Fords For Sale..........

31 Model A

Well-known member
anyone know where this dealership is or what year? Notice that everyone has double fender spares.

alhroy.jpg
 
Yes ! This photo was taken last year in Eureka, California. The dealership (Harper Ford) had a big 'push' on to sell their remaining un-sold stock of inventory. I bought two of their cars. One a '31 Deluxe Phaeton, and the other a 1930 Town Car; I had just taken possession of the two Ford Model A's the day before, which is why they do not show up in the photo.

But as I remember, two coupes and a sedan (shown in the photo, to the left of the building) did not have side-mounted spares.
 
Love the photo! Love those boater hats! Those were the days, When cars were metal and men were men! And the women back then weren't too bad either!
 
Gil - contrary to what others may say, Eureka is allowed seven (7) days a year without fog. Usually it rains on those days . . . . .
However, as luck would have it, last year when the photo was taken for the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum", Eureka had no fog or rain !

- Doug Vieyra, Eureka Chamber of Commerce
 
I'm guessing it was taken Tuesday April 21st, 1931.

You can see the crowd around the 20,000,000th Ford.

Notice the Town Car Delivery with the top on in the left of the picture.

-Tim
 
The "20 Millionth Ford" was a huge marketing campaign that lasted at least a month - six weeks I believe it was - as the car traveled around the country. Tuesday, April 24th was not a hard-fast date to attach to the marketing campaign tour which covered the entire country. So it might be a bit of a stretch to date the photo based upon the marketing sign.

For example, Harvey Harper (of Harper Ford fame) pulled out the old sign last year to help drum up nostalgia in his effort to 'dump' his unsold stock of Model A's on to the public. It worked - there is not a 'New Ford' left on his lot.

- Doug Vieyra, Eureka, Calif
President, Prevaricators Anonymous
 
Yes ! This photo was taken last year in Eureka, California. The dealership (Harper Ford) had a big 'push' on to sell their remaining un-sold stock of inventory. I bought two of their cars. One a '31 Deluxe Phaeton, and the other a 1930 Town Car; I had just taken possession of the two Ford Model A's the day before, which is why they do not show up in the photo.


correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't "town cars" sold on Lincoln lots only?
 
Nice photo of the twenty millionth. I'm interested in the sidemount covers on the other cars. Anyone know what they are?
 
The "20 Millionth Ford" was a huge marketing campaign that lasted at least a month - six weeks I believe it was - as the car traveled around the country. Tuesday, April 24th was not a hard-fast date to attach to the marketing campaign tour which covered the entire country. So it might be a bit of a stretch to date the photo based upon the marketing sign.

For example, Harvey Harper (of Harper Ford fame) pulled out the old sign last year to help drum up nostalgia in his effort to 'dump' his unsold stock of Model A's on to the public. It worked - there is not a 'New Ford' left on his lot.

- Doug Vieyra, Eureka, Calif
President, Prevaricators Anonymous

Doug Is a prevaricator the same as a Stranger to the Truth! Wayne
 
Ron, Post #8: ". . . weren't "town cars" sold on Lincoln lots only?"
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Yes, Ron, that was generally true. However, before there was a Mercury Automobile to give a full fledged 'Lincoln-Mercury' Dealership, many of the small towns in the back-water of America's rural regions had FORD DEALERS that sold anything and everything that was made by the Ford Motor Company, which would include among other things, the Fordson Tractors, and, if ordered, the Ford Town Cars.
 
Where is color when you need it and, I wonder why the dealership name isn't big and noticeable? I think the dealer was showing off every model offered.
 
Follow the route the twenty-millionth Ford took on it's grand tour and maybe---just maybe one will find the building and the town IF it is still standing.

Pluck
 
Our small Dealership in Valliant, Ok. was built of large River Rocks, it's still being used. Chiefs' Conoco station was just across the street & I was his PARTS GOPHER! That was in the mid '40's.
Bill W.
 
SkipShift, post #9 : "I'm interested in the sidemount covers on the other cars. Anyone know what they are?"
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Hard to say Skip. There were about a dozen accessory manufacturers who made steel tire covers during the twenty's & thirty's. The original metal tire covers I have from 1930 have a brass embossed emblem with the word 'Globe' on it. The brass emblem is about the size and shape of a nickle.

It was the dealer who installed these 'dress up' items to increase the sales $$$ bottom line. Due to Henry Ford's strict guidelines as to dealer mark-up on the sale of Ford cars, dealers generally strove to make as much money as they could by selling (like today's dealers) 'add ons', often times equaling the profit made by the sale of the car itself.

Conversely, the fabric covers for the tires were often supplied by the Dealer, and had the dealer logo and name on it. These were often included free when a buyer purchased the car. The two original 19" cloth tire covers I have from this period, unfortunately, are from a CHEVEROLET dealership in Oakland, California.
 
Doug,
The word, CHEVROLET, is NOT a BAD word. MANY of us have owned & gotten GOOD service, from those old "STOVEBOLTS"!
Bill W.
 
Doug,
The word, CHEVROLET, is NOT a BAD word. MANY of us have owned & gotten GOOD service, from those old "STOVEBOLTS"!
Bill W.

My dad was a GM guy, work for GM for years, swore by GM, I had GM most of my life, dad's last car was a new Buick, he loved Buicks. Got my last car also, a Sunday-Go-to-Church car, a new Lacrosse and I still can't believe it's a Buick!!!!;)
 
Bill Williamson, post #16: "The word Chevrolet is not a bad word".

Not to worry Bill.

My first 'old car' was a 1928 Chevrolet Dlx Sport Coupe !
One of my favorite 'poor man's car' is a 1932 Chevrolet !
Over the years I have collected a number of 'Chevy' items to put on my '31 FORD coupe.

Just to 'stir' things up, besides putting the Chevrolet cloth tire covers on my side-mounted spares, I sometimes put my original 1932 Chevrolet hubcaps on my 18" K-H Wheels; my '30 "Chevrolet" step-plates on the running boards; and the Chevy 'bow tie' emblem covering my Ford emblem on the top of my A's radiator shell !

It is good to have some FUN every so often !
 
Bill Williamson, post #16: "The word Chevrolet is not a bad word".

Not to worry Bill.

My first 'old car' was a 1928 Chevrolet Dlx Sport Coupe !
One of my favorite 'poor man's car' is a 1932 Chevrolet !
Over the years I have collected a number of 'Chevy' items to put on my '31 FORD coupe.

Just to 'stir' things up, besides putting the Chevrolet cloth tire covers on my side-mounted spares, I sometimes put my original 1932 Chevrolet hubcaps on my 18" K-H Wheels; my '30 "Chevrolet" step-plates on the running boards; and the Chevy 'bow tie' emblem covering my Ford emblem on the top of my A's radiator shell !

It is good to have some FUN every so often !
Doug,
If I couldn't have FUN & LAFF like an IDIOT, I may as well DIE & get some REST.
Doug, I never had a Brother or a Sister:( May I ADOPT you as my "BROTHER"?
Bill W.
 
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