1930 Ford Model A Town Sedan

After 19 years of production and increasing competition, the Model T was retired in 1927 and the new Model A was introduced.

Improvements were made continually throughout the Model A’s 1927-1931 production run and not held for a new model year. A Model A’s VIN is the best guide for correct restorations. (My car was a January 1930 production.) In 1932, the Model A was replaced by a Model B and a Model 18.

The MSRP of 1930 models ranged from $390 for a basic roadster to $660 for a 4-door Town Sedan. The Town Sedan was Ford’s top-of-the-line 4-door model; with cowl lights, mohair interior, carpeting, a fold-down center armrest for the rear seat, a switched dome light for the rear passengers, and roll-down shades with tassels on the rear and rear-quarter windows.

Most models of the Model A Ford bodies were all steel and built in a Ford factory, but 4-door sedan bodies (Fordor, Fordor Deluxe, and Town Sedan) were all manufactured by outside suppliers, either Briggs Coach or Murray Coach builders. These bodies were wooden framed, covered in sheet metal nailed to the wooden frame, and with a canvas roof. The Briggs and Murray coach bodies weighed approximately 700 lbs. and were shipped complete by rail to the Ford factory to be set on a Ford chassis.

Although the 4-door bodies of Briggs and Murray bodies were equal quality, there were subtle differences between the two and body parts are not interchangeable. The easiest way to tell a Briggs from a Murray is the arched window opening of a Murray vs the square-top window opening of a Briggs.

All Model A’s came with an electric starter, electric headlights and a single tail light, mechanical brakes at all four wheels, a 3-speed manual transmission with no synchronizers, and gravity feed fuel (no fuel pump). Compared to the Model T, the Model A has a water pump, oil pump, much softer suspension and tires, lower to the ground by almost a foot, and can comfortably cruise at 55 mph.