LOT #1380 – WAYNE CARINI’S 1930 FORD MODEL A: Period-Correct Flathead Hot Rod

December 19, 2019
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

By Eric Becker

 

1930 Ford Model A Custom Coupe

One lucky bidder will be going home with this award-winning hot rod (Lot #1380), owned by none other than Wayne Carini, a perfectionist with a passion for the Ford Model A.

 

SD20 - Lot 1380 - Wayne Carini 1930 Ford Model A Custom Coupe_rear34Wayne Carini unquestionably knows his cars. The master car restorer and automotive TV personality started his career while still in grade school, working in his father’s Connecticut-based collision repair and auto restoration business and honing his skills on classics that included Duesenbergs, Lincolns, Packards and Ford Model As. It comes as no surprise, then, that Carini’s love for the Model A led him to a stunning example he will be bringing to the 2020 Scottsdale Auction, where it will sell with No Reserve as Lot #1380.

In the years following World War II, the Ardun Engine Company of New York went to work on creating an update for the Ford Flathead V8. The “old flatty” had become a staple of the burgeoning hot rod craze of the postwar era. The object was to create an update that would alleviate the constant failing of the venerable flathead engine under heavy load.

SD20 - Lot 1380 - Wayne Carini 1930 Ford Model A Custom Coupe_EngineThe Ardun-designed aluminum cylinder heads feature hemispherical combustion chambers and overhead valves – a completely new concept at that time. While the Ardun V8 didn’t fare well in commercial applications, often being too wide, that didn’t stop a few California hot-rodders from recognizing the potential the overhead valve design had on the famed Bonneville Salt Flats.

This beautiful 1930 Ford Model A was brought to Andy Leach of Cal Automotive Creations after being discovered on eBay. What started off as a simple project to build a set of custom headers quickly snowballed into an incredibly unique hot-rod creation. Tucked inside is a hopped-up H&H 284ci all-aluminum block. The supercharged flathead V8 engine is force-fed air by a 4-71 blower and sends the power to an automatic transmission.

SD20 - Lot 1380 - Wayne Carini 1930 Ford Model A Custom Coupe_sideThe body has been completely gone through, to an incredible level of detail, with virtually every part being hand-made, from the doors to the cowl. A ’32 five-window roof was custom-fit to the car and the body was reverse-sectioned to give the 1930 Model A the proportions of a 1932. The rear of the car was kicked up to give it a cartoon-like stance. Every single body panel on the car has been modified to create an incredibly unique shape, with a beautiful Seafoam-esque Green finish applied by the hands of master painter Charley Hutton at his studio. The undercarriage features a blinding amount of chrome components and showcases beautifully finned art-deco inspired hardware.

Inside, a stunning bespoke interior designed by Tracy Weaver of Recovery Room Interiors is finished in the finest leather, with period-correct gauges and even a leather-clad rumble seat. The highly chromed fin theme is carried on throughout the interior. To give it that perfect hot rod Salt Flats presence, the car rides on big, tall one-off Firestone tires by Coker.

SD20 - Lot 1380 - Wayne Carini 1930 Ford Model A Custom Coupe_InteriorBuilt to evoke the car a high-school kid in the ’50s would drive if the parents had too much money, this beautiful period-correct-looking hot rod received the 2017 Mother Shine Award at SEMA, was named to the 2017 Autorama Great 8 and was crowned Best Rod at the 2018 Concours on the Avenue Carmel.

One lucky bidder will be going home with this award-winning hot rod owned by none other than Wayne Carini, a perfectionist with a passion for the Ford Model A. This Ardun-powered Model A truly goes above and beyond any traditional hot rod build.

For up-to-date information on this vehicle, click HERE. For a look at all the vehicles headed to the 2020 Scottsdale Auction, click HERE.