De Luxe Tudor Sedans
By Rick Black, Las Cruces NM
The De Luxe Tudor Sedan was introduced in June of 1931. Ford hoped to boost sales during the early years of the depression by adding features the Standard Tudors lacked to make it more desirable. Most of these changes were inside the car, where the interior resembled the Victoria. Fewer than 24,000 De Luxe Tudors were produced and all were “late 1931” models with indented firewalls.
The price of the Standard Tudor was $495. The De Luxe Tudor sold for $525.
Reference: The Ford Model A as Henry Built It, Page 157
Exterior Differences
All De Luxe Tudors (DT’s) had cowl lights installed from the factory. Cowl lights were optional on the Standard Tudors. The DT paint choices were the same as the 1931 Town Sedan. All DT’s had wheels painted other than black. Most wheel colors matched the pinstripe (which was painted the same as Standard Tudors.) Outside of the cowl lights and paint, all 1930-31 Tudors were identical.
Interior Differences
The interior of the De Luxe and Standard Tudors were markedly different. The Standard Tudors had standard upholstery materials while the De Luxe Tudor used similar materials to the Victoria and De Luxe Fordor sedans.
The window garnish moldings and the dash were wood grained in the DT’s while the Standards we painted a solid maroon color.
While both De Luxe and Standard Tudors came with shades on the rear window, the material used in the De Luxe was different; the fabric was silk-like and was one of two patterns; one diamond-like and the other herringbone like.
DT’s had are rests and assist straps in the rear passenger compartment, similar to those in the Victoria. The DT also had a round dome light in the center of the roof, just behind the front seats. The on/off switch was in the rim. This same dome light was used in the De Luxe Coupe, Standard Fordor sedans and some other body styles.
The front seats of the DT were similar to the late Victoria and the Convertible Sedan. The driver’s seat was on tracks so that it could be adjusted fore and aft. The passenger seat had rear legs that could be adjusted slightly up and down to adjust the “rake” of the seat. Standard Tudors seats would flip forward, but were not adjustable.