Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[PLE123]

I have a rather peculiar question about early 1930s cars that I hope you will want to help me out with, despite the strangeness of it.

Memories of when I was a child have resurfaced recently, in which I (as a child) remembered a previous life, much to the annoyance of my parents, who were very levelheaded people and told me to stop talking such nonsense. (I did )
Yet, the one very clear memory has come up recently, in which I am (amongst other things) driving a car.

I don’t mind at all if you don’t believe I’m telling the truth about this. In fact - I wouldn't believe it if it wasn't about myself. I’m very happy if you treat it as a strange dream/fantasy. But I’d love some help nonetheless. I’m hopeless at recognising car models - even modern ones. I very literally know nothing about cars, except that they mostly have four wheels and pretty colors.

Having now shocked you twice, I hope that someone is still reading!

I’ve been looking at pictures of cars online and quickly figured out that the model I remembered is a 1930’s model. I then researched 1930’s cars and have found a car that looks exactly as the one in my memory: the Ford Rheinland 1934.
Yet, I’m not sure about the specifics of this car and whether it would fit my memory, so I have some questions that I hope one of you can help me with:

1. I remember it being very cold in the car and I had no expectations of it getting warmer. We all kept our gloves, scarves and hats on. So I’m pretty sure there was no heater in the car. Is that correct?
2. I remember transporting a christmas tree on the roof of the car (sorry..sacrilege to all of you probably!) and using rope to tie it. We opened the side windows in order to do so. Is it possible to open the windows of the Ford Rheinland?
3. We got the rope from the back, from behind a small door underneath the spare wheel. Is that indeed possible? Was there a compartment there? Big enough for a rope and some tools?

If the answer is ‘no’ to any of the questions above - are there any models that look very much like the Ford Rheinland 1934 that do have the above features? I’ve seen an M1 Russian car from around the same time that looks kind of similar, but it doesn’t seem as familiar as the Rheinland 1934. Does anyone know what the main differences between those two cars are?

And if the answer is ‘yes’ to all questions, do you know in which countries this model was sold? (The steering wheel was on the left side - does that rule countries such as England out in the 1930’s?) And do you know what their general longevity was? And perhaps what kind of people would be driving this type of car? (Did you have to be relatively rich to be able to afford it? Or was it quite affordable?)

I also remember (rather forcefully) pulling a kind of button/lever towards me that was attached to the the front panel in the car (with my right hand - it was a little to the right of the steering wheel) before driving away. I hooked it between my index and middle finger and pulled it out towards me. What could this have been? (I don’t have a driver’s license (not in this life ) , so it may well be something that is in modern cars too, so I’m sorry if that is a stupid question.)

Thank you so much for reading. I hope someone is able to help me!

[peter scott]

Well, I don't believe in reincarnation or any form of after-life but your descriptions all sound perfectly feasible. The thing you pulled towards you might have been a means of closing an opening windscreen although I'd been surprised if that would be open in winter. Perhaps it helped demisting to have it partially open. It might also be a control for opening/closing a scuttle vent.

I guess the Rheinland would be Ford model sold in Germany or Austria. Car ownership in Europe and the UK in the 1930s and 40s was very much restricted to the wealthier middle classes and richer.

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[PLE123]

Thank you so much, Peter, for your thoughful response!
I googled 'scuttle vent', but I'm none the wiser. Is it a kind of air vent?

Wealthier middle class & Austria or Germany sounds entirely correct.

Thank you again for your help!

[mikeC]

Taking your points in order, starting with your identification of the 1934 Ford Rheinland:
The Rheinland was the German-built Model B Ford, so quite a large car and definitely the property of a wealthy family (if new - second hand prices would fall dramatically).
It was the norm for cars of the 1930s to not have a heater, even as an extra.
If it was a four door saloon, then the rear door windows wound down, but this model did not have a rear compartment by the spare wheel. On the other hand, the two door saloon had quite a large luggage trunk, top opening not beneath the spare wheel, as part of the rear bodywork; I imagine the rear windows would still wind down,but don't know for sure.
The German Ford would have been sold in left-hand drive form throughout middle and eastern Europe, including Austria, Poland and Hungary.
The Ford was a relatively cheap car for its size, but was built of good materials, so would have survived quite well.
As for the lever to the right of the steering wheel, that would not be the opening windscreen which used fastenings on each side of the screen frame; nor was there a central scuttle ventilator. More likely this was just the choke control used, as you suggest, to start the car.
And no, I don't believe in reincarnation or the after life either, but will acknowledge there are many things in this world that we don't understand, so who knows...?

[peter scott]

[PLE123]

Thank you Mike for your reply! That all fits well with my memory or whatever else it is. Apart from the luggage trunk, apparently... Strange!

Peter, thank you for the pictures! It didn't look like the control to open the scuttle vent, then - I think. It looked more like the lever that is on the left side of the steering wheel in the first picture of the inside of the car. (Only I remember it on the right side of the steering wheel) It does also resemble what is on the second picture - slightly to the left and down from the scuttle vent opening control.
Would any of those things be levers that were pulled towards you? Or are those more like buttons that you rotate?

And Mike, are those perhaps like the choke control that you speak about?

Thank you both again for your help!

[peter scott]

The chrome rod emerging from the floor to the right of gear lever in the last photo is the hand brake and you would pull that towards you.

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[PLE123]

Only not before driving away, probably

Thank you, Peter!