Registration No: JK 4687
Chassis No: C18UF8376
MOT: Exempt

• UK manufactured and supplied right-hand drive example
• In current ownership for 55 years
• Reportedly previously owned by a number of US Air Force pilots operating out of RAF Bury St Edmunds

Ford introduced the Model A as a replacement for its long-running Model T in 1928—but just four years later, the Model A itself was history. To upstage rival Chevrolet’s six-cylinder, Ford offered its first V-8 engine in 1932. Though V-8s were nothing new, this was the first time one was to be offered in a low-price, mass-produced car.

Streamlined styling began in 1933, progressing even further with bodies that were longer and wider with new grilles and 17-inch wheels. The design, credited to Phil Wright at Briggs Body Company, is considered one of the most desirable standard production models of the 1930s by today’s collectors.

The cast iron flathead V-8 was a tremendous value for the money, offering 75hp from its 221cui displacement in 1933. The V-8 engine proved so popular Ford discontinued its four-cylinder engine in March of the 1934 model year, and the powerplant, which would come to be known as simply the “Flathead,” would serve as the basis for many hot rods for years to come.

First registered in Eastbourne on 04 June 1935, this unusual UK assembled, and thus home market V8 Cabriolet is offered for sale for the first time in a staggering 55 years. ‘’JK 4687’’ was purchased by the vendor in 1967 from a private individual located near RAF Bury St Edmunds, or USAAF Station 48, as it was known by the 350,000 American Air Force personnel who operated from this site. Reportedly, this particular vehicle had been owned by a number of US Air Force pilots living in and around the base at the time. A reminder of back home, perhaps? Who knows? The car was in running condition at the time of purchase but did require attention.

Only a couple of years after, in the 1970s, ‘JK 4687’ was subject to restoration. Works included an engine overhaul, replacement gearbox and a repaint in the colour it is offered in today. The interior was left until the 1990s, when it was subsequently imported from a well known US firm ‘LeBaron Bonney’ and installed into the vehicle. Still retaining its original registration, the car now displays some patina from its older repaint and is largely in ‘stock’ condition, other than a 12v conversion for increased useability.

Included with the vehicle is a V5C which displays 0 previous keepers due to the length of current ownership, and the vendor rates the condition of the bodywork, engine, electrical equipment, paintwork and transmission as ‘Good’, with the interior trim ‘Very Good’.

For more information, please contact:
Andreas Hicks
andreas.hicks@handh.co.uk
07943584762