I've got a question for the m***ive wealth of knowledge found on HAMB. I've sold a model A dash and the customer, who is from France, is ticked saying it's not original. He asked and I told him before he purchased it that it was an after market dash from the period. Does anyone on here know anything about this type of dash? It is stamped aluminum and just slips over the original dash. He is claiming that it is a modern reproduction.
Didn't he see a picture of it before he bought it ??? I don't recall having seen one like it, but then I don't get out much.
I hate to break the news but that one is a modern reproduction of an original accessory dash panel. Sacremento Ford sell them. http://www.vintageford.com/sect_search.cfm?Line=Model%20A&Category=Dash The originals are a 100x better quality and had a etched centre panel with a makers tag attached at the very top.
I did a quick google search and couldn't find any pics of any with etching. The ones I did see that were repo looked as if they were stamped out of thin sheet aluminum. This one wasn't thin, it was fairly thick material. Is there anyplace where I can find images? I found another here on the HAMB that claimed to be an original Aristocrat that looked just like this one. The images on the web sites are about as clear as mud.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92860 That pic show all round gauges. Another forum said that the repo's have all round gauge holes, but that is why I'm asking the experts!
Here's on on Ebay now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1931...ryZ10076QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem It's at $50 now and hasn't met it's reserve. Doesn't quite look like yours. In any case, did not your seller view the picture before he bought it? Is he protesting that it is not an original Model A dash (in which case he's nuts because a photo would clearly show it isn't) or was he expecting an aftermarket piece made in the 30's not the 2008's (in which case that might be hard to prove without a forensic metallurgist). Long story short, might be easier to offer to have him ship it back at his expense and credit him the purchase price.
Yes he seen the picture and even asked if it was an original dash. I told him it was aftermarket from the period.
Repro or otherwise that is a COOL DASH! I would throw my original ones away any day and run that instead! Tell him he is lucky gatting ANYTHING from us after almost ******* WW2 down their legs
I like Tman's answer! Anywho, here is a web page I found. It seems the etched dash mentioned by Enbloc may have been this on: http://users.erols.com/b-dwheeler/indexdunn.html made by Dunn. It seems that they may have also made the cheaper steel one like the one listed in the ebay auction. This dash looks a lot like the etched Dunn with out the etching of course, but not as cheap as the repo ones I've seen listed. Does anyone know if Dunn or anyone else made one with out etching?
http://www.myrideisme.com/Garage/roadsidewerx/469/720/ If it doesn't show, there is a pic of what is claimed to be an "aristocrat" dash with no etching. It says it is from the 50's though? I wonder how many places made them?
If it "slips over" the original, it is a "modern reproduction." Original Aristocrat dashes were introduced during the "A" period and REPLACED the original dash. Ford did NOT produce them; they were after-market. Some had the horizontal etching (lines) between the gauge openings and used the oval speedo. Good reproductions are/were available from some of the antique restoration outfits. But due to their lack of popularity, most have stopped having them made. The aluminum "Slip Over" is about all that's available now days.
Squinting real hard I read in the jpeg of Dunn add that the Dunn pieces slipped snuggly over the instruments. So I don't know. There were also pics of unmounted Dunn panels with the gauges mounted in them. The only close up pics of the new pieces I've seen really look like thin cheap junk. The only pics that I know that are authentic are of the etched Dunn pieces. I've seen pics that look just like this one that are claimed to be authentic, but who knows. The Dunn panels that look like this one, according to the web page, were polished stamped steel, which would explain the rust on the back of the one on ebay. I keep flopping back and forth between Ok it's not "A" period, but not real new because it had been on a car for quite some time, to Ok it's period but made by who. I'm sure it's not modern, but what period did it come from? 30's, 40's, 50's, etc...? In what I've read it was implied that there were several manufacturers but just how many and what was common?
Had one just like it in the early 80's for a model a. It was a repop. Way back in the 40's I think their was a metal one that was used to copy this.
Bringing back an super old thread but the link for the pictures and info is dead. I've been looking on google with no luck, anyone have a newer link to a site with the original aristocrat pictures.
There is an original ad in one of my old Model A books. If I find it I'll get it scaned and post it. Bob
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