The car that John Boy gets is a 1930 Ford Model A Rumble Seat Coupe.
Although Ed Lauter's character of Hyder Rudge is considered by John Boy to be a " crotchety old man ", Lauter himself was only around 35 years old when this episode was filmed.
While filming this episode, the producers learned that the blue Ford Model A they had been using was on its' last legs mechanically and would be retired from future use. The only other Model A available to them for future episodes was tan colored, and rather than go through the hassle and cost of repainting the car, they inserted the odd plot point of John-Boy wanting to paint his new blue car "...a dignified shade of tan."