California Dream 1951 Ford Custom Fordor

By John Emmering 

It was a clear but cool morning in February 2006 as I arrived at my desk at the Education Center on U.S. Army Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan. With no soldiers coming by to inquire about their education yet, I surfed my favorite internet web sites on my desk computer before work began.  Checking out eBay Motors for 1949-51 Ford vehicles for sale, I was stricken by the photo of a 1951 Hawaiian Bronze Custom Fordor sedan. The price was reasonable and it looked like it was ready to drive.  For some reason I was really attracted to the car.  

A year earlier while working in Kuwait I had come upon a 1949 Ford in much rougher condition located in Wisconsin.  I bid on that car and won it for a very low price.  On a trip back to the U.S.A. for leave I had picked up the car and dropped it at an auto restoration shop for mechanical work.   The shop had gotten the car drivable, but costs were mounting.  It seemed that perhaps it would be best to buy the 1951 Ford, which had nice paint and seemed complete and cut my losses with the 1949 Ford.  As it worked out I did keep and restore the 1949 Ford. 

Taking a deep breath, I went ahead and made a bid on the 1951 Custom Fordor. It seemed impractical to buy another shoebox Ford, but I wanted something fun I could drive after I got back home. When the bidding ended, I turned out to be the winner. I contacted the seller who was a lady in named Mrs. Greenway in Camarillo, California.  She was the widow of the man who had bought the car a few years back.  The gentleman had left 18 collector cars behind, most of them sporty Chrysler products. 

The former owner had seen the car at a used car lot on California’s Pacific Highway and stopped to look at it.  He impulsively made the purchase and added the 1951 Ford to his collection.  I sent a check off to Mrs. Greenway and she agreed to hold onto the car until I got back to the States in July.  

Excited about my purchase I considered picking up the car in Camarillo, California and driving it home to Illinois. Mrs. Greenway  informed me that the car had overheated at times, so it was best to have it shipped by an auto transport firm rather than attempting a 2,000-mile drive.  Later I found the overheating had resulted from an ill-fitting radiator cap that did not seal properly.  I made the arrangements from Afghanistan and had the car shipped from Camarillo to an auto storage facility in Hinkley, Illinois.   

Before I left Afghanistan, Mrs. Greenway told me that she had a new interior put into the car by an interior company she had used before, at no extra charge. As a career Navy Civilian, she empathized with my service in a combat zone.  

When I got back to Illinois, I was anxious to see the 1951 Ford that I had bought.  My brother drove me out to Hinkley to pick it up.   When I saw the car I was happy with my purchase.  The Hawaiian Bronze Metallic paint looked good and the new interior was exceptional. It had been done authentically with original pattern material.  It was a thrill to start her up and pull onto the street. My first trip was out to Villa Park to show off the car to my father and then down to Oak Forest where I was staying.  For two months during that summer of 2006 the 1951 Ford was my only transportation. I used it during my search for employment and any other driving I did.  

For a couple of years I drove the ’51 Ford just as I had received it. The first work it needed was replacing a leaky water pump.  After regaining my job at the DuPage Co. Sheriff’s Office and getting married to Robin I started to do some improvements. I found an NOS turn signal kit and back-up lights which I installed.  The center windshield divider was missing so I replaced that.  The chrome on the tail light housings was pitted so I replaced those with re-plated housings.  I installed some new chrome “wind splints” which flow out of the tail lights as the old ones were dented.  

Turning again to eBay I found four NOS bumper guards, a re-plated rear bumper, new side stainless strips, and two NOS scuff plates.  I had the broken driver’s vent window replaced and installed a driver’s side outside rear view mirror.  Also I added accessory front fender shields, large wheel trim rings and side window shades. 

When the brakes began to act up I got together with a coworker who was a good mechanic and we replaced the wheel cylinders working in his garage. A new muffler and tail pipe were added.  A roadside breakdown revealed I needed a new distributor and I found an NOS replacement unit. When the car became hard to start and was dying I purchased and installed a rebuilt carburetor which improved the Ford’s performance.  

Joining the Early Ford V-8 Club and our Northern Illinois Regional Group helped introduce me to some people who really helped me with the 1951 Ford.  When the ‘51 needed a new transmission, fellow member Jack Frank rebuilt a used overdrive transmission I had purchased and installed it for me.  

After the new transmission it soon became clear that the flathead 8BA V-8 engine was tired and needed a rebuild.  Taking the car to Built-Rite Engine Rebuilders in Lombard, I learned that the block was cracked and needed replacement. After I located another engine in rebuildable condition, Bill Holteman of Built-Rite did a nice rebuild and the ‘51 ran like new.  

My last wave of improvements came in preparation for the 2018 EFV-8 Grand National Meet when I installed a new front bumper and rear window chrome seal molding.  My 1951 Ford performed well on the trip to Dearborn and back.  Although I never considered my 1951 Ford concourse material, I had the car judged at the Meet and won a second place award.  

That’s the story of how I got my 1951 Ford Custom Fordor. It’s a fun car and has become very reliable for touring. I look forward to getting it back on the road this spring and taking part in more tours and NIRG activities.