Two years ago at the local swap meet I talked to an ornery old ******* about the collection of mid 30s ford pickups he was offering for sale. A couple Polaroids on a piece of cardboard at the booth behind mine. After we chatted a guy walked up and said " that sum ***** won't sell those trucks- you'll drive 2 hours over there and come home with nothing". Then last spring an ad came up on Craigslist with pictures of the same trucks. I called and talked to him- Paul. Just as grouchy as the first time we met. It was a Thursday and he told me he was having heart surgery on Friday and it was going to be his 50th cl*** reunion over the weekend. He told me that if he survived both events we could meet on Monday. Of course I asked if this phone number would be fine to reach his next-of-kin, should things not work out. He thought that was pretty damn funny. Monday came and I called. His answer- they had been sold yesterday. Fast forward to this week. The same ad popped up on Craigslist on Tuesday morning. I called and got directions. One of my boys and I would go there that day with the trailer. I looked over the stuff but mostly just because. I already knew I was going to be buying. We started loading, and loading. Paul screamed at his dogs, at the world, at the elections that were taking place that Tuesday. He cursed the immigrants that had given him a deposit 6 months before and hadn't come back. I had a great time. It was like having my grandpa back for the day. When it was over I hauled home a 35 and a 36 ford cab, 4 beds, a couple fenders, a grill, gas tanks, an extra cowl, firewall, several hoods and a stack of doors. Probably something else but it was quite a bounty. Paul had an original 36 pickup and a street rod style 35 and said he was done, didn't need the parts anymore so it all goes. I piled it all into my shop by the 39 that I had bought after I missed out on these 35/36s in the spring. Current plan is to pick a set of parts to build the 35 and sell a set for someone else to do the 36. But, I've already started on the 39 so it'll be first. I'll post pics from my phone shortly.
That's cool !! Bark, gruff, and bit when needed. Hey man, that '39...is that what they call the model 60 ?? The one with the rounded nose. Pretty sure that's the '39....but edja-ma-kate me regardless. Nice haul of parts. Hope his "finished" trucks looked good. Any pics' of those....or did the ole' ******* give grief on that too ?? Yuk, nyuk, nyuk.....my kinda' guy. You know he was probably smiling on the inside. Pretty cool.
We had a good time sparring and he had a good laugh when zinged. My little helper was getting bored by the time we were done and he was showing off the other two trucks so he had my phone and I didn't get any pictures. The stocker was a green w/ black fender combo and the rod was a creamy off white. Pretty tastefully done but a little on the streetrod side for me. I think the barrel nose 39s are model 91C but I don't know what that designates. I'm lucky to live here in the high desert and none of these rigs have much more than surface rust. Looking at the pics on my computer makes me think I need to clean my shop, not drag in more tin.
That should keep you busy and off the streets for a while. I think every one of us in the PNW who goes to swap meets has looked at that board full of photos a dozen times over the years good to see that you got to drag some of it home.
Thanks Mr48. I'm pretty sure he ran off any other buyer that he would've had with his sparkling personality. Thankfully I got a good deal on the whole load, and when I got home, Paul wasn't there!
C means Commercial. Ford reserved the "truck" designation for 3/4 ton and up. The 1/2 ton pickups and panels were called "Commercial Cars" in Ford parlance because they were built on a p***enger car ch***is. A '39 pickup or panel is Model 91C if it has the 85 HP engine or Model 92C with the 60 HP. My '38 pickup is model 81C since it had the 85 HP engine, would be an 82C with the 60 HP.
Thanks 38- I suspected the C was commercial because I had heard the commercial car and truck rundown before but wasn't certain enough to make that as a statement. The hood badges are gone from mine so I don't know if it had a v8-60 or the big mill.
If it was a 60 HP, the serial number on the frame will have a 54- prefix, and there will be ears riveted to the front crossmember that support the front motor mounts behind the crossmember. 85 HP frame has an 18- prefix on the serial number, and the ears are omitted because the 85 HP motor mounts rest directly on the crossmember.
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