Beschreibung:

The separation of the Ford model line into two classes, the Model 81A Deluxe and the Model 82A standard, in 1938 was a first for Ford. The two models were distinctly different, in a fashion that would come to define Fords’ model lines for the next several years. The Model 81A Deluxe, in addition to its more complete equipment and standard 85 horsepower 221 cubic inch V-8 engine, had new bodywork. The Model 82A Standard came with the 60 horsepower 136 cubic inch V-8 under its hood and used bodywork that continued, with minor trim variations, the prior year’s – in this case 1937 – Deluxe styling, particularly in the grille and hood. It was a clever and effective ploy for Ford. It offered Ford’s customers and dealers an economical and utilitarian, if mundane, vehicle for basic transportation and a more stylish, up-to-date and powerful automobile to meet the market’s growing appetite for features, styling and performance as the country worked its way out of the Depression. Ford built 106,117 Standard Tudors in 1938 and their profile is quite different from the 101,647 Deluxe Tudors, with a distinct trunk bulge at the back which the 1938 Standard shared with the body of the 1937 Deluxe Tudor. Ford was definitely learning the lessons of platform sharing and of extending the life of its designs, dies and assembly tooling and effectively creating a wider product line with little if any additional design or tooling expense. Much of the credit for this marketing scheme and plan goes to the largely unsung hero of Ford’s late Thirties organization, Edsel Ford. He was sensitive to the ebb and flow of design and style and sensed consumers’ changing preferences. Within the narrow latitude he was allowed by his father, Edsel and Ford’s marketing organization, headed since late 1937 by General Sales Manager John R. Davis, managed to create a multi-line catalog from the barest of resources. It was, particularly under the circumstances, a triumph of determination, talent and skill. The Hogan Collection’s 1938 Ford Model 82A Standard Tudor Sedan is a nearly impossibly rare show-quality restored example. In fact only a few Standard Tudors are known to survive at all, much less be the beneficiaries of such an outstanding, careful and comprehensive restoration. It was restored many years ago and earned its AACA National First Prize in 1991 in prior ownership. Jack Hogan acquired it on October 4, 2001 at Hershey, Pennsylvania from Craig Messinger of Bangor, PA. Messinger had acquired it from Wellington C. Brown of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania some time before. Finished in Washington Blue with Tan cord interior, it appears as a self-respecting Standard should, with the 85hp V-8 engine, a single windshield wiper, blackwall tires, hubcaps with no trim rings and only a single outside mirror. A complete set of show tools and jack mounted on a display board go with it. In 2004 it was judged 992 points in Early Ford V-8 judging at Park City, Utah in the Western Nationals. It earned Dearborn “Walkaround” status at Hood River, Oregon in 2005 and remains in spotless show-ready condition. It, along with several other Fords of exceptional rarity and originality, define the culmination of Jack Hogan’s fifty years of collecting flathead Ford V-8 powered automobiles. It’s not the flash and glitz of the restoration, or even of the original car – because there is absolutely nothing flashy or glitzy about this Ford Standard Tudor – it’s about the car’s rarity and innate worthiness of careful preservation and presentation to new generations of collectors, enthusiasts and casual spectators. Plain Jane ordinary family people-movers like the Ford Standard Tudor were the foundation of the American automobile industry and economy. Most of them were bought, driven, passed down, sold and used up until very, very few survived. Ubiquitous when new or a few years old, they have become through their very utilitarian functionality the rarest of collector cars.