Three interesting pictures

[Neil Mylar LakewoodCA]

I just had these three pictures emailed to me.

Any thoughts?

I'm not sure that the first picture could apply to a Model A flywheel.

Does anyone remember being ticketed in the 1950's for racing a souped up Model A?

The third picture is not Model A, but still interesting. The lifeguard truck has an 'Exempt' license plate. I'm sure it is on offical business.

[Fordors]

The '32 in photo no. 3 has a Model A Deluxe Pickup bed, which I find odd. I was not aware that Ford built any after '31 as they were a marketing flop.

[Tom Endy]

The photo with the girls on a roadster appears to be taken in Malibu, California along Pacific Coast Highway. The building down the road on the right I think is the old Thelma Todd Café at 17575 PCH. Thelma Todd was an actress of the early 1930's who owned the café and was a wild party girl and partied with gangsters. She died mysteriously (it was ruled a suicide). She lived on the top floor of the building and accessed her garage from a street up in the hills behind. On December 16, 1935 she was found dead from carbon monoxide in her car in the garage. Rumor was that Lucky Luciana ordered her death. The building is still there. Google Thelma Todd for more information.

Tom Endy

[Chris Haynes]

Originally Posted by Neil Mylar LakewoodCA

The third picture is not Model A, but still interesting. The lifeguard truck has an 'Exempt' license plate. I'm sure it is on offical business.

That is The California Incline in Santa Monica, CA. SM Lifeguard vehicle.

[Steve Plucker]

Anyone for a "Now" photograph of #3?...Would be interesting to do a "before and after".

Pluck

[Doug in NJ]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Here's that spot in Google street view: http://bit.ly/1rWOAHN
For a shocker, turn the view 180 degrees and look back up the hill!

Doug

[juke joint johnny]

Great Photo's!!!
Could that have been a left over Model A bed on the Deluxe Pickup? or maybe custom built.

Wish my Jalopy was such a Babe Magnet !!!

[slackcat]

Cool pics, thanks.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by juke joint johnny

Great Photo's!!!
Could that have been a left over Model A bed on the Deluxe Pickup? or maybe custom built.

The belt line on the Model-B pickup had a different profile than an A did so I am inclined to think like you that it was custom built. It really would have not been that hard to do since the 66A bed infrastructure was all wood with sheetmetal nailed on.

[kenparker]

The hill in pix #3 would make an awsome Hilllcimb track.

The Texas FourBanger flat Hillclimb is this coming Sat. Everything is looking good for near perfect weather and we is gonna hav a gud time. ken

[BlueSunoco]

Originally Posted by Tom Endy

The photo with the girls on a roadster appears to be taken in Malibu, California along Pacific Coast Highway. The building down the road on the right I think is the old Thelma Todd Café at 17575 PCH. Thelma Todd was an actress of the early 1930's who owned the café and was a wild party girl and partied with gangsters. She died mysteriously (it was ruled a suicide). She lived on the top floor of the building and accessed her garage from a street up in the hills behind. On December 16, 1935 she was found dead from carbon monoxide in her car in the garage. Rumor was that Lucky Luciana ordered her death. The building is still there. Google Thelma Todd for more information.

Tom Endy

There is a good book out I read several years ago about Thelma Todd called 'Hot Toddy'. Yes it's pretty clear the Mob killed her but nobody wanted to investigate it very well. Lucky Luciano wanted control of Thelma's restaurant and in her strong willed way she told him to go to he-- and the results weren't very good..........

[Steve Plucker]

Originally Posted by BlueSunoco

There is a good book out I read several years ago about Thelma Todd called 'Hot Toddy'. Yes it's pretty clear the Mob killed her but nobody wanted to investigate it very well. Lucky Luciano wanted control of Thelma's restaurant and in her strong willed way she told him to go to he-- and the results weren't very good..........

Hmmmmm...I always wondered where the term "Hot Toddy" came from...Now I know.

Pluck

[Ron/IA]

Looking at those lifts in photo #1, I am not sure I would be comfortable working under them.

They look kind of flimsy to me.

[Bruce Lancaster]

On the "Deluxe" body...there was a deluxe pickup, B-66, in 1932. There is a picture of one in the Woudenberg "Ford in the '30's" book...never saw one anywhere else. Like the A one the bed sides bolted through the rear side panels of the cab. It did not have the fancy rails of the Model A, but the rails in the picture above are nothing like the A ones and are obviously aftermarket. I forgot to look at that picture in the book to see if it matches up...it would be hard to tell anyway since cab/bed juncture can't be seen here. Quite likely entirely an aftermarket build in picture here, but there was indeed a smooth side B deluxe.
Hmmm...gotta order some new teeth for my ring gear from Bratton's. About a cup full will do the job.

[darrylkmc]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lancaster

.
Hmmm...gotta order some new teeth for my ring gear from Bratton's. About a cup full will do the job.

Bruce,

I have 7 ring gear teeth that I could loan to you.

Darryl in Fairbanks

-1 in the Interior, Polls aren't open yet.

[Jon]

Read the newspaper article: "The 31 youths, including two girls (strictly passengers)....

[Bruce Lancaster]

Never mind on the teeth, Darryl...I put a magnet on my flywheel and turned the motor over, and I have all my originals back! Can't beat original teeth, those Vintique ones are too soft.

[Charlie Stephens]

The first time I saw a photo of a deluxe pickup was about 20 years ago on a calendar. I had to look twice since I had never seen one before. The credit for the photo was given to the Santa Monica Historical Society. They have the picture from the calendar on their web site (http://santamonica.pastperfect-onlin...19981915-1.JPG). When I inquired they said this was the only photo they had of the truck. I have since seen two additional photos of this deluxe pick up including one with the models in a slightly different position also taken on the California Incline. They appear to have all been taken by the same photographer on the same day. I believe the negatives came from a newspaper photo collection donated to the museum when the paper closed. The slab sided 1931 Model A Deluxe pickup was body type 66-A and the 1932 version was B-66. The corrections to “The 1932 Ford Book” (http://www.earlyfordv8.org/ford-book-corrections.cfm ) on page 13 shows that 68 of these bodies were made.

Charlie Stephens

[Fordors]

In the Peterson Publishing Woudenberg book referenced there is a photo of what is described as "... open-side Delivery 1/2 ton. Body roof extends over the top of the cab and the truck is minus the windshield visor." There is no mention of it being a B-66, rather, it has angled tops on the sides, as on a typical Ford bed and there is no body side reveal on the bed sides. With it having open sides and the angled tops there are no side rails as on the Model A Deluxe Pickup. The open-side Delivery from 1932 looks like the kind of vehicle that might have been popular with vegetable salesmen.
I'd have to agree that the truck on the Pacific Coast Highway was probably custom built, but regardless, those side rails on it sure look like the style Ford used on the 66-A.

[Fordors]

Just when you think you checked all sources available to you another comes to mind- this one from the "Commercial Message" Vol 1 No 4, a newsletter printed on Sept. 9, 1974.

On The B-66
If you want to track down a rare '32 Ford Commercial, look for a Deluxe Pickup B-66. It's not like the ordinary Pickup. It has a body on it like an Australian Utility Car, with slab sides that continue the sides of the cab clear back to the end of the bed, sort of like a '32 Ranchero might have looked. It has a pipe railing along the edge of the bed, chrome plated, like tow trucks used to have.
Apparently the Deluxe Pickup was introduced in '31 and continued into '32, then phased out. It is mentioned in sundry early '32 change letters and service bulletins, but never with enough information to establish exactly what it looked like.
Since many of the rarer '32 Commercial and Truck bodies were actually held-over '31 bodies, there is every likelihood that the B-66 Deluxe Pickup of 1932 was just like the 1931 version, but with the '32 hood, fenders, cab and running gear.
The production breakdown goes like this:

June 1932
Jacksonville, FL 5
Somerville, MA 8
New Orleans, LA 1
August 1932
Buffalo, NY 52
Somerville, MA 2
Total- 68

Thus, if any of them are left alive, they should be found in New England or the New York area,or prehaps in the South. None were ever built in Dearborn and none west of the Mississippi.
The way Ford kept records, there is no way to tell whether these Deluxe Pickups used the open or closed cab, or whether they were B's or V-8's. However, I'd like to entertain the notion that maybe there is at least one '32 Deluxe Pickup with Open Cab and V-8 engine with dual side mounts somewhere in the world. Imagine the price a rig like that would fetch.
-David L. Cole-

Some time back I found a full set of "Commercial Message" newsletters on eBay; they are a pretty neat resource.

[chuckstinn]

Neil
I did get a ticket in the 50’s in my ’49 Chevy (sorry) for being "too low" and believe it or not for “excessive acceleration” (drag racing), but not for being souped up.

[1931 flamingo]

Pic #1...........perhaps they mean bendix teeth?
Pic #2.........Even had headers back then.

Paul in CT

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by Fordors

In the Peterson Publishing Woudenberg book referenced there is a photo of what is described as "... open-side Delivery 1/2 ton. Body roof extends over the top of the cab and the truck is minus the windshield visor." There is no mention of it being a B-66, rather, it has angled tops on the sides, as on a typical Ford bed and there is no body side reveal on the bed sides. With it having open sides and the angled tops there are no side rails as on the Model A Deluxe Pickup. The open-side Delivery from 1932 looks like the kind of vehicle that might have been popular with vegetable salesmen.
I'd have to agree that the truck on the Pacific Coast Highway was probably custom built, but regardless, those side rails on it sure look like the style Ford used on the 66-A.

Are you looking at something that says it is custom built rather than one of the 68 that Ford made?

Charlie Stephens

[Fordors]

Originally Posted by Charlie Stephens

Are you looking at something that says it is custom built rather than one of the 68 that Ford made?

Charlie Stephens

No, my statement that it may have been custom was based upon my assumption that none were built since it was a sales failure in '31. Further searching led me to the information in my second post about the 68 produced in 1932.
Here is a photo scanned from page 30 of "Ford In The Thirties" showing the open-side Delivery as Woudenberg described it-

The 66-A was put to market when General Electric ordered 125 units of a pickup with a sturdier box for handling heavy appliances and apparently they were looking for a "dressier" truck too. Ford ordered 325 of the special bodies from Briggs, but by September 1931 with only 99 sold (in addition to the GE trucks) production was halted with 293 built. Why they chose to go ahead and build 68 in 1932 is anyone's guess.