This September, Worldwide Auctioneers will auction off three stainless steel Fords built for Allegheny Ludlum Inc.. This extraordinary collection includes a 1936 Ford Deluxe Sedan, 1960 Ford Thunderbird, and 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible that were first conceived by the pioneering stainless steel producer in collaboration with the Ford Motor Company in 1935. The Stainless Steel Fords will be offered without reserve as a single consignment at Worldwide Auctioneers Auburn Auction, an annual event that will be held over Labor Day Weekend in Indiana on September 5th.
In 1935, executives at the Ford Motor Company and Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Ludlum Steel partnered to produce a solid stainless-steel car, a 1936 Deluxe Sedan. It epitomized the extreme durability and aesthetic appeal of the new metal. Only six of the 1936 Fords were built in total. The models were given to Allegheny Ludlum executives and each logged over 200,000 miles (321,869 km) by the time they were retired in 1946.
Of the six stainless steel cars that rolled off the Ford assembly line in Detroit in 1936, only four exist today, including this example that was retained by Allegheny Ludlum itself. The company donated the 1936 Ford Deluxe Sedan with a brushed stainless steel body to the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, where it is on display as part of the permanent collection.
On the heels of the success of the original collaboration, Allegheny Ludlum and Ford have joined forces once again to develop two more stainless models, the 1960 Thunderbird and 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible. Just two Thunderbirds left the assembly line in 1960, with bodywork formed from T302 stainless. Both retain their original exhaust systems today, after 60 years and more than 100,000 miles each. The 1967 Lincoln Convertible was the last of the stainless steel cars produced. Except for the vehicle’s body, all other parts and equipment on the car are standard for the 1967 Lincoln Convertible.
