1931 Ford Model A Coupe with rumble seat
On loan from: Paul and Patty Hammond of Broken Bow, NE; on loan in memory of Lloyd and Dorothy Hammond
Original cost: $495 (In 1931: Average car cost $640.00; average household income, $1,850.00; average home cost $6,790.00; gallon of gas, 17 cents)
Number made: 79,816
Engine, etc.: 4 cyl., 200.5 cu. in.; 40 hp.; 2,257 lbs.; wheelbase: 103 ½ in.
This was a two-owner car before Paul Hammond bought it from his brother, Lloyd. Lloyd bought it in 1956 and drove it to high school in Anselmo, NE. Lloyd wanted to keep the car in the family and Paul bought it a year before his brother’s death in 2014.
A frame-off restoration was done about ten years ago by Lloyd Hammond and his daughters. Lloyd was president of the Quail Model-A Club in Denver, CO and moved back to Broken Bow when he retired in order to be closer to family.
When Lloyd went into the military, the car was parked across the front of his parents’ garage. Paul and Lloyd’s father couldn’t see well so when he saw the Model A (from running into its fenders), he knew he was far enough into the garage that the door would close.
Lloyd had a pop bottle opener mounted on the dash board. Each time there was a school dance, there was always a pile of pop bottle lids on the floor of the car.
Ford began production of Model A’s in 1927. It replaced the aging Model T and was eagerly awaited by the public. It was stylish and elegant and much more sophisticated and complex than the Model T. Prices ranged from $385 to $570 for the various models.
The Model A Coupe, also called the A-Model Ford or the A, and A-bone among hot-rodders and customizers, was the second huge success for the Ford Motor Company.
With a 4-cylinder water cooled L-head engine of over 200 cubic inches, its top speed was over 60 mph, and it got a remarkable 40 miles-per-gallon of gas. The transmission was a conventional 3-speed sliding gear manual unsynchronized unit with a single speed reverse.
The Model A had 4-wheel mechanical drum brakes. The 1930 and 1931 editions came with stainless steel radiator cowling and headlamp housings.
Ford had produced one million Model A’s by February, 1929 and reached its 20-millionth in 1931. A total of 4,320,446 Model A’s were made.
Production of Model A’s ceased on August 31, 1931. They were replaced by the Model B.
Sources: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805 -1942. Beverly Rae Kimes, et al. 3rd ed. Krause Publications, 1996.
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z5912/Ford-Model-A.aspx
http://www.classiccardatabase.com/specs.php?series=712&year=1931&model=8160
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1930_Ford/dirindex.html (4 original brochures, 1930 models)
