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If anyone ever tells you that good cars aren’t out there waiting to be discovered, then they are surely misinformed. There have been many write-ups this year covering cars that haven’t seen the light of day for decades and are now looking for good homes. One of the neatest we have seen lately is this 1949 Ford Custom tudor for sale on Craigslist in Stromsburg, Nebraska. While the seller holds on to their words like money, we do know that this cool little Ford has just 54,599 miles on the odometer and has always been garaged. Perhaps the most interesting detail on this Flathead V-8 powered tudor is that the license tag on the car has a 1966 date. With a $9,250 asking price, is this a chance to get a very original, low-mileage Shoebox Ford for a reasonable sum? Thanks to T.J. once again for this Nebraska-based find!
The story of the 1949 Ford is one of survival. Despite spending the duration of World War II fully engaged in making products such as the B-24 Liberator bomber, Ford was in deep trouble. Edsel Ford had died, and Henry Ford was reinstated as the leader of the company. He was in no shape mentally or physically for the job, but that didn’t stop him and the cronies around him from running the company further into the ground. Estimates were that Ford was losing around ten million dollars per month. There was serious talk by the Roosevelt White House of the Federal Government taking control of Ford to ensure that it continued producing war materiel. Henry Ford II, who was an officer in the U.S. Navy at the time, was called back to Dearborn to run the company in July of 1943.
The grandson of Henry Ford, Henry Ford II wasted no time taking the reins of the company despite having little formal training. In one of the most important periods of the company’s history, Henry II became the official company president in September 1945. He quickly got rid of most of the executives that surrounded his grandfather and replaced them with industry experts and a group of young executives that came to be known as the “Whiz Kids.” With money still hemorrhaging from the company’s coffers, Ford focused on producing almost all-new car for 1949. This was an amazingly risky move that would have bankrupted the company had it failed.
When the 1949 Ford debuted, it was a runaway hit with the public. Compared to the 1948 model it replaced, it was like the new car was from another planet. Gone were the prominent fenders and the tall upright stance of the old car, which was still very similar to the 1941 Ford in all but the front end. The new car had flush fenders and a smaller footprint. Customers could also enjoy such niceties as an independent front suspension, modern rear suspension with leaf springs on either side, an open driveline, updated brakes, and an optional three-speed transmission with overdrive. Under the hood was either an updated Flathead V-8 with a new distributor and improvements to the cooling system, or a nearly as powerful inline six-cylinder engine. Promptly nicknamed “Shoebox,” these cars were produced with mainly small styling changes until 1951. The huge financial gamble made by Henry Ford II and his team finally put Ford on firm footing and set the company up well for the next decade.
The 1949 Ford you see here is a very solid example of this pivotal automobile. Offered in two trim levels, De Luxe, and Custom, this car’s chrome window trim identifies it as one of the higher-end Custom models. The paint, which has the appearance of baby blue, was actually named Silvertone Gray in the catalogs. While it has lost its shine, the paint is marked with slight surface rust in the bottom half of the car. It would be nice to see what the car would look like cleaned up and polished. Some of that may be dirt, and there is no sign that the rust has reached a point where it has damaged the panels. Notice also that the car comes equipped with a sun visor painted to match the car.
A look inside reveals that everything from the radio to the heater is intact and the floor still wears the original rubber mat. The seats are wrapped in an aftermarket cover. It would be nice to see the condition they are in after all those years of being protected. While the driver’s side door panel looks dirty and the dash is covered in dust, there is hope that this car will clean up well enough to be serviceable as it sits.
Sadly, there is no picture of the engine or any indication of the car having the coveted overdrive transmission. This would be something to add if it didn’t. Many dedicated Ford aficionados claim that the overdrive provided 25 percent better fuel mileage and made the car much more comfortable on the highway due to a significant reduction in engine RPMs. A car so equipped would make for a pleasant ride even on today’s secondary roads.
The overall condition shown in the pictures gives us hope that this 1949 Ford would clean up well enough to not need a restoration. Any technical information you would need is readily available from the Early Ford V-8 Club of America and there are a multitude of Flathead-era vendors who advertise in the club’s magazine who can help you with parts. Over the years, Shoebox Fords have developed a good reputation for how they drive and the value you get relative to the prices they sell for even today. If you want a car that you can enjoy, then this one may be worth inspecting in person.
