A couple of quick finish questions for 1929 Station Wagons

[Dick Carne]

If my understanding is correct, all of the metal bracing and trim pieces that were used on 1929 station wagons was painted black? If indeed that is a true statement, then I would therefore presume that this would also include the front door hinges, to include the driver’s side with the additional metal panel cutout for the left front spare, which would also be painted black as well, both inside and outside?

On another note, I also seem to recall having read or heard somewhere that the station wagon was considered by Ford to be a “commercial vehicle”. If so, would this then allow for consideration of other Ford colors that might have been sanctioned for use on “commercial vehicles”, to also extend to include station wagons as well. As a possible example, if the U.S. Forestry Service were to have purchased a station wagon, would Rock Moss Green, for instance, have been considered as a possible choice for a color selection. Extending that even further, if a hotel or social club for instance, were to have purchased one of these, would/could the entire line of paint options have then been within the scope of possible consideration?

I appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.

[Oldbluoval]

I had one years ago so memory fades. The hinges were Manila brown like the cowl. All the brackets were black
As to the rest of your post….no help

[Stretch Cab]

I believe the simple answer to the color question is yes, a commercial vehicle could have been ordered in a different color that was standard for other cars. Now, more specific to your Wagon, it seems like the ability to choose a different color in a commercial vehicle started in 1930.

I have a letter stating this option from one of the major car clubs somewhere. In the 70's we painted my 30 Rdst. PU a non-green color and needed the letter to have it judged. Even with the letter it was still a battle as I remember the judges didn't even want to judge the truck because of the color. If you are interested, the color was Bronson Yellow. Yeah, I know, but it was the 70's.

I look forward to seeing a clear answer to this.

[jwmckenzie]

The RG & JS, Page C-8 Revised 2016.

"The 150-A rear and front door hinge assemblies (with the exception of the front door hinge support on the outside of the vehicle, which was painted Manila Brown) were painted Black. The metal inset for the spare tire on the driver's door was painted Manila Brown."

Page 14-8 Revised 2011.

Table in Left hand column only indicates Manila Brown for both 150-A and 150-B.

NOTE: Not sure what "the front door hinge support on the outside of the vehicle" means.

[jwmckenzie]

The Paint and Finish Guide, 4th Addition 2020, Page 22:

"Door Hinges

.... The front and rear door hinges were black on the 150-A. The metal insert on the driver's door was painted Manila Brown on the outside and black on the inside. ...."

[Dick Carne]

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My many thanks to each of you for your insight and guidance. JW - your references to the current judging standards perhaps addresses my question best, in that it would suggest that the face or outer side of the front door hinge sections were painted body color, but that the hinge portion itself and the inside portions were painted black. Do you all think that I would then be correct in "assuming" then that the hinge portion that would then show from the outside would then be "taped off" along the edges of the hinge itself? I wish I could figure out how to post pictures, but my numerous attempts at doing so have all proven futile, so I hope that my explanation as far as an outside "tape line" goes is sufficiently clear. Regardless, I thank you all for your several responses and patience.

[jwmckenzie]

Dick, I am not sure about your assumption. If you are going for judging, you should seek the advice of a judge, I assume there are some here.

Here is a link to some wagon pics on the FordBarn.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...&showall=1

In looking at pics on the internet, the ones that have the front facing part of the front hinge painted black just looks wrong, IMHO.

[WTSHNN]

If you have the Nov/Dec issue of the Model A News the MARC Showcase is a '29 Station Wagon that received a Henry at the Osh Kosh National Meet. The photographs in that article will probably help you.

-Tim

[Dick Carne]

Thanks again everyone for your guidance and many responses. I did notice the nice 1929 station wagon on this past issue of the MARC magazine, but was unable to see how the outside spare tire panel was treated (the interior shot appeared to be black, which conforms with my understanding that all hinges and bracing were painted black on the 1929 models). JW - your comments have proven immensely helpful, and I too don't think that I would care for the look of the front cowl hinge panel being painted black so much as body color.

As for building any type of show car, I have less than no interest in ever showing any of our cars, as I don't need any more dust collectors if they were possibly win something. But I do have an appreciation for cars that are nicely done and adhere pretty much to original standards. The last time I bothered with "judging" was to place our '29 touring car in the Touring Class judging at the first French Lick meet back in 2010 ... I found the ribbon a couple of years ago under the back seat.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Stretch Cab

I believe the simple answer to the color question is yes, a commercial vehicle could have been ordered in a different color that was standard for other cars. Now, more specific to your Wagon, it seems like the ability to choose a different color in a commercial vehicle started in 1930.

I have a letter stating this option from one of the major car clubs somewhere. In the 70's we painted my 30 Rdst. PU a non-green color and needed the letter to have it judged. Even with the letter it was still a battle as I remember the judges didn't even want to judge the truck because of the color. If you are interested, the color was Bronson Yellow. Yeah, I know, but it was the 70's.

I look forward to seeing a clear answer to this.

The clear answer to this is, ...it depends on who(m) you are trying to convince.

This is my opinion only, but in a nutshell just because a vehicle was a commercial vehicle did not mean it could be painted in any color. That still holds true today if you order a new vehicle from Ford. Therefore, the size of the Commercial Concern (-i.e.:the Fleet) is the gauge by which concessions would be made back then, ...and now. Using Dick's reference as an example, if the US Forest Svc. ordered 100 150A Station Wagons for their fleet, then Ford likely would make a concession for a color deviation when the metal was sent to Murray. On the reverse side, if a local hotel ordered 1, -or maybe 2 Model-A 150As and were wanted their vehicles to be painted in a standard passenger car color offering, then with 99.9% certainty this order would not have been accepted by Ford. Remember, the Model-A's greatest volume of production was in 1929, and as such they were running at maximum capacity at all Branches. Any deviation from standard assembly protocol had to be financially worth doing for them, and doing so for one or two vehicles likely was not worth the effort and so it wasn't done.

To reference this for Fine-Point adjudication, ...a color change will be accepted without a deduction (for that show) with a written Variance IF you can prove it happened to THAT vehicle. Proof can come in many forms, but the easiest way is to provide some type of evidence on a Ford-produced document. Next, pictures (if substantial) is a good method or even a Purchase Order supplied to either Ford will work. Based on my experiences, the JSC will give some latitude however the variance request needs to be credible.


With regard to a Bronson Yellow paint on a 76B in 1930, I tend to agree with the judges that unless you can PROVE it happened, then in all likelihood it is just a hypothetical wish by the restorer and it honestly never happened. At that point, it does not meet the 14 mandatory items necessary to pass the preliminary judging of which one item is authentic color for that vehicle.

As far as the letter you mentioned, that really did not come out until June of 1931 which would have made it inapplicable towards your 1930 vehicle.

[Doug Linden]

A friend of mine bought a Station Wagon (1930 I believe) that was originally purchased by the Girl Scouts of America. He had original documentation that showed it was specially ordered with Girl Scout Green paint. I can't recall it it was factory painted or dealer painted, but it was ordered that color. We tried to convince Gene not to restore the car as it was too unique, but he had it totally restored and all the uniqueness was lost forever. Sad, but you had to know Gene.

[jwmckenzie]

This is a pic of a green 150A on Nantucket.