red grow sport coupe

todd3131

todd3131

Well-known member
Does anyone know what happend to red Cross sport coupe? The last I knew anything it had been sold to a ford dealer and kept in the showroom in a glass box. At the time it was sold for I believe ten grand and was the most that had ever been paid to an a. I think that was in 63 or 64. Just curious todd313@
 
I think its in south texas with paul and donna lewis who are quite active with mafca. Atleast i know they owned it in 2010, they may have sold it by now im not sure.
 
Here is an article about it in a glass box.

betsy01.jpg
 
todd3131 said:
Does anyone know what happend to red Cross sport coupe? The last I knew anything it had been sold to a ford dealer and kept in the showroom in a glass box. At the time it was sold for I believe ten grand and was the most that had ever been paid to an a. I think that was in 63 or 64. Just curious todd313@
Click to expand...

Red Cross?
 
At the time it didn't seem as odd as it sounds today when knowledge of authentic restoration is now more common knowledge although selectively ignored both then and now. When my dad would bring our new Ford in for service in the late fifties, visiting the Claude Grow car was very exciting part of the visit. Fred A
 
todd3131 said:
What kind of shape is the car in today?
Click to expand...

It's decent. Better than most cars are that haven't restored in the last 50 years. It could use a new paint job and top, but at the same time it's toss up as to wether or not that would be a good idea. It would look really sharp with fresh paint, but then you're changing it from the way that red left it.
 
Red was an interesting guy. He had a used car lot on San Fernando road in Burbank,CA and you could usually find a few A bones for sale on the lot. There was a Bobs Big Boy down the street and the fellows that started the MAFCA used to eat lunches there. There are pics showing the gang at Reds lot in an early Restorer.
 
The judging standards have gotten a lot tougher since the sixties. I wonder if it would meet the 13 requirements that are now necessary to even be judged. It is likely over accessorized.
 
FYI, When you visit the Model A Museum in Michigan look at the two wheels in the Gulf Gas station display. They are on loan from Paul Lewis. They are wheels from Red Grow's Sport Coupe. He fondly called the car "Betsy" Go see the Museum, I know you will be impressed. Also, the meter is running at the tune of 4K per month to keep the Museum Open. Please make a donation to MAFFI.Org.

Jay McCord
 
Red Grows car "Betsy" was an inspiration in it's time. It drove many people to do their best in restoring their car. In the need for more information to do a better job...the Judging Standards evolved. WE can thank Red and the MAFCA founders for their vision!!
Bruce Davis
 
I think I remember reading and seeing pics of the car with one of the rare
rumbel seat cloth top accessories: Tux-Away or something?:eek::confused:

Bob-A:D
 
Todd3131,

No Red painted his Sport Coupe with Cabriolet colors. The following is a quote from the first issue of The Restorer. Red wrote:

"The most difficult job was painting. The original color, which I believe was Ford Washington Blue, had been obliterated by a solid coat of nondescript gray. However, about the time I was ready for painting I came across an original dealer's poster picturing a Sport Coupe with a "sporty" shade of yellow. After many hours testing and experimenting the shade was matched."

I am fairly certain that the poster was of a Cabriolet and not a Sport Coupe. In it's time it was an excellent restoration. However even at it's peak condition in the 50's it would not even qualify for today's blue ribbon judging.

Here are some additional 50's - 60's pictures of the car from The Restorer. The second one is from the cover of the July-Aug 1962 Restorer. I was at a MAFCA meeting a couple of years ago and there was mention of a cover of a recent Restorer which had a picture of a yellow 1929 Business Coupe. Some of the people there were outraged that a Model A with incorrect colors would be put on the cover of The Restorer. Someone said something like "there has never been a yellow coupe on the front cover of The Restorer". I was going to say something at the time but did not want to contradict the people at the meeting.



betsy02.jpg
betsy03.jpg
 
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