The Ford Model A replaced the wildly successful Model T for the 1928 model year with production lasting until 1931. A far more complex vehicle than its predecessor, it debuted many significant improvements. For one, its L-head inline four-cylinder engine gained more displacement and produced a claimed 40 horsepower—twice that of the Model T. Fuel was gravity fed to the carburetor from a tank positioned in the cowl, between the engine compartment and the dashboard, which featured a visual fuel gauge. Other new features included four-wheel mechanical brakes, a battery-powered ignition system, and safety glass for the windshield, an industry first. Significantly, the Model A was also the first Ford to adopt a standard set of driver controls, with conventional clutch, throttle, and brake pedals and a gear shifter like on vehicles from other manufacturers of the day.

Ford offered a wide variety of consumer and commercial body styles for the Model A, relying on coachbuilders such as Detroit’s own Briggs Manufacturing Company and Murray Body Corporation to produce many of them. Among the most desirable versions of the popular Model A sedans were those featuring a slanted windshield, as seen on the Standard Fordor Sedan offered here.

This Murray-bodied 1931 Model A Standard Fordor Sedan is a so-called “three-window” example, meaning that it has three windows per side, versus the “blind back” DeLuxe Fordor Sedan, which lacked the rear, quarter windows. Finished in classic black with a tan cloth interior, it clearly has benefitted from a previous restoration. Notable features include amber fog lamps, cowl lights, a chrome winged MotoMeter temperature gauge atop the radiator, a side-mounted spare, and a rear luggage rack with a finely crafted wooden trunk. Nineteen-inch wire wheels with wide whitewall tires complete the period-correct package.

Nicely restored and exhibiting many desirable details, this Standard Fordor Sedan is an excellent example of the sought-after “slant-window” body style by Murray. The proceeds of this sale will go to Hillsdale College, a top-ranked college in southern Michigan, known for the classical liberal arts and for its independence from government funding.