News & Features April 17, 2008, 1:55PM EST

Ford's Special Speedster

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The enclosed sheet metal below the radiator partially blocked the flow of air, and the Speedster had a tendency to overheat. Gregorie shortened the upper grille and fabricated a new horizontal lower grille with matching bars, flanked by large headlights. No top was ever designed for the Speedster. After Edsel Ford died in 1943, the second Model 40 Speedster, one of six cars in his estate, was driven to Miami, Florida, then to Atlanta, Georgia, where it was sold for $1,000. In 1947, the owner shipped the Speedster to Los Angeles and an ad appeared in the May 1948 issue of Road & Track. It read:

"Priced reasonably at $2,500"

"Especially constructed Ford chassis. Aluminum body built for Edsel Ford. Now powered with special Mercury Engine. Priced reasonably at $2,500. COACHCRAFT, LTD, 86 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, Calif."

Apparently, the Speedster did not sell; $2,500 was a lot of money in 1948. Four years later, the Speedster reappeared in Auto Sport Review, photographed in Hollywood with an aspiring actress named Lynn Bari.

Then it went back into storage until 1957, when it was driven back to Georgia. In January 1958, registered as a 1940 "Ford custom-built speedster," it was offered for sale on the Garrard Import used car lot in Pensacola, Florida. Not long afterward, the Speedster was purchased for $603 by John Pallasch, a U.S. Navy sailor, who drove the car home to Sebring, Florida.

By now, the Speedster was painted red with matching red leather upholstery. Pallasch claimed he could "bury the speedometer at 120 mph." He reportedly drove the car for a while before disassembling it in 1960 for an engine rebuild. Then Pallasch shipped out for Vietnam. On his return in the late 1960s, he found the engine had seized. The car remained apart and in storage for nearly 40 years.

In 1999, Bill Warner, founder of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, was searching for the Edsel Speedster for a special display. Warner had read an article in Special Interest Autos that told the story of Edsel's three roadsters, and noted that all had dropped out of sight. The last owner of the 1934 Edsel Speedster was listed as Earl Pallasch, in Deland, Florida. Warner called then-SIA Editor Mike Lamm, who helped locate John Pallasch, who said his father had passed away. Invited to bring the car to Amelia Island, Pallasch replied that it hadn't run for years, and he wanted to sell it. Warner hitched up a trailer and immediately drove to Deland. Sitting in the Pallasch garage, dusty and forlorn, covered with junk and tin cans, the long-lost Speedster was complete except for its custom wheel discs. The car's odometer read just 19,000 miles.

Stopped by to show it to the designer

Warner wrote Pallasch a check on the spot and hauled his discovery away. "I decided to show the Speedster to Bob Gregorie (who was then 91 and living in St. Augustine) on the way home," said Warner. "Mr. Gregorie came out of his house, smiled, and ran his hands over the surface of the car. "I haven't seen it since 1940," he said. "The old girl still looks pretty good for her age."

Although he considered restoring the Speedster to its first iteration, with narrowed V-grille and Pearl Essence Gunmetal finish, Warner decided to preserve the car's patina. "It was prettier with the front end that was designed in 1934," he said, "but the 1940 grille was original. It would have been a travesty to restore it."

So Warner rebuilt the Speedster's Mercury V8, touched up the body, and repainted the fenders. Al LaMarr replicated the aluminum wheel discs. Bill Warner's crew removed a set of finned Edelbrock high-compression heads that were on the engine, because they rubbed on the inside of the hood, lending credence to the theory that the Mercury engine was modified when the car was in Hollywood, not Dearborn.

Warner believes the car's red paint was hastily applied when it was used in a movie (and if anybody can name the film, he'd love to hear from you). The well-preserved Speedster still has fewer than 21,000 miles on the odometer.

A few years ago, at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance, Bill Warner allowed me to drive the Speedster. I was surprised at the car's peppy acceleration, and enjoyed the visceral rap of the un-muffled exhausts. The gearshift is a 3-speed, floor-mounted setup with a handle that extends out from under the dash.

You sit low in the narrow cockpit, and can actually watch the front tires and fenders as they respond to the changing road surface. The steering is a tad lazy, in a characteristic early Ford V8 way. There's virtually no cowl shake, and the overall ride, cushioned by the car's extended wheelbase, is pleasantly firm. The Speedster sits much lower than a typical '34 Ford roadster, and its long, stylish hood stretches forward like a 1930s classic. Even with its "push and pray" mechanical brakes, Edsel's Speedster remains a stylish performer.

The SCM Analysis

Edsel Ford's long-lost Model 40 Special Speedster sold for $1,760,000 at RM's Automobiles of Amelia sale on March 9, 2008.

Before we begin a discussion of the market value of this car, first a disclosure. I was hired by RM to write the catalog description of this car; however, I was not involved in any way in the actual sale of it.

Discovered by Amelia Concours founder Bill Warner, Edsel Ford's Speedster was shown at Meadow Brook and Pebble Beach, and displayed at the 1932 Ford 75th Anniversary Show at Pomona in January 2007. Though this is a one-of-a-kind from the early 1930s, it's clear from records that Ford and the car's designer, Bob Gregorie, considered a limited production run. But the uncertain sales climate at Ford Motor Company during the Depression, not to mention Henry Ford's personal bias against "frivolous" transportation, rendered this notion impossible.

This car has provenance, rarity, high style, even limited utility for the occasional vintage car show or road event. I applaud the decision not to restore it. With the exception of a repaint half a century ago, it remains almost exactly the way it was modified by Bob Gregorie's Ford Aviation team. Arguably, Edsel's Speedster belongs in the Ford family or in the Henry Ford Museum, but RM's promotional plan included catalog coverage, stories in other periodicals, as well as alerting prominent collectors, practically guaranteeing a seven-figure sale price.

More expensive today than last year

Ironically, the Speedster could have been purchased last year at less than the final bid. But the heady combination of bidder interest, culminating with a determined collector and Ford family representatives slugging it out, resulted in the $1.76 million price. Edsel Ford's Speedster is going to Houston to become part of the colossal John O'Quinn Collection.

The inevitable dilemma about whether to restore a car like this or simply preserve it really doesn't apply. The car's originality and weathered state are an essential part of its appeal. As far as value is concerned, consider this: Edsel Ford commissioned just three Speedsters over a four-year period. The first of these rare cars recently surfaced in very poor condition, with its unique fenders missing. The third, and least attractive, has been out of sight for 56 years and is feared irrevocably lost. I'd imagine John O'Quinn is a happy man having landed the best of the lot. While $1.76 million is a large sum of money for a custom-built car with humble Ford V8 origins, this car's famous first owner, well-documented history, stunning good looks, and its fine state of preservation make it impossible to duplicate. I'd call this well sold, but also well bought.

Details

Years Produced: 1934

Number Produced: 1

Original List Price: NA (concept car)

SCM Valuation: $1.76m on this date

Tune-up Cost: $75-$100

Distributor Caps: $14.95

Chassis # Location: Front left frame beside engine and on clutch housing

Engine # Location: Same locations (same number)

Club Info: Early Ford V8 Club of America PO Box 1715, Maple Grove, MN 55311

Website: click to visit

Alternatives: 1954 Oldsmobile F-88, 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special, 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt