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On the Road: 1930 Ford 180-A

Calgarian Canadian-built beautifully restored Model A is believed to be the only one still in the country

Greg Williams
Sep 25, 2021  •  September 25, 2021  •  4 minute read  •  Join the conversation
Ron Rigby discovered the car advertised for sale in a newsletter dedicated to the 180-A. He has turned it into a magnificent classic.
Ron Rigby discovered the car advertised for sale in a newsletter dedicated to the 180-A. He has turned it into a magnificent classic. Photo by Ron Rigby

When Ron Rigby retired in 1990 from a career working with AGT, or Alberta Government Telephones as it was known, he devoted himself to another kind of A: the Ford Model A. He was raised in Springbank, just west of Calgary, and as a teenage high school student at Western Canada, Rigby needed wheels to get into the city. He wasn’t flush and would buy an old wreck and get it running, “with a wrench and ball-peen hammer,” he says.

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His first new car arrived in 1968, but while raising his family he didn’t work on vehicles for a hobby. That changed in 1993, when he bought a 1928 Ford Model A Roadster. He joined the Stampede City Model A Club, a chapter of the Model A Ford Club of America (MAFCA), and set to work.

“It was a rust bucket but fairly complete,” he says of his ’28 Roadster. “I worked on it from May of ’93 to October of ’96, and that car was my learning experience.”

  1. Ron Rigby with the 1930 Ford 180-A in front of the Stampede City Model A Club’s clubhouse located on private property near Calgary.
    Ron Rigby with the 1930 Ford 180-A in front of the Stampede City Model A Club’s clubhouse located on private property near Calgary. Photo by Ron Rigby
  2. All of Ron Rigby’s Model A restorations are done to ‘Blue Ribbon’ judging standards, meaning the car represents the vehicle as it left the Ford assembly line. He needs to add side curtains — which are being made for the car -- and to rebuild the original powerplant of his 1930 180-A to meet that goal.
    All of Ron Rigby’s Model A restorations are done to ‘Blue Ribbon’ judging standards, meaning the car represents the vehicle as it left the Ford assembly line. He needs to add side curtains — which are being made for the car -- and to rebuild the original powerplant of his 1930 180-A to meet that goal. Photo by Ron Rigby
  3. Canada’s rarest Model A Ford is Ron Rigby’s 1930 180-A, seen here with a reproduction trunk from Snyder’s Antique Auto Parts in Ohio.
    Canada’s rarest Model A Ford is Ron Rigby’s 1930 180-A, seen here with a reproduction trunk from Snyder’s Antique Auto Parts in Ohio. Photo by Ron Rigby
  4. Ron Rigby discovered the car advertised for sale in a newsletter dedicated to the 180-A. He has turned it into a magnificent classic.
    Ron Rigby discovered the car advertised for sale in a newsletter dedicated to the 180-A. He has turned it into a magnificent classic. Photo by Ron Rigby

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Rigby wanted his Model A Roadster to meet ‘Blue Ribbon’ standards, the judging classification used by MAFCA that, according to their website, is for a car restored to original condition and represents a Model A as it came from the factory. In 1997, his first restoration effort netted Rigby a second place in Blue Ribbon judging at a MAFCA meet in Vancouver, Washington.

Rigby went on to restore two more Model As, an Open Pickup and a four-door Phaeton. At a family gathering in 2002, Rigby and his wife Irene presented one Model A to each of their three children. After that, other Model A projects came along, including a 1929 Closed Cab Pickup, a Cabriolet, and a 1929 Open Pickup, but earlier this year Rigby landed what is Canada’s rarest Model A Ford: a 1930 180-A.

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“In 1930, Edsel Ford convinced his father Henry that they should produce a sportier version of the Model A, which resulted in his personal involvement in the design of a two-door Phaeton which featured approximately fifteen variations from the Model As that had been produced to date,” Rigby explains. “Only 328 Model 180-As were assembled during the course of their Canadian production run from July of 1930 until February of 1931, and only four of the 180-As assembled in Canada are still known to exist.”

Ron Rigby bought his 1930 Ford Model 180-A in January, 2021 as an unfinished restoration. He’s had some paintwork done, added the top and sourced other parts to bring it to this state.
Ron Rigby bought his 1930 Ford Model 180-A in January, 2021 as an unfinished restoration. He’s had some paintwork done, added the top and sourced other parts to bring it to this state. Photo by Ron Rigby

It appears this Canadian-built 180-A is the only one still in Canada. Rigby discovered the car advertised for sale in a newsletter dedicated to the 180-A. In the early 2000s it was found in Ontario stored in the back of a warehouse and rescued by a member of the Model A Owners of Canada. Restoration of the 180-A had been underway, but work halted approximately five years ago when the owner began having health issues. The 180-A was eventually offered for sale, and Rigby thought it would be nice to have it in Alberta.

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“I started talking to the seller to be sure it was legitimate and made an offer which was accepted in January of this year,” Rigby says. “There was a threat that due to COVID-19 Ontario might close its borders, so I grabbed an enclosed trailer, my truck and my son, and we drove to Toronto to pick up the 180-A.”

Upon getting the car home to Calgary, Rigby took stock of the project. “They’d made pretty good progress but after sitting for those five years it was dusty and covered in cobwebs,” he says. “All of the body work had been done, and the paint had been done. It had been mechanically restored, too, but the motor, which has the correct serial number for the car, wasn’t done correctly.”

  1. This is the condition in which Ron Rigby’s 1930 Ford 180-A was found before restoration work began under the hand of an Ontario-based enthusiast. Work had progressed nicely, but stopped roughly five years ago and the car was offered for sale to Canadian Model A enthusiasts. Ron bought it in January of 2021.
    This is the condition in which Ron Rigby’s 1930 Ford 180-A was found before restoration work began under the hand of an Ontario-based enthusiast. Work had progressed nicely, but stopped roughly five years ago and the car was offered for sale to Canadian Model A enthusiasts. Ron bought it in January of 2021. Photo by Ron Rigby
  2. When he started working on the 180-A, Ron Rigby discovered the rebuilt engine that was in the car was done incorrectly, and had very low compression across all cylinders.
    When he started working on the 180-A, Ron Rigby discovered the rebuilt engine that was in the car was done incorrectly, and had very low compression across all cylinders. Photo by Ron Rigby
  3. Unhappy with the condition of the original engine, Ron Rigby removed it to install a good rebuilt motor he had on hand. The original four-cylinder engine, with correct serial number for the car, will be rebuilt this winter.
    Unhappy with the condition of the original engine, Ron Rigby removed it to install a good rebuilt motor he had on hand. The original four-cylinder engine, with correct serial number for the car, will be rebuilt this winter. Photo by Ron Rigby
  4. As purchased, the interior had been installed, and Ron Rigby says it was work done to a very high standard.
    As purchased, the interior had been installed, and Ron Rigby says it was work done to a very high standard. Photo by Ron Rigby

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Rigby discovered the engine had very little compression, so he pulled it and replaced it with one he’d already rebuilt. He doesn’t intend to leave this engine in place and will rebuild the correct motor this winter. The car didn’t have a top and the paint had been marked in spots, so Rigby had the black repainted and the blue touched up and buffed out. Details such as the stainless steel side-mount covers and a rear trunk were sourced and installed, as was a new cloth top.

“The interior had also been done, and done to very high standards,” Rigby explains. “I didn’t have to do much at all inside the car.”

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Rigby inspected the brakes, wheel bearings and tires. All were in good condition. He had an out-of-province inspection done in May of 2021. It passed, and the car has been on the road since. All that’s missing now to bring the 180-A to Blue Ribbon standards is a set of side curtains and the correct motor, both of which will be done by 2022 in time to have it judged.

“When the car was advertised amongst the Canadian Model A Clubs, it was indicated that because of its heritage there was a desire for it to remain in Canada,” Rigby says. “I’m pleased to have almost finished what was started, and to have kept it in Canada.”

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