Twelve years ago Carl Allen proved that he was a man of action. That is when he bought at 1931 Ford 5 Window. It was a car that he admitted to always liking the body style.
“I saw it, I wanted it and I bought it,” Carl said.
He bought the car from an older gentleman who had done the barest basics of a restoration but who was obviously not going to finish the car. Carl took it on even though it was “basically a rolling chassis.”
“It took about two years to do,” Carl said of the frame off restoration. Much of the time was spent in tracking down parts to keep the car as original as possible. One area where it isn’t 100 per cent original is in the exhaust.
“A friend of mine saw those,” he said, indicating his exhausts, “and called and told me I should check them out. I asked him what they were and he said it was an exhaust for a Harley Davidson.”
Carl figures that the car is about ready for a complete frame off restoration but figures that this time it will be a lot easier. “I want to strip it down and put it back together, make sure everything, all the parts are good,” he said. This would include breaking down the 350 Chevy that powers this hot rod.
One thing that won’t change is the paint job. “It attracts a lot of attention,” he admitted.
It attracts attention because it is a classic flame motif but also because so many people get to see the car on the road.
“I drive it everywhere,” said Carl, adding that he’ll regularly drive it the 35 miles round trip to and from work.
Doing a frame-off on his beloved ’31 5 Window isn’t the only restoration job Carl has in his future. He currently owns three other vehicles that he’s going to be working on. There is a 1928 two door Ford, a 1940 two door Dodge Coupe and a 1941 Chevy half ton pick-up.
But as he has proven, if Carl makes up his mind about something it’s going to get completed. This beautiful ’31 5 Window is proof of that.
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