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1951 Ford country squire with 25,000 miles showing. Original?


ShoeboxTobee123

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Hi guys thank you for letting me join. I recently purchased a 51 Ford country squire. I bought it site unseen but so far I am so happy with it.  I have had a few fords and this is the first Woodie.  I’ve dreamt of getting one for 30 years or more.  I was going to turn this one onto a custom job.  But I got it home 4000 mile round trip three day drive.  So didn’t get to look too much in road.  Got it off trailer , Anyways I got into it to discover the headliner seats floors are original and aside from a couple holes in headliner it’s near perfect. Well better than any original interior I’ve seen.  The car has oil change records to 73 and it was last liscenced in 91 when it had 21000 miles the guy said it had sat a good 40 years the previous owner drive it enough to keep the seals from breaking.  The bad thing it sat in a damp barn. It has surface rust and someone tried to do a little bindi repair job on one rocker.  But the inner fender panels and allot of parts that are usually wore are not still shine something I haven’t seen on at least ten cars I’ve had with the original paint.  It has 25000 miles now and the speedometer works great. So if this is the actual mileage but it needs a restoration still should I go all original.  I’ve never found a car wit that low mileage.  

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This site is mostly inhabited by people that prefer to restore back to like original. Frankly, like original tends to appeal to a wider audience, and become worth more than reshaping a vehicle to personal tastes. If a car is well done like original (or actually a true original), it will appeal to everyone that prefers them that way. Modified or customized to personal tastes will mostly appeal to the few that want it "that" way.

 

And welcome to the best website for antique and collector cars!

Edited by wayne sheldon
Additional thought. (see edit history)
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  • Peter Gariepy changed the title to 1951 Ford country squire with 25,000 miles showing. Original?

Welcome to the site. Where are you from? So you pulled a trailer 4000 miles in 3 days? That's over 1300 miles a day. Hopefully you had someone with you to share the driving duties. 

 

I always liked old Ford wagons. Do you have any pics of it? I agree with Wayne that you should try to keep it as original as possible. Good luck with it.... :)

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Shoebox, welcome. A 25,000 mile original 51 anything will only be worth a lot less if you don’t keep it original. You found a treasure. I would clean it up, get rid of the surface rust and see what buffing it out would look like. Then make a decision to paint or not. Yes repair anything that is totally rusted thru but the old saying is true. “ it’s only original once”. Good luck, have fun and post pictures soon!  
dave s 

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It's my opinion to keep them as close to original as possible. They are worth more in the long run. As SC38DLS said, "they are original only once" . That being said, it's your car, do it as you want it and enjoy it !  By the way, Welcome to the site. There's a large amount of knowledge here, just ask. And.... post pics.

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An original car is a great thing to have, but if the body has had  some bad repairs and there is surface rust that wont 'rub' out, how good is it really? If the car has been sitting so long the mechanicals most likely need a redo, so that part would no longer 'be original'. Depending on the condition I wouldnt have a problem doing a restoration. Being in good shape and original would only be a plus. I think the idea of "only original once" is good and all, but I have also seen a lot of cars that were just plain old rusty bombs that need to be restored. Lets see some pics now that the speculators are done, LOL.

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A picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s my car on arrival at the house. Sometimes the actions of the P.O. dictate which direction you will go. My car was 100% solid but the guy that went wild with the rattle can set me on a new course. Give us a couple snaps of your beauty.

3288964F-3F47-4AA5-812F-99A030AEE025.jpeg

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Keep in mind the odometer at  that  time turned over at 100k miles so you can't tell the difference between 25k, 125k and 225k. However, with the condition and known history of your car you can be pretty confident it's a true 25k car. Like the others, I love woodies and vote to keep it original as much as possible. It was a nice driving, dependable car in 1951 and will be now if you drive like it is 1951 -- comfortable cruising speeds, no long high speed trips on the Interstate.

 

Don

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