Description
The Millbrook Sale | Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire
Viewing: Saturday 9th May 2026 from 12pm
Auction: Sunday 10th May 2026
Location: Millbrook Proving Ground, Station Lane, Bedford MK45 2JH
1950 Ford Custom Deluxe Fordor Sedan
Estimate
£16, 000 - £20, 000
Registration No: 349 XUM
Chassis No: BONR133578
MOT: Exempt
Subject to a bare chassis restoration during the 1990s
Notably unmolested and fitted with a plethora of rare accessories
Supplied with a history file which includes the original bill of sale to the first owner
With a transportation-hungry public eager to buy just about anything and everything that Detroit produced, there was little impetus for change in the early post-war years and Ford's first all-new design did not appear until the 1949 range was introduced. With the '49 model, Ford finally adopted wishbone-type independent front suspension and swapped the old transverse springing for longitudinal leaves at the rear, while fresh styling saw the arrival of a more slab-sided design, earning the "Shoebox" moniker. There were no significant changes made for 1950, though the designation of the previous top-of-the-line Custom became Custom Deluxe. The latter comprised six different models for 1950, including a Coupé, 'Fordor' Sedan and a woodie station wagon, available with either Ford's legendary flathead V8 or an inline-six engine. Chromed window mouldings, a chromed horn ring, two sun visors, armrests on all doors, and chromed trim strips to the lower body sides were among the Custom Deluxe's distinguishing features.
Owing to their popularity with the customising fraternity, so many 1949-51 “Shoebox” Fords have been chopped, lowered and souped-up that it is really refreshing to see one so original and correct, not to mention lovingly cared for. This car was built on February 2nd, 1950, at Ford’s Norfolk, Virginia, factory and was sold new through the Strowd Motor Co. of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that May to a local man, Dr. R. W. Bost, in part-exchange for his 1947 Ford Tudor. It was supplied with a heater, undercoating, seat covers and a gas filler guard.
The Ford remained in the Bost family until 1989, and the second owner began a restoration, apparently using only new old-stock parts. It stayed in Carolina with its third owner (1998-2004), then had two further owners in Florida and Indiana before it was sold through eBay in 2008 and imported to England, being registered with the DVLA in March, 2009. Due to a badly cracked block, the then-owner fitted a replacement engine from the Early Ford Centre, added old-stock screen washers for MOT purposes and wired flashing indicators into the original lights. He fitted a rare new old-stock fog lamp in the place of the original ‘bullet’ grille ornament and sourced a non-catalogued bird mascot which is thought to have been a unique prototype.
The car has been in the present ownership since 2015 and is supplied with its original sales invoice, written history, import documents, MOTs from 2009 to 2012, the original owner’s manual and service policy, and an original 1949-51 Ford shop manual.
** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply**
Parking and entry into the auction is free for auction attendees with a catalogue, available at the door.
Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people).
