Featured Elite Dealer

1938 Ford Tudor

Jacksonville, Florida

$40,495

Vehicle Details

Make

Ford

Model

Tudor

Year

1938

Transmission

Automatic

Drivetrain

RWD

Fuel Type

Gasoline

Engine

302 Ford

Condition

Excellent

Description

1938 Ford Tudor, Resto-Mod. Like New. 302 Ford engine, Fuel Injected, Automatic C4 Transmission, Hot Rod Headers, Dual Exhaust, Vintage Air, Custom Interior, Stereo. Cruise in Classic Style! Stock Number AMS16144 Please Note The Following **Vehicle Location is at our clients home and Not In Cadillac, Michigan. **We do have a showroom with about 25 cars that is by appointment only **Please Call First and talk to one of our reps at 231-468-2809 EXT 1 **

Ford Tudor Sedan Buyer's Guide (1928–1940)

Full guide

Jim Vasquez

Hot Rods

1928–1940

~5 min read

Updated Apr 2026

The Ford Tudor Sedan is one of the great kustom building blocks — the Model A through early V8 era produced a two-door sedan body that chop-and-channel artists have been working with since the 1940s. Original survivors are becoming genuinely rare. Know what you're looking at before the seller's story becomes your reality.

This guide covers

✓ 10-point inspection checklist

✓ Common issues & what to avoid

✓ In-person inspection guide

✓ Market pricing by year & condition

✓ 4 FAQs answered

✓ History & fun facts

Read the Full Tudor Buyer's Guide

Ford Tudor Market Overview

Based on 28 Ford Tudor listings currently on ClassicCarsArena.com

Listed Now

$36,756

Avg. Asking Price

1928–1949

Year Range

Price Position on Our Site — Average Range

This car: $40,495

Low: $3,995 High: $94,995

Transmission Distribution

Automatic 61% ◄

Manual 18%

Condition Distribution

Excellent 18% ◄

Good 11%

Fair 4%

Poor 7%

Data from ClassicCarsArena.com listings Browse all 28 listings →

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Ford Tudor Sedan Buyer's Guide (1928–1940)

There's a line from Sam Barris's shop in Maywood that runs directly to every kustom build you see at Oakland Roadster Shows today, and the Ford Tudor Sedan sits right in the middle of it. The Model A Tudor, the 1932–1934 Tudor, the 1935–1940 — these are the cars that defined what American kustom kulture could do with a factory body and some lead. What I tell first-time buyers is simple: the body is the building block. If it's straight and the metal is solid, everything else is time and money. If the metal is gone, you're starting from nothing regardless of what's on the title.

What to Check Before Buying

✓

Magnet panel test — Run strong magnet over all lower panels — lead slides freely, Bondo attracts slightly

✓

Roofline sight check — Sight down roofline front and rear — kinks or sags indicate bad previous chop

✓

Cowl channel probe — Probe windshield base area — universal rust zone on prewar Fords

✓

Lower rear quarters — Check fender-to-body seams for rust

✓

Rocker panels — Probe lower body sills along full length

✓

Floor pans — Check interior floor for rust-through

✓

Panel gap evenness — Check all door gaps — uneven gaps indicate twisted structure or repair

✓

Trunk floor — Remove mat and probe trunk floor at corners

✓

Wiring safety check — Inspect cloth-insulated wiring for deterioration — fire risk on original systems

✓

Previous modification quality — Assess any prior modifications: are they professional work or amateur attempts?

Common Issues

Cowl channel rust is universal on unrestored prewar Fords. Lower rear quarter rust at fender seams. Rocker panel rust along lower sills. Floor pan deterioration from age and moisture. Previous bad kustom modifications — incorrectly executed top chops, poor lead work over rust rather than over smooth metal, mismatched panel grafts — are the market's hidden cost. On Model A cars, the original four-cylinder engine is easily worn but often replaced with a flathead V8. Wiring on these cars is original cloth-insulated and should be replaced for safety on any driver-quality car.

What to Look For

Magnet test over all lower body panels — identifies lead vs plastic filler over unknown metal. Roofline inspection from front and rear — a bad previous chop has a visible kink or sag. Cowl channel probe at windshield base — universal prewar Ford rust zone. Lower rear quarters at fender seams. Rocker panels along sills. Floor pans inside car. Trunk floor. On 1937–1940 cars: area behind rear wheels at lower fender seam. Panel gap evenness — uneven gaps indicate twisted body structure or previous damage. Door operation and fit.

Price Guide

Original Model A Tudor driver: $12,000–$20,000; show: $22,000–$35,000. Deuce Tudor (1932–1934) driver: $20,000–$35,000; show: $38,000–$60,000. 1937–1940 Tudor driver: $18,000–$30,000; show: $32,000–$50,000. Quality kustom build: $60,000–$120,000+. Half-finished or badly modified kustom project: significant discount from original — sometimes 30–50% below equivalent unmodified car because the corrections cost more than starting fresh.

Did You Know?

Ford produced over 1.2 million Model A cars in 1929 alone — making the Model A Tudor one of the most common body styles in American automotive history, which is exactly why kustom builders had so many to work with. The term "Tudor" is Ford's phonetic play on "two-door" — a naming convention that continued through the 1950s with "Tudor" and "Fordor" sedans. Sam Barris's 1951 Hirohata Mercury — one of the most influential kustom cars ever built — used techniques refined on Model A and early V8 Tudors in his Maywood shop.

Featured Elite Dealer

$40,495

1938 Ford Tudor

Jacksonville, Florida

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