🔥 1934 Ford Roadster Project – All Steel, Rumble Seat, Running 8BA Flathead, CA Title! 🔥
Here's your chance to own one of the most coveted canvases in American hot rodding — a genuine all-original steel 1934 Ford Rumble Seat Roadster with a documented 1950s California hot rod history already built in. This is not a replica, not a glass car, and not a parts car. It's the real thing, honestly represented, and offered to the builder who knows exactly what they're looking at.
This car made its way from Portland, Oregon to San Diego, California in 1957 and has lived in the Southern California climate ever since. Garage stored and off the road since the mid-1970s, it is now available for the first time in decades — complete, largely intact, and loaded with hard-to-find original components.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:
🏗️ All original Ford steel body — genuine '34 sheet metal, not fiberglass, not a repop
💺 Rumble seat convertible roadster — the most desirable '34 body style; both interior and rumble seat spring assemblies included and intact
🔵 Aged white patina over confirmed original blue — visible through the finish at multiple points on the body
🚗 Rolls, stops, and steers — mechanical brakes (foot and hand) and steering both function lock-to-lock during shop movement and loading
🔧 Cowl vent filled — correct and expected period hot rod modification
🪟 Original windshield frame present with glass — cracked, will need replacement
⛺ Complete top hardware — all bows present, plus both side curtain frames; one bow retains its original Portland Top Company tag, tying directly to the car's documented Oregon-to-California history; original door and body snap hardware confirms a top used with side curtains
⚠️ A CORRECTION TO AN EARLIER VERSION OF THIS LISTING: what was previously described here as top irons are in fact side curtain frames, and on closer inspection the evidence points to a lift-off top rather than a folding top. All the bows are present either way, along with the original door and body snap hardware. Correcting it here rather than letting it stand.
THE ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN:
🔩 Ford 8BA Flathead V8 (1949–1953) — the most powerful and refined flathead Ford ever built
✅ Started and verified running using temporary independent wiring, an external fuel supply, and a shop carburetor (not included) — held approximately 45 PSI oil pressure at idle with no abnormal noise observed. Test was for verification only; cooling system was not filled or evaluated and no representation is made regarding operating temperature or roadworthiness
⚙️ Transmission shifts through the gears — believed to be the original 1934 unit, not disassembled for inspection
🔗 Rear end, front and rear suspension, and wheels are all original 1934 Ford
🛞 Tires are roughly 60 years old — they hold air for weeks, but they are rollers only
🌡️ Original radiator remains in the car
⚡ Electrical: nothing usable — a full rewire will be needed
THE 1950s HOT ROD STORY: Sometime in the early 1950s, a skilled previous owner went to work building this car right. The 8BA flathead swap was the performance move of the era. The dashboard was fitted with a 1947 Mercury speedometer, four aftermarket Stewart-Warner gauges, and a 1946–48 Dodge steering wheel — deliberate, period-correct choices that reflect the craftsmanship of California's golden age of hot rodding. That history is frozen in time and waiting for the next chapter.
WHAT'S INCLUDED:
✅ Original 1934 Ford grille
✅ Front and rear fenders
✅ Running boards
✅ Front and rear bumpers
✅ All top bows and both side curtain frames — including the Portland Top Company tagged bow
✅ Original door and body snap hardware for side curtains
✅ Spare tire carrier and cover
✅ Headlight stands
✅ Taillight stands
✅ Interior seat spring assembly
✅ Rumble seat spring assembly
WHAT'S NEEDED: This is a complete restoration project — full floor pan fabrication, lower panel and rumble seat trunk repairs, windshield glass, and a full mechanical rebuild and full rewire are all needed before any road use; a job for a skilled builder, not a weekend flip.
DOCUMENTATION:
✅ Serial number 18957094 — matches the title, and stamped in the frame
✅ Clear California title in seller's name
✅ California Title Only status — the car is not currently registered
✅ Mileage unknown — the speedometer is a 1947 Mercury unit fitted in the 1950s and is not original to this car, so its reading means nothing. No reading is recorded on the title, and pre-1981 vehicles are exempt from odometer disclosure
✅ No salvage, no liens, no problems
WHY THIS ROADSTER? A steel-body 1934 Ford Rumble Seat Roadster with a flathead that starts, runs, and holds 45 PSI oil pressure — that also rolls, stops, and steers — with complete top hardware, two grilles including a chrome driver-quality unit, original spare carrier, headlight and taillight stands, all fenders, both bumpers, intact seat assemblies, and a clean California title with matching VIN does not surface every day. Add in the authentic 1950s period hot rod history, the Portland Top Company tag tracing directly back to the car's documented Oregon-to-California journey, and Southern California provenance, and this becomes one of the most complete and compelling pre-war Ford project packages to hit the market in years.
📍 Located in Poway, CA (San Diego County) 💰 Will consider reasonable cash offers 📩 Serious builders and collectors only. Contact for additional photos and details.
