1931 Ford Model A for Sale

Body styles and how many were built

• Sedans: the Tudor and the Fordor, including the slant-windshield Fordor described below.
• Victoria: a two-door with a slanted, visorless windshield, a lower roof and a bustle back, added late in 1930 and built in larger numbers in 1931.
• Coupes and convertibles: coupes, the cabriolet and the convertible sedan.
• Open cars and pickups: roadsters, phaetons and pickups.

Ford built far fewer Model As in 1931 than in 1930. Published totals vary with the counting method, so we do not quote one here.

The slant-windshield Fordor

During 1931 Ford gave the Fordor sedan a slanted windshield with no visor. Straight-windshield Fordors were built in 1931 until the changeover, so both versions are correct for the year. Slant-windshield bodies from Ford, Briggs and Murray were made identical, all with the arched door windows of the earlier Murray Fordors, so the window shape does not tell you the maker. The firewall body tag and hardware do: Briggs used D-nuts, Murray caged nuts. A slant-windshield car with a visor has been changed.

Engine and drivetrain

The 201 cubic inch L-head four at 40 hp, the three-speed sliding-gear manual and the four-wheel mechanical brakes carried over. The 1931 cars use the 19 inch wheels introduced for 1930, and the stainless radiator shell now has a painted insert in body color.

Is it a real 1931?

The engine number was the car's serial number and the one on the title. It is hand-stamped on the left side of the block above the water inlet, between two star symbols. Some frames repeat it on top of the left frame rail near the first body bolt. Engines have often been swapped, so ask about a mismatch, and treat a number struck through with X stamps as a renumbered engine. For a slant-windshield Fordor or a Victoria, check that the body matches the claim, not only the year.

What to inspect before you buy

• Body wood: closed bodies, the Victoria included, are framed in wood. Door fit tells you a lot about its condition.
• Engine: babbitt bearings and a gravity-fed fuel tank in the cowl. Ask when the engine was rebuilt and look for leaks at the tank and fuel line.
• Brakes: mechanical brakes in correct adjustment, pulling evenly.
• Metal: fenders, running boards, splash aprons and the lower body.

Related listings

• 1928 Ford Model A, 1929 Ford Model A and 1930 Ford Model A for sale, or every Ford Model A.
• What came next: Ford Model B and Ford Model 18 for sale.
• Background: the Ford flathead V8 of the 1930s and the Model A as a street rod.