what ruled the day back then. It's a sickness so I've also had more than a few Henry Js along the way, but never a Willys, mainly because the cost of a shell has been in the stratosphere since the '70s.

So the plan for this one was actually no plan at all. When I went to see it unfortunately there was no walking away from it, so it followed me home. The big mistake was going to see it in the first place. A perfect stock restoration would struggle to bring $10-12K even on BaT which wouldn't come close to covering the costs to get it there. A perfect rust free barn find won't bring that much less, so there is no point in restoring it anyway . A buyer in stock form didn't exist when Ford sold them new, and nothing has improved since. A Barrett-Jackson level street rod is the best use for this. Depending on the quality of the build they usually bring $50-125K. The problem is getting it to that level will require an investment of at least $40K (which we all know will balloon to $80K!), and that's assuming not farming anything out except for paint and upholstery, and hopefully surviving the homicide attempt by the Mrs. If I were younger I'd be all in, but my days of projects on this scale are quickly coming to a close. I have another project (Dodge A-100 pickup) that is essentially a C4 Corvette underneath with an old school hemi set back 12" into the bed that is finally moving under it's own power for the first time in the 12 years the build has taken. It still needs paint and final cosmetics, so I might see it on the street in another year or so! My '74 K20 swap and my slightly warmed over '75 are fairly easy hobby cars that don't require anything near the level of time and money the Anglia would need, so the plan really is to do nothing. I have way more on my plate than I need at this stage of life. Eventually someone, somewhere will need a perfect shell for a project, or my kids will sell it at an estate sale for a hundred bucks when I'm gone. In the mean time it will remain garage art; just a thing dreams are made of.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
That's what I like about it; perfect to modify any way you want without worrying about destroying a valuable collector car or losing its appeal as stock original. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to modify a valuable one otherwise anyway, but most would not. ;)
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It's one of the very rare examples where modified brings all the money and stock brings none....
 
An odd concept, buying the car and not planning to do anything with it....for now. But I respect it. Better than dragging it home with big plans and high hopes but nothing done .....seen plenty of those in garages and driveways.
 
jimmyx said:
I've had 4 or five of these over the years and the motivation has always nostalgia. When I was a youngster, I would sit in class and draw pictures of an Anglia gasser as it was infinitely more fun than what ever was going on in my 4th grade class at the time. Growing up in NYC, I wasn't very far from the drag strip in Englishtown NJ. I had misspent youth, so I got to see the gasser wars up close on a regular basis which must have had a lasting impression. Along with the '48-'52 Anglia, the '51-'52 Henry J and the '41 Willys make up the trio of what ruled the day back then. It's a sickness so I've also had more than a few Henry Js along the way, but never a Willys, mainly because the cost of a shell has been in the stratosphere since the '70s.

So the plan for this one was actually no plan at all. When I went to see it unfortunately there was no walking away from it, so it followed me home. The big mistake was going to see it in the first place. A perfect stock restoration would struggle to bring $10-12K even on BaT which wouldn't come close to covering the costs to get it there. A perfect rust free barn find won't bring that much less, so there is no point in restoring it anyway . A buyer in stock form didn't exist when Ford sold them new, and nothing has improved since. A Barrett-Jackson level street rod is the best use for this. Depending on the quality of the build they usually bring $50-125K. The problem is getting it to that level will require an investment of at least $40K (which we all know will balloon to $80K!), and that's assuming not farming anything out except for paint and upholstery, and hopefully surviving the homicide attempt by the Mrs. If I were younger I'd be all in, but my days of projects on this scale are quickly coming to a close. I have another project (Dodge A-100 pickup) that is essentially a C4 Corvette underneath with an old school hemi set back 12" into the bed that is finally moving under it's own power for the first time in the 12 years the build has taken. It still needs paint and final cosmetics, so I might see it on the street in another year or so! My '74 K20 swap and my slightly warmed over '75 are fairly easy hobby cars that don't require anything near the level of time and money the Anglia would need, so the plan really is to do nothing. I have way more on my plate than I need at this stage of life. Eventually someone, somewhere will need a perfect shell for a project, or my kids will sell it at an estate sale for a hundred bucks when I'm gone. In the mean time it will remain garage art; just a thing dreams are made of.
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I can relate. My building days are also slowing down rapidly. I've found the best approach is to NOT look at any advertisements. Then I won't be tempted to go look at anything in person. Which as you say seems to lead to buying something.
 
So, this is a UK-market Ford (Anglia), that was brought to the US in fairly large quantities predominantly (or exclusively) for hot-rodding? There was no US market equivalent? I'm assuming it's tiny, hard to tell scale from the pics.... how about a pic with a human standing next to it?

It is cool, definitely not something I would want to undertake.
 
lookforjoe said:
So, this is a UK-market Ford (Anglia), that was brought to the US in fairly large quantities predominantly (or exclusively) for hot-rodding? There was no US market equivalent? I'm assuming it's tiny, hard to tell scale from the pics.... how about a pic with a human standing next to it?

It is cool, definitely not something I would want to undertake.
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Ford tried selling these here from '48-'56. The brought in about 5,000 units and eventually sold most of them for $900. US was not in the market for Model A technology by the time the '50s rolled around. Once NHRA changed the gasser class rules, the hot rodders dug out every one they could find out of the wrecking yards. It's the only reason there are a couple of hundred survivors left. Fully intact originals are unicorns now - probably less than 20 LHD left. Even though originals are rare they are worth the same as as stripped shell. Buyers are only concerned with the condition of the sheet metal. I don't have a picture with a human, but the closest comparison is to a Type 1 Beetle. The Anglia is a foot shorter, a foot narrower, and has a 90" wheel base with a 45" track width, so yea it's small.
 
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