I just dragged this home. I picked up the front half of an AA, PO says its a B. Model A pickup box and gate. Late 40s axle setup. A few weeks back I*******ed up a 1956 Chevy 265 engine and cast iron powerglide. That will be the new powerhouse for this truck, unless I decide to go banger with it. Future plans are no fenders, full hood, mild chop and channel on the cab. Full custom frame using an A front x-member and frame horns. I would really like to find an open drive banjo rear with wide 5 rims for this, also a wide five front end setup. I had a chance to get everything I needed from a '39 ford truck at the local U-pull-it yard, but they crushed it before I could get in there. The cab needs the usual patches in the usual places, door bottoms, cowl sides, cab corners. The floor I'm not to worried about, like I said it will most likely get channeled. Doors need alot of attention as well. The box will need a new head board made, and the sides need some massaging. tail gate is tweaked, but no rot. With is hard to believe if you saw where this thing was sitting.
You got a Budd cab like the one I had, with the steel top and no insert. In fact it's in about the same shape as the one I had (if not better), and I didn't do much to it and sold it for decent money. If the rear axle to that truck can be had, check the rims out on it, I had guys offering me stupid money for the dually wheels mine has on it (I still have the AA chassis), but they had rotted out at the bottoms. Like more than enough to pay for a whole repro floor and subrails money. I have some wide-5 drums and rims stashed. Mark has the rearend you want, too, but I think it's junk from sitting in the mud too long.
I forgot to mention the little mishap while hauling it home. I forgot to run a strap over the hood, she flew off at around 50mph. There was a guy riding a motorcycle behind me too! The guy on the motorcycle pulled out with his flashers on trying to get my to pull over, so I did. He gets off of his bike runs up to my door and says "Dude! You just lost your hood!" I told him how I was glad that it didn't hit him when it went airborne, and he said "naw, I was getting as close as I could to try and get a better look at this thing'' Friggin dumb****....... that could've went alot worse. I went back a few hours later to pick up the hood from the side of the road, what was once a perfect complete hood when I picked it up is now bent and mangled. So much for the full hood idea..
So rustynewyorker threw me for a loop when he told me I had a "Budd" cab. Never heard of that before so I did some research. Budd cabs came with a full steel roof (like rustynewyorker said), had an indent on the firewall, and were slightly longer than earlier model A cabs = more leg room and a slanted seat back. Budd cabs were only available for 3 months in late 1931. Typically Budd bodied pickups had wider beds, using 3 hinges on the tailgates. Looks like I'm gonna be building another odd ball.
The Jalopy Journal
