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My 1949 Ford His father had bought the car brand new in October 1948 May it Rust in Peace (yes, it was a very early '49 and had many differences to it than a later model year car), and he could remember By Steve Hutman III seeing the car parked at the Ford dealership in Millbrook through his bedroom window! His father drove it for four I was 12 years old when I got my first car, a 1949 Ford Custom Deluxe out of Millbrook. If my memory serves me, it was at the car club picnic in 2003 when Marty had written on a paper plate some information about a 1949 Ford sedan. At the time, my Dad and I had talked about starting a hot rod project for me, but when we saw the ad for the '49, it sounded intriguing and much more practical than a hot rod. We called the fella, Sal Carruba, and set up a time to go check it out. When we pulled in the driveway, my Dad immediately recognized the house and car as one that he had passed by about 20 years earlier and noticed the very same car sitting in the exact same spot! We proceeded to meet Mr. Carruba, who gave us the or five years, and when Mr. Carruba became of driving car’s entire history. And what a history it was! age, his father bought a new car and gave him the Ford. He drove it regularly until 1967 (last registered in 1969), Page 1 of 2 ….Continued: My 1949 Ford including two trips to Florida and many to Vermont (where I believe he went to college). He changed the oil every 3,000 miles, and always used Mobil. Well, I'm a firm believer in first impressions are last, and this poor car looked hopeless! All four wheels were sunk into the ground, it had a lot of outer body rot, only one door would open ('49 door handles were a pull-type that were notorious for failing, even back in the day, I've heard), and the frame was rotten right behind the passenger-side front suspension. We more or less shook our heads and proceeded to look at a '51 Ford engine stored in an old horse barn behind the car. You’re probably wondering why Mr. Carubba didn’t until the day I got rid of it!), we thought we’d try to pop simply put the car into the horse barn years ago, right? the clutch and see if the engine would turn. My Dad He told us that he had at first, in the late 60’s, but that gave it a shove, ran up to the front of the car to watch when he let the car sit for a month or so and tried to the motor, and yelled, in awe, “it turns!” when I let the start and move it, the clutch had gotten stuck to the clutch out. Like any other flathead that has sat for so flywheel, so he parked it outside and let it sit for 30 long, it had some stuck valves and ran rough. This was years (it had last run in 1973). where I started learning; I pulled the heads off, and my Dad showed me his method for freeing valves, which involved a ball-peen hammer, WD-40, and patience! After cleaning the carbon build-up off the heads and putting them back on, it ran awesome and didn't even smoke! This seemed unbelievable, as the car had 109,000 miles on it! The '49 Ford was so much fun for me at the time. I would drive it up and down my driveway, around a field next door, and when the farmer opened up a vegetable stand I would do donuts in the dirt parking lot after hours. When I was 13, I faked an illness so I could skip school and paint flames on the fenders. Later that year, I We decided to buy the '51 Ford engine, which had got my '53 Ford, and it became apparent that I would come out of his sister's '51 rag top years ago because never fix the '49 — it was too far gone. Though, with it smoked, for the $100 he was asking. As we loaded my '53 missing an engine, it seemed like a natural the motor into my father's '53 Ford dump truck, Mr. happenstance that I should end up with both; one had a Carubba nearly begged us to buy the car. On our way great running engine and a bad body, the other a great home, we talked it over and figured that the car had at body with no engine. least $300 (his asking price) worth of parts and that it After yard-driving the '49 for about 6 years (I pulled the would be a fun project for me to learn on. So the next engine out in 2009) and owning it for almost 8, my weekend we went back with $200, loaded the '49 onto priorities shifted to the '53, which needed one final, a flatbed and took it home. major piece. My Dad and I had been to a junkyard in First things first, we had to get the hood open and Starlight, Pa. for parts (this guy had over 1,000 old cars), check out the flathead! Now, '49 Fords have interior and I remembered a '54 Pontiac sitting on a hill with the hood releases which was fine in 1949, but not in 2003 grille still intact. I recalled Pat Doran always saying, “A after it had sat outside, untouched, for so long! The '54 Pontiac grille would look really cool in there.” I cable was completely frozen, but the front of the hood called to see if the junkyard still had the grille to swap was so rotten that my Dad got a screwdriver through it for my entire '49 Ford, minus the engine and trans. He to pop the hood latch! The engine bay was filled with agreed, and even brought me the grille and picked up the leaves, and the flathead looked worse than the outside car after making a delivery on Long Island. So on June of the car. After cleaning out the engine bay and 15, 2010, I helped load my '49 Ford onto a trailer and pumping up the dry-rotted, bias-ply tires (they held air waved it goodbye, knowing it was going to a good place where it would rust in piece. Page 2 of 2 .