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02-01-2022, 12:28 AM | #1 |
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1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea? |
02-01-2022, 06:10 PM | #2 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
The answer to the above question is that it appears that Ford were not the first company to add a Pick-up Box to a Coupe, as you can see from the above advertisement showing a 1936 Chevrolet. |
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02-01-2022, 08:20 PM | #3 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
Was this an actual Ford model? First I have seen this outside of some aftermarket mods.
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02-01-2022, 09:27 PM | #4 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
Yes, it was a Ford model with its own designation. It was a short lived idea but my understanding it was created in response to Chevy's '36 model. I wrote an article about mine for V8 Times if you would like to look back at it. I also have a set of factory blueprints from Ford archives. I requested them before I bought this because I wanted to be sure what I was getting was real. It's not very practical because it is open to the environment at all times, so when it rains water is automatically inside the vehicle...especially when you press the brakes.
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02-02-2022, 05:13 AM | #5 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
“ so when it rains water is automatically inside the vehicle...especially when you press the brakes.”
This was the first thing I thought of when I saw one of these pictures, but I never asked the question. I think a small trailer would have made more sense...........Mark
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02-02-2022, 05:32 PM | #6 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
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02-02-2022, 07:03 PM | #7 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
There was one of those Chevys up here about 15 years ago that was for sale. It was in project condition and I think they wanted $10,000 for it.
I’ve seen plenty of converted Model A’s that were done during World War II to gain extra gas rations as a farm truck. |
02-02-2022, 11:16 PM | #8 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
Here is a picture of a fully restored 1936 Chevrolet Coupe Pickup, a year before Ford offered a similar vehicle. |
02-03-2022, 10:56 AM | #9 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
I came very close to buying a '35 Ford Roadster that had a pickup bed modification in 1961-62.
The vehicle was an orchard truck that had spent it's whole life in a citrus orchard in the Santa Barbara, CA area. The truck had not ran in years, pretty rough. I had offered $125. for the truck, the owner wanted $150. We would not arrive at an agreed upon price so I walked away... One of them woulda.coulda shoulda, deals.
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02-03-2022, 11:19 AM | #10 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
The rest of the story:
Based on actual brochures and the fact that ten years ago I owned one, it would appear that GM's answer to the pickup/coupe was a MATCHING TRAILER, in 1937-38. A little ove ten years ago I had a '37 GMC T-14 1/2 ton that I had a matching trailer for. The trailer had a regular 1/2 pickup bed with fenders and the GMC script tailgate. I took the outfit to several car shows, one of which was in Elko Nev. I would put my Boxer Dog in the bed of the truck with a sign on his neck.. GOAT FOR SALE One day a man offered me a lot of money for the truck/trailer so I sold it. The trailer was made by Yellow Truck And Coach, which is the actual division of GM that made the GMC trucks during the 1930's.
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02-04-2022, 12:02 AM | #11 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
I didn’t realize it was a steel, factory thing. I always thought it was a homemade wood thing. Very cool. I’d be happy if I could just find a 37 coupe for sale that still has a flathead.
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02-04-2022, 12:27 AM | #12 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
I have never seen that option on a Ford, or any other make either. Looks like Frazer had something similar in 1951 with their Vagabond.
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02-04-2022, 01:08 AM | #13 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
1951 Kaiser Traveler that RalphG refered to. |
02-04-2022, 01:12 AM | #14 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
Here is the Illustration for 1952 Kaiser Traveler |
02-04-2022, 01:28 AM | #15 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
1951 Kaiser Traveler on display at Ypsilanti Heritage Museum, Michigan. |
02-04-2022, 11:59 AM | #16 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
With the fancy wood strips on the floor, you can bet that the K/F "Travelers" were not intended for use as trucks. The picinic basket and 3M "Scotch" cooler says it all.
My folks had one of those coolers when I was a kid in the fifties. |
02-04-2022, 02:07 PM | #17 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
With the severe angle of those tailgate straps, it appears that one might do some real damage just by sitting on the tailgate.
Kaiser was a car before its time. Innovative style is not always enough for a car to become a trend setter. If I remember correctly, Kaiser also offered a station wagon that had a sliding top section at the rear to accommodate tall cargo.
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02-04-2022, 02:15 PM | #18 | |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
Quote:
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02-04-2022, 02:43 PM | #19 |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
I don't think any manufacturer can claim that it's their idea. I have seen pictures of home made pick-up boxes in model T's and A's and other makes. Back in the teen's several companies were building wooden pick-up and station wagon bodies that were named Depot Hacks. They were used primarily as a vehicle to move good's from freight depot's to stores and factories. In 1927 Ford capitalized on the idea and assembled his design team to produce a prototype Station Wagon and in 1928 built five. They went over so well that in 1929 the first Station Wagon was added to the production line. The rest is Woodie history.
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02-04-2022, 03:09 PM | #20 | |
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Re: 1937 Ford Coupe with added Pick-up Bed - Was Ford first with this idea?
Quote:
Winner winner chicken dinner!
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