Chrome bumper on a jailbar Ford

RalphG

Well-known member
Photo of a local farmer here in Sask. and the chrome bumper on that jailbar Ford is the first I can recall seeing. Being mostly wartime production I would have thought chrome bumpers were not an option. Not sure of the year on this photo but the truck looks pretty new.
 

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A new one on me....I have not seen chrome bumpers on a jailbar truck. Is it just my new glasses or is that truck missing it's trim rings around the headlights and parking lights? Maybe they were sent out to be chromed? If they are on there maybe they are painted black. They are not tacoma cream.
 
Photo of a local farmer here in Sask. and the chrome bumper on that jailbar Ford is the first I can recall seeing. Being mostly wartime production I would have thought chrome bumpers were not an option. Not sure of the year on this photo but the truck looks pretty new.
544894
 
That may well be a 42 Ford Of Canada pickup that MAY have had a chrome bumper. Notice the black in the nose piece. I think that was 42. 42/47 Mercury bumpers may have been chrome & it would have fit the factory bumper brackets. Ford of Canada may have had a factory option for chrome. Ford of America was black in 46 & 47, possibly chrome in 42 but unlikely. GB makes a good point that this truck has unusual trim rings as well so this truck may have been converted a little.....
 
That may well be a 42 Ford Of Canada pickup that MAY have had a chrome bumper. Notice the black in the nose piece. I think that was 42. 42/47 Mercury bumpers may have been chrome & it would have fit the factory bumper brackets. Ford of Canada may have had a factory option for chrome. Ford of America was black in 46 & 47, possibly chrome in 42 but unlikely. GB makes a good point that this truck has unusual trim rings as well so this truck may have been converted a little.....

There was no Mercury truck until 1947 and they went full on with chrome front end pieces. Most of the jailbar Fords I've seen (all Canadian) had plain steel bumpers and headlight rings.
 
I think gravity works in reverse 'down under'. And look! Stainless trim on all four lights. Apparently things are a lot fancier down there too.
 
I have a Mercury of Canada Period Correct brochure showing 1946 models of trucks.
Brochure shows a lot of chrome BUT i find Ford/Mercury/FOC brochures show features that really were not available. Also that Ford of America is a 1946 brochure, it too shows features that were not really available. Interestingly Ford of America started installing chrome headlight rings late in 47, not park light rings.
 
I should consult my 1929-1949 Ford of Canada "Fast Moving Parts" catalogue to see if they list any options for the front end of these trucks.
 
The US stopped production in February of 1942 but Canada held out till late in March. Ford of Canada did restrict manufacturing of civilian vehicles not long after the UK entered the war. They also made plain Jane cars with little or no chrome showing. Chrome was a restricted item after the US entered the war so only the items already manufactured were used. It took a lot of paperwork to qualify to purchase a new vehicle during the war years in Canada. Ford US did the same thing for the limited number of trucks made during the war. Restrictions started to ease in late 1944 but it was limited to needed spare parts till full production was approved in 1945.
 
I had a look through my catalogue Ford of Canada parts and there is no mention of chrome bumpers or headlight rings on the jailbar trucks.
 

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