1949 Ford - Design and Testing

[DodgeMan360]

Ive got a chance to buy a 49' Flathead Coupe, hopefully the seller doesnt back out of the deal

[Motorfordtoyota]

Back when American cars were American. The average Ford now is made in Mexico. The average GM is made in Canada along with the average Chrysler. Do you want to know what the most American car currently on the market today is? You would be wrong, its the Toyota Camry. The most American pickup is the Toyota Tundra. The list goes on and on. So currently, the Japanese are better for our economy then the Americans.

[DJDrugless]

@Motorfordtoyota I'd thought most Toyota Camry's in North America are assembled in their North plant in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Upon checking up on that I found out that no, it's not the Camry that is made there, but the Corolla. I once asked a diehard GM man why the Ford Tempo I bought was a piece of junk. He said "Don't tell anybody I told you so, but all of the "Big 3" make great cars and they make lemons, too."

I love the old "road boats", no matter who made them! Can't afford the gas!

[deviantStrait]

I once went to see a 1950 Ford that was for sale out in the country. It was in poor condition but, otherwise driveable, if barely. The guy happened to live at the base of a steep hill identical as shown at 7:50 in the video. When we were able to get it running after sitting for over a year he offered to take me for a test run. I was surprised he chose to tackle the hill rather than take the low road at right.......It was slow & scarry as all hell but, miraclously it made the climb

[giorgio789]

This is genius.

[irish89055]

A classic, one the first post war remodled cars. Dec 11 decision, must be Dec 1947. Henry Ford II had the final work I should think. That was him at beginning..

Watch out for those Auto photographers.....

[notmichael19982]

wen is this baby coming out

[curtmaster3001]

i love these cars i want one so bad. its really cool to see how they were designed and tested. new cars just suck they arent as durable as old ones and they put all this stupid plastic stuff all over them and after that they are still heavier then old cars. a chrysler 300 base modle weighs more than a 69 dodge dart, and the dart is built better and has more power. plus the styling was cool back then. i think new cars just need to go back to basics

[markhinr]

@curtmaster3001 Many of the old cars did look cool but the handling was terrible because the general public wanted a "luxurious" ride. Cars from the 50's were top heavy and built with mushy springs so leaned badly when cornering. You might be disappointed if you drove one. Even a new Toyota Corolla handles like a sports car compared to the old American cars, and is more durable. The old cars rarely went much beyond 100K miles before the motor wore out and the body was full of rust holes.

[curtmaster3001]

@markhinr well i have a completly stock and mostly original 66 ford f100 with a 352 v8 my grandpa bought it brand new and used it for his buisness. it has, in the neighborhood of 200,000 miles on it and has never been rebuilt. if i went out right now and turned the key it would start as fast as any new car. while running the engine has very little vibration and almost no blowby. the only thing not original to the engine is the spark plugs, distributer cap and air filter. it also rides like a car

[markhinr]

@curtmaster3001 Those were very well-built trucks. I once had a '67 F-250 Camper Special that I used for hauling heavy scrap iron, up to 6000 lb. loads. It also had the 352 V-8. Good, reliable hauler and not bad gas mileage (19 mpg) for a heavy vehicle. It rode like a truck. : ) If you live in a northern climate, you'll want to put some weight in the box to make it through the snow and treat any rust that gets started with a product like POR 15 or a polyurethane sealer. Good luck with it.

[curtmaster3001]

@markhinr yeah not much rust thankfully its been in southern california its whole life. its needs the drivers side floor pan replaced but not too bad. ill try and post a vid of it sometime

[ddarkshark]

@markhinr-- nyou are right about all those inferior aspects, but we can agree that the cars of the 30's 40's and 50's make the best hot rods and customs ever, each one is an opprtunity for creativity. the suspensions, brakes and engines of today transform these beauties into monsters that eat other cars for brunch. i had a 50 ford 2door v8 flathead 239 cu. in.

it was awesome but i never took it over 8o because it was crudesville. it did lay down a black patch of rubber so artfully though.

[markhinr]

@ddarkshark Yes, the technology and construction was so much simpler than cars built today. They had a frame with components bolted to it, which makes them much more practical to modify and customize. I had a '52 Studebaker Champion in the early 70s. Body and interior was mint condition and quite a looker but it had the wimpy flathead 6. Had to downshift to 2nd gear just to get it to climb a long hill. Why would Studebaker put such an underpowered motor into a car? Dumb decision.

[trucker765]

2:50, look how new that flathead looks!

[CTjacob13]

its funny how "futuristic" the car look while still looking old

[MikeyMcCrashCap]

Another great film! Thank you for sharing these!

[kargmeister1337]

such a beautiful car. I wish they made todays cars like that.

[GenericGene]

This is fantastic - I always enjoy watching this -

[Drivermatic]

Funny that Ford does not mention that this car was designed by freelancer Holden "Bob" Koto for Studebaker in 1946. After the Exner design won at Studebaker, this design was dusted off and presented to George Walker two years later for Ford.

[dco588]

They say that "it all started one moring in

1946 . . . . ." yet, at one minute into the

video, they show what appears to be a

1948 Ford sedan coming up a driveway.

WTF?

[irish89055]

@dco588 it takes several years to go from concept to production... Hey, mike, that was funny about Mrs Ford.. Yeah, old Henry Ford died in 1948... My dad used to sell Fords 1950-53

[mikethespaz]

According to the book entitled "The Fords", a biography about the Ford family, the full-size clay model of the 1949 Ford was the last prototype Henry and Clara saw before Henry passed away.

According to the book, Clara approached the clay mock-up and, not knowing that it was not an actual car, attempted to open the door of the model.

Before anyone could stop her, she yanked the aluminum foil covered door handle completely off the car.

[mclifer]

The Deuce is turning in his grave.

[punkazzgearhead]

I love it! Please post the rest if you have it!

[tanside]

look at all those people driving domestic cars, and going to work... my how the times have changed.