66-A Deluxe Pickup on ebay

[Stretch Cab]

I'm not understanding the reluctance to give this truck credit. If the holes line up and it can be established that it started out as a 66-A then bed or no bed it still is a 66-A. If a 180-A happens to be missing the non re-poped parts or a Town Car surfaces without some of its Town Car only parts do either cease to be what they started off to be? NO! Someone with deep pockets could have a bed built to original specs and an absolutely "Real" 66-A would be with us again! Sounds like a good idea.....

[murry29]

without the bed or the rails the car is not worht it. If you had the parts then it would be worth it.

[Steve Wastler]

I give it it's true ownings, like roadster stated it was and still is a 66 A minus it's bed. Not that I have deep pockets, but if I had room it would be in my garage if for nothing else, to save it for someone else to bring back. Another good opportunity for the right person.

[Roadster62]

I totally agree. Restored with a proper reproduction bed it would be a real 66-A. Placing the same reproduction bed on any other run of the mill pickup is a fake IMO. Bob

Originally Posted by Stretch Cab

I'm not understanding the reluctance to give this truck credit. If the holes line up and it can be established that it started out as a 66-A then bed or no bed it still is a 66-A. If a 180-A happens to be missing the non re-poped parts or a Town Car surfaces without some of its Town Car only parts do either cease to be what they started off to be? NO! Someone with deep pockets could have a bed built to original specs and an absolutely "Real" 66-A would be with us again! Sounds like a good idea.....

[WTSHNN]

Maybe I'm wrong but an 82-B cab is the same as a 66-A cab. The only difference are the mounting holes. So to me what makes a Deluxe Pickup a real 66-A is the original bed and side rails. The hard thing to find is not the cab and chassis (which is listed); it is the bed (which is long gone). So, as it sits and is listed in this auction, to me, it is not a 66-A. It is a chassis and a cab that could be made into a 66-A. Just like any other '31 Model A pickup. FWIW.
-Tim

[Steve Wastler]

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Interesting takes on this, I can see both sides. I do agree with Tim, it is the bed that makes the truick. This is a tough one for me, I'm torn. My heart is of a purist, but there are so few 66-A's........ Hmmmm

[Steve Wastler]

Does anyone remember the red truck sitting in the weeds and was stated as a deluxe truck on eBay a couple of years ago? Wondering if it was a 66-A or not, if anyone knows who got it.

[peters180a/170b]

Right you are WTSHNN . BUT IF there were frame brackets different on the 66-A for the special bed or some other parts on the frame or cab then i would say you have a special pickup. If you have just the body minus everything else on a TownCar or 180A /.400A then you still have a Town Car [lucky you] a 180A [Lucky me] or 400A [ with the top up] .But this truck cab you have what???extra holes and wood... not much to go by. All three cars i spoke of , their body sheet metal is their own and no other body style.. 180a and 400a doors are different then anyone else. Rear tubs , too.

[peters180a/170b]

GOOD POINT ! fordgarage...all you need to do is find a body...l.o.l.

[Brad in Germany]

Actually I think it is a communist plot to sell what was originally a GAZ-4 ! Look at these photos of the GAZ-4 and the likeness is obvious ....










Fordially,
Brad in Maryland

[theHIGHLANDER]

If it was born as a 66-A it is. If you're able, with finance or talent, to re-create the deluxe box, it remains what it was. Why wouldn't it? Let's say it's nice solid runner right now, then it's easily worth good money. I've seen cabs with doors in decent condition bring over $2K. Is there a registry for the Deluxe trucks? Numbers log?

[WTSHNN]

Originally Posted by theHIGHLANDER

If it was born as a 66-A it is. If you're able, with finance or talent, to re-create the deluxe box, it remains what it was.

My question is; to what end? If someone bought this cab and parted it out...took the top and bows off and sold it, sold the doors, the cowl, the back wall, would four different people be able to lay claim to a real 66-A because that is what the parts were originally on?

I think of the old adage about my great-grandfather's axe, it's been passed down four generations now and has only had the handle replaced twice and the head replaced once.

I've brought this up before over the years so I'll try to be brief but there is a tipping point when something is no longer what it originally was. That point is debatable and most everyone on this forum will have a different opinion.

-Tim

[Keith True]

That is why I was asking if there was anything special about the 66-A.Any special brackets,body lines,chassis parts,anything else at all other than the bolt on bed?Were they specially numbered?Or,just numbered like any other A chassis? The other cars mentioned,the DeLuxe phaeton,Town Car,all have completely different bodies,you would have to remove the complete body to get it back to a generic A.If the price I saw,$6500.is correct I think it is a good buy for the truck.It would be where I am anyway.

[Bill in Al]

Perhaps some of the deluxe bed woodwork is under the narrow bed? That would be a pretty good clue to the origin. Anyone want to look?

[theHIGHLANDER]

Originally Posted by WTSHNN

My question is; to what end?
-Tim

Let's say, for the sake of conversation and perspective, this truck "numbers out" to be it's cab and chassis and engine as delivered in 31. Only the box is gone, the rest is correct, you have the ability to restore it to OEM. What is it? Suppose it got ass-ended in 1933. If it were repaired with a new box wouldn't it be the same truck? I only say this based on the pics that show what used to be there, that being where the box bolted to the cab. It could have been damaged in the 40s, the 50s, damaged and put to bed for decades (no pun intended) and "discovered" much later.

I get it, I know what you mean. You can't take a cowl and rear section from a limited production car and build 2 of them. That's a copy. I'm involved in a "new coachwork" project. A 1 of 5 Packard LeBaron. We may have discovered a chassis built in 34 for that series vs doing it as Packard did, modding a Super 8 chassis with a 12. Does it make this venture a "real one"? As much as I'd love for the general concensus to be an emphatic yes, I know in reality it doesn't. Most clubs and orgs that recognize specific automotive brands tend to keep registries for the limited and easy to copy version. Shelby Mustangs come to mind, as do Dueseys. Known production numbers help.

Then comes another perspective. I find a 1970 Hemi from an "E" body car (Cuda). I make all the needed changes and exactly "restore" a Cuda conv to it's OEM standard, every detail. It wasn't born that way. The real thing has sold for nearly $3million in the past. Mine's so correct you can't tell. Does the paper really make it worth millions more? If so it'd be cheaper to keep the paper and forget the care and feeding of the car!

In the end, the person behind the wheel is the only one who can answer this never ending discussion. Would the clubs toss me out as having a fake if I were restore this truck back to Deluxe? If I documented everything I'd be pissed if they did. My position is once back to as-was, it's still real. We can render it down to original air in the tires and the bolts it was born with vs new and genuine pyroxilyn lacquer and...

Nah, that's no fun. Model as are kool.

[Keith True]

I just don't know how it would,number out,as you put it.(good way of putting it) The engines were stamped in order as built,then the frame was stamped with the same number when the engine was dropped in,and the engine number became the VIN for the vehicle.There was no connection to whatever body was dropped on it,number wise.There is no decoding the number and saying,this was a sedan,coupe,truck,roadster,etc.What I'm curious about,did the DeLuxe bodied pickup have any special body number,or tag? Something special to ID it as the DeLuxe.

[Bill Underwood]

Talking of re-creating. It is amazing how many classic cars start out with parts of a chassis(maybe) and end up a pre-war classic worth hundreds of thousands. OH well, to each his own.
I also like the term "tribute" for basically a rebuild or clone. To me it meant I stuck some extra flags, badges, whatever to increase the value to the next fool. Each can have fun in this hobby in their own way at their own costs.

IMHO

[Marco Tahtaras]

It's NOT a 66-A!

Okay, before the frenzy reignites let me explain just why. Folks don't understand (or stop and consider) Ford's body style numbering when it comes to some commercial models. I'll start with some examples.

A late '30 (and '31) Closed Cab is a model 82-B. This remains as such regardless whether the cab is placed on an "A" chassis or an "AA" chassis.

Similarly, the common pickup bed used until mid-late '31 commonly referred to as a "narrow bed" was a model 78-A whether found paired with an Open Cab or Closed Cab.

Now, if you purchased a Closed Cab pickup in late 1930 you actually purchased a model 82-B + model 78-A.

So here is how some of these common vehicles stacked up:

'28-29 Open Cab Pickup - 76-A + 78-A
'31 Closed Cab wide bed - 82-B + 78-B

Now, the model in question WAS in fact:

'31 Deluxe Pickup - 82-B + 66-A

Unfortunately the 66-A is gone in it's entirety leaving behind an 82-B Closed Cab and a replacement 78-B pickup bed. So since there is absolutely no 66-A remaining it's no longer a 66-A.

[spdway1]

Well said Marco!

[theHIGHLANDER]

But what would it be if you put it back, given the "evidence" that it was in the past?