Early or Late 31?

jdfinch22

jdfinch22

Junior Member
i'm try to figure out which way to restore my ccpu i was given a "31?" ccpu cab and running chassie by my aunt to restore. the chassie is stampt A4586956 which i believe is april 31 and has been coverted to juiced brakes, the cab is a steal top budd cab. do i go with the wide bed or narrow is there any chance that the ford plant had frames built sitting around for a month before having a body mounted, or is there just no way the cab and chassie go together.
 
Since no one is going to lift the chassis to prove you right/wrong pick the part of the year you want?
 
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Steel top didn't come out until late august of 31. I've seen both wide and narrow beds on them. My dad has a wide bed sept 31 steel top. They are neat trucks. Share some pics!! We like pics!!!
 
Better to go narrow bed... Finding a wide bed and "REAR" Fenders at this point might be hard... Narrow bed [ repro bed ,rear fenders and running boards] you are ready to go...
 
Could narrow bed fenders be narrowed to fit a wide bed? I once widened a pair of fenders to fit a duelly. I have never compared the two fender styles side by side but if width is the only difference it seems like you could have the correct fenders for a fraction of the cost and a lot of extra labor
 
Check out this recent thread:

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125769

Henry's attitude toward using up existing parts provided some interesting combinations.

The late '31 pickups could be:

Soft top or Steel top
Flat firewall or Indented firewall
Narrow bed or Wide bed

In any combination of the above.

Mine happens to be: Steel top, Indented firewall, Narrow bed. But I've seen quite a few other combinations.
 
jdfinch22 said:
i'm try to figure out which way to restore my ccpu i was given a "31?" ccpu cab and running chassie by my aunt to restore. the chassie is stampt A4586956 which i believe is april 31 and has been coverted to juiced brakes, the cab is a steal top budd cab. do i go with the wide bed or narrow is there any chance that the ford plant had frames built sitting around for a month before having a body mounted, or is there just no way the cab and chassie go together.
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The numbers were assigned when the engine/transmission assembly passed final inspection and the MARC/MAFCA judging standards say to allow up to 3 months for the engine/transmission to reach the assembly line where the number was then stamped into the frame to match the number on the engine. All of the engines were produced at the Rouge plant and how far the assembly plant was from the Rouge has a lot to do with the time lag.

Charlie Stephens
 
I agree with Purdy after seeing mine parked next to a wide bed. It's not so much the wide of the bed, but it is longer as well and just doesn't balanced.

If I remember correctly, my frame/engine number puts the date in April. But the PU was assembled in Long Beach, which is just about as far away from Detroit as you can get. Therefore I'm sure that the assembly date was sometime after they began installing the Budd cabs.

Then, again, I could be all wet, and that what I have is just a compilation of gathered parts to make a vehicle when it was "restored" 25 years ago.
 
with the chassis sitting for up to 3 months makes me feel more at ease that at least my budd cab may actually belong to the frame even though I know the engine doesn't as far as the rear fenders you could probably section out a section in the middle but you would have to rework the front edge where the running board meats the fender would be worried about the fender springing after being cut
 
I know of a pickup with a narrow bed,and a budd steel cab.It was bought new by a distant relative of mine,who gave me the life story of the truck.The current owner bought it from the original owner,and insisted it was an all original truck.It looks it with original beat up,faded and scarred paint,but it had a major change when nearly new.Christmas eve,1932 the truck was being gassed up by the owner,an uncle of mine,when it was rear-ended in the snowstorm by another uncle.After the storm was over the garage had another A pickup that had gotten folded around a pole in the snow.It was the same color,so the narrow bed and fenders got installed on the widebed truck.You would swear it was original if I didn't know better.The current owner doesn't want to believe the story of the accident,even when the original owner tried to explain it to him.
 
Charlie Stephens said:
The numbers were assigned when the engine/transmission assembly passed final inspection and the MARC/MAFCA judging standards say to allow up to 3 months for the engine/transmission to reach the assembly line where the number was then stamped into the frame to match the number on the engine. All of the engines were produced at the Rouge plant and how far the assembly plant was from the Rouge has a lot to do with the time lag.

Charlie Stephens
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my engine number is from 29 I was thinking time frame between when the frame was stamped to when the body was placed on the frame
 
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