Model a coupes with truck beds in trunk

I have been trying to figure out what was the deal with my trunk. They have removed the raingutters and lower panel below the deck lid. I also have a rumble lid for car but it was set up for a trunk. I can see where the hindges were. Does anybody have some pics of truck beds in the coupe trunk. I have reserched here and found they use to do this for gas. Also would i be crazy for doing this if i could pull it off to look good. I was just thinking about not set in stone. I havent seen any done, i was just wondering. The only other option is to bight the bullet and pay out the butt for gutters and panels. I havent seen any techs on the rear trunk gutters. Is this because it is a pain to make.
thanks

 

Many coupes and roadsters were "converted" to pickups by this method and worse methods, like axes and torches. This was done to be qualified for more gas stamps during WWII. It was a common practice prior to the war to give a vehicle a little more utility in farm and ranch country.

There was also, I remember, a "kit" sold in the 30s era which mounted a narrow and short pickup bed in a Model A deck/rumble hole without modification otherthan removing the lid. The bed reached back into the cavity and the front part slid out like a drawer.

 

There is a thread here from a guy who has one of these... search it out. Gary

 

I have searched I have tried various words . I might not be looking correctly. No problem i was just wanting to know if there were any on here with the bed in the trunk. I have seen some with metal formed off the body. What i have looked for does not have any pics of a bed coming out of the trunk ( 28-31 coupes).

 

The car that has been on here alot is a roadster owned by somebody from or called Poverty Flats I think.

 

Toast just got one!!

Here's his thread!

 

Thanks, that why i could not find one. I have been looking for coupes. I can use my imagination. My quarters look just like that at the bottom cruled in.

 

When I bought my Tudor, and called up my father to tell him about it, he told me of a
time when he had seen one in our home town long ago, where they cut the whole top off
and were throwing hay in it, to feed cattle out of.. I was glad it was before my time,
so I didn't have to see it..

 

my coupe was the same way when I got it.

 

Here are two photos I've saved from other threads here on the HAMB. Gary

 

my '30 coupe was like that too, but mine had the quarters butchered down to the wheelwells and had a model T box on it, took along time to find 2 good quarters to put it back togather. Scott

 

Here is another one, pulled from a HAMBer's album, i bet there were alot more of these than anyone thinks. Most probably got parted out or scraped over the years as they were thought to be to far gone to fix...we fix much worse now days

 

A lot of them got whacked not only in WWII but also during the depression. They got used for utility as well as being used to get more gas. If you wanted to haul stuff for cash because there were no jobs an old rattled out coupe was cheaper than a new truck.

If I have one I would bite the bullet and put it back to a coupe. If you want a truck buy a truck.

 

Doing that in Australia led to the factory Coupe Utes they built. There's a Thread on those here somewhere.

 

'beaner, I see we agree on somethin'...

 

It is kinda neat to see what they were doing in there depression. I guess my cousin making a roof rack out of 1inch square and bolting it to the roof of his honda makes since. He couldnt afford a truck so he made do with what he had. Kinda sounds like a good thread " making good with what you have ". I know we have all been there.

I guess ill have to bite the bullet and put it back. I guess ill give the rain gutters in the trunk a stab. If they turn out ill post some pics in my build thread. But if not ill cut them out and buy new and not tell ya'll about my mess up.

 

Seems i recall someones' build here showing how they fabricated new gutters....it's lost in my memory somewhere.

 

One yard here didn't have any coupes, but had two sedans that had been cut off and turned into pickups. One had the back tacked onto the B-posts, and a wooden bed, the other didn't seem to have any back at all, but had a factory A bed on it. It also had a rusty '51 plate in the trash in the bed. Those were also extremely common.

 

You could make some gutters with a shrinker/stretcher. The tail panels are not that expensive form Howels sheet metal. I think the 27 T was $45. I could not make one for that.

 

I could see one looking good if it was period hot rod, very period. otherwise I'd skip the truck bed.

 

here's a homemade one I bought several years ago. This ended up being the coupe Mike Zenor bought and built/had built.

 

Thats neet looking. I guess ill go to hf and check out the shrinker streacher. Thanks to everybody who has posted pics and comments. I guess ill buy some patches and get to work. This has helped me make the correct discision.

 

I happen to have a bed in very good shape. just needs a car.

 

The Coupe trunk rain gutters are the same as a Roadster, and Brookville makes them.

 

I have several partial books of ration stamps from WWII, my mother's and my grandparents. Commercial vehicles could get more ration stamps for gas & tires, thus the truck bed conversions. Problem was my family had the stamps but not the money so a lot of their ration stamps were not used, being poor my grandmother saved everything, including the unused ration stamps.

 

What we all forget now is that up into the early 60's driver quality Model A's were dirt cheap for the most part. I looked at a running sport coupe for 50.00 here in town when I was 15 but 50.00 was a lot of money for a kid making .75 an hour bucking hay.

When I was in high school there was an old couple who came to town about once a week that had a green Model A coupe with a truck bed scabbed in the back. They probably had driven that car since the early 30's. I don't think it was around when I was a box boy at Safeway though as I don't remember ever putting groceries in it.
A hundred mile two lane drive in just about any area of Central and Eastern Washington will turn up at least one Model A that was cut off and converted into a tractor back before or during WWII.

 

I had one of them, never knew why they did it until now. I didnt have the money to finish it so I sold it to a friend who spent a ton on it but it turned out real nice with a rumble seat in it. He ended up with 20 grand in it but thats what he wanted. A 31 coupe was his first car

 

whats up with the avitar ?

 

When I got mine it had a Sears box in the back and had the gutters and splash pad removed. I ended up buying all the stuff I needed from Brookville. Here is a before and an after pic. I think it was money well spent.

 

Here is one I saw at the 2006 Turkey Run