1934 Ford Sedan Almost Complete. Downs Body

UPDATE: I received the following message from an ebay member on April 26:

This is a Downs body. 23 Downs cars have passed thru my shop doors.
I built my '33 Ford sedan delivery back in 1985. Now has 138,000 street rod miles on it = no cracks.

We do not have a title to this car yet. Please read the full description to see why. Ebay would not let me list it any other way, other than to state what kind of title it has. When we do get a title it will have a State issued VIN (Oklahoma).

I will do my best to describe this car. I did not build it. I am listing this for friends. Their father passed away before it was 100% completed. Short story comes first, then for you guys that want the long story, it follows. It starts and runs, and moves under its own power. I drove it up and down the street, but did not venture very far, as I do not believe the vehicle has ever been registered or tagged. I cannot find a VIN. We are in the process of applying for a State (Oklahoma) issued VIN. More on that below.

If you are still interested, read on.

BODY

Fiberglass body. I do not know who made the body. I do know the body and chassis were purchased separately. Dark green paint is in VERY GOOD condition. Because it has been sitting, it needs a good cleaning and polishing. The paint is very close to show quality. The only significant damage is on the RF fender. I took several close ups. I THINK, but don’t know for certain, that the hole in the fender is for mounting a mirror. There is a silver plug in the corresponding hole on the LF fender. Being fiberglass, it would be a very straight forward repair. Because of where it is, one could mount a mirror with some kind of escutcheon to cover it. That’s what I would do. I am probably underselling the quality of the paint job a bit. Like I said, it needs a good cleaning and polishing. There is no dirt in the paint. It is dirty, but the dirt is on top. There is no peeling, orange peel, or known blemishes other than noted above.

Steel hood hinged in the middle. I BELIEVE the hood is an original 34 Ford four piece hood.

Has an original 34 Ford Grill in perfect or near perfect condition. We don’t know how much the owner paid for many of the parts, but his son remembers him saying that he paid $1200 just for the grill.

CHASSIS:

We do not know who made the chassis. I believe it has a Mustang II front suspension, with R&P steering. I did my best to get pics, but could not put it on a lift for really good undercarriage shots. I CAN take additional pictures, but you will have to be patient, as the car is 40 miles away from me.

Rear looks to be a Ford 9”.

Engine started life as a 1972 F150 351W. It is highly modified, but not radical. I meant to post a picture of the handwritten spec sheet. I cannot post any more pics. I will be glad to email it to you if you contact me. Weind aluminum intake with Edelbrock carb, with nice short tube headers, and electric cut outs in the exhaust.

Transmission is a built C6.

Tilt steering (I believe an Ididit column).

Door poppers are in place, but we cannot find the card.

American Racing wheels, radial tires.

Vintage AC. Do not know if the AC works, but it appears to be all there.

OTHER DETAILS

ENGINE:

Car sat for an unknown length of time. The fuel lines from the front of the engine to the carb were all replaced. Some of the old gas in the tank was drained, and a few gallons of 100LL (aviation fuel) were added. The old gas did not smell horrible, so I did not believe it was ethanol laced. The fuel pump diaphragm had ruptured dumping a little gas in the oil pan. I changed the oil and filter using Mobil 1. The engine started without drama and runs very well. Should be a 6 quart pan, but after changing the oil, using 6 quarts, the dipstick reads low. I believe the dipstick is not accurate, so the tube should probably be cut down with a tubing cutter to make it accurate. It is not the factory dipstick, but an aftermarket one. Looks to be either a Lokar or a Moroso.

Because the fuel pump was bad, I put an electric pump on it just to get it running, putting a block off plate where the mechanical fuel pump was mounted. The Holley mechanical fuel pump is a rebuildable one, and will go with the car. The electric fuel pump is clearly visible in the engine shots. It is a TEMPORARY install. At the very least, it would need to be mounted. Right now, it is just sitting on the intake. If it were me, I would relocate it at the back by the tank.

There is an oil leak at the LF of the engine. Without putting the car on a lift, I could not pinpoint the location. It may be the timing cover, but it may be the block off plate I installed (hate to admit I can’t put a block off plate on without creating an oil leak… but it may be).

It has cobra valve covers and a cobra air cleaner.

INTERIOR:

The interior has never been finished. We did find a box with the seat foam (pictured), but no seat covers or door panels. Much insulation and sound deadener has already been installed.

Windows. Power windows are installed. I do not remember if I even tried running the windows up and down. If the car were in my garage, I could do so, but it is about forty miles away.

TIRES:

Tires look like new, but I do not know the age. Sizes are 195 40 R14 in the front and 235 70 R15 in the rear. I did not measure the width of the wheels, but the tires fit nicely, so I would guess they are close to the width of the respective tires, probably 6 or 7 inch wide in front and 8 in back. He definitely got the stance correct on this one. Looks good from every angle.

TITLE:

As stated above, we do not have a title for this car. I believe we will be able to get one. If you are buying from out of State (car is in Oklahoma) and only need a Bill of Sale, I can get you a notarized B.O.S. signed by the Personal Representative (what we used to call an Executor) of the Estate. If you are local, and need a title, you may have to wait a few weeks while we complete the process. The biggest hold up is a result of not knowing exactly what the different components cost. We are supposed to present the Oklahoma Tax Commission with a sworn statement of all the major components along with the cost of each. While we DO have a 3 ring binder full of owner’s manuals and brochures of many of the components, we do not have the actual receipts. So, we are doing our best to reconstruct records for that process.

INSPECTION:

Inspection is not only allowed, but STRONGLY encouraged. This may be a dream car for the right person, but could be a nightmare for the wrong person. I will make arrangements to meet you at the car for the inspection.

The car is listed locally (CL) in Oklahoma City. I reserve the right to end the auction if a local buyer steps up. I will not end the auction if the RESERVE has been met. RESERVE is very realistic. I cannot find a finished car of this caliber for less than $35k. The BEST I can determine, if you were to buy just a kit (without final paint, without engine and trans or rear) you would have to spend at least $20k. You are years ahead of the game purchasing this car and finishing the interior to fit your taste. I have seen a lot of custom built cars RUINED by a gaudy interior. You can take the theme of understated traditional looking hot rod and go in your own direction.

TRANSPORT:

I do not mind selling to an out of State buyer. You are responsible for transport. I can meet the driver and assist with loading. The car will drive onto a trailer as it moves under its own power, and the brakes work fine (Wilwood master cyl, but do not know who made the other components). PLEASE BE AWARE that the car sits very low in front, and special care, and possibly special equipment will be required to load it without damaging. I would not count on being able to call U-SHIP and getting it done correctly by the cheapest bid. You will need a real pro to transport it.

EXTRAS:

Car comes with an extra wire harness complete with fuse box. I do not know if the wire harness is complete. It is in a box.

Also comes with multiple side mirrors. I had a hard time backing it into the garage, as there is no rear view mirror installed on the windshield or on the sides. I don’t remember seeing an inside rear view mirror in the box of parts. There are multiple side mirrors.

Thereis an extra hood that I believe came with the body. It is fiberglass and is not hinged in the middle like the original 34 Ford hood. It also comes with two side panels that mount under the sides of the hood. I don’t know if those panels came with the body, but would guess so. There is no mounting hardware that I could find with the hood or hood side panels. Just consider them extra parts. You don’t have to take them with the car if you don’t want them. The hood and front grill are in great condition.

Feel free to call me. My name is Lynn. 405 826-6805

On May-02-18 at 18:08:57 PDT, seller added the following information:

This is clearly a Sedan Delivery, not a two door sedan.
I have a lead on finding the Downs body id plate. I will need that before we can get the title.
Will post updates as they are available.