One of Sweden's finest collections of Ford Model A cars is now being sold on Bilweb Auctions. Eight fully restored cars from the model years 1929, 1930, and 1931 will go under the digital hammer on August 22.
In the early 2000s, a company executive in Alvesta, Småland, developed an interest in Ford Model A cars. One of his employees had restored such a car, and now he wanted one himself.
The first restoration fueled his enthusiasm, and over the course of about 15 years, a long series of Ford Model A cars with different body types were completed.
- 'We searched for Ford Model A cars all over Sweden,' says Jonte Franzén, who has restored all the cars from the ground up: metalwork, paint, mechanics, and in some cases even the interiors.
- 'Almost everything for the Ford Model A can be purchased in the USA, which naturally makes the restoration work easier. And we also accumulated quite a few spare parts along the way,' continues Jonte Franzén.
The Ford Model A - its correct name - began production in 1927, succeeding the Model T. It took only a year and a half to build a million cars, and the next million were ready five months later.
The Model A was built in 18 factories across the USA and just as many around the world, including one in Copenhagen.
By the time the model was discontinued in 1932, no less than 4.8 million cars had been built in a wide variety of versions. In 1930, customers had 18 different variants spread across 9 body types to choose from.
So, what is it like to drive a Ford Model A nearly 100 years after it was manufactured?
- 'It keeps up quite well in traffic, no problem driving it up to 80 km/h. But of course, you have to plan your driving differently with such an old car,' says Jonte Franzén, who has also converted all the cars' engines to run on unleaded gasoline.
All Model A cars had the same engine under the hood, an unusually large four-cylinder with 3.3 liters and 40 bhp.
Perhaps the most exciting car in the collection is a Victoria Coupé from 1931, a four-seater model that is extremely rare in Sweden as it was never sold here. It is - like the others - in very fine condition and is valued between 240,000 and 280,000 SEK.
The other Ford Model A cars are:
- Closed cab pickup 1931
- Coupe de Luxe 1931
- Tudor sedan 1929
- Tudor sedan 1930"
