Ebay: Worth a look...Mail Truck!

Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

Pluck,
I don't have an answer on where the postal trucks were assembled, but there is a Postal A's chapter. Maybe someone from that club will see this and have an answer.
I may have mentioned this before , but I have owned 2 postal trucks. One was a 1929. It started out as an Essex body. It was identical to the Ford postal body except for the lower rails and the cowl area.A postman who had a nice original truck in San Fernando, loaned me the cowl pieces and I had them duplicated. I ended up eventually selling the truck and it went to New York. I also purchased a 1930 postal truck from George Cross in orange county. He was a post man and I think the founder of the Pomona Fairgrounds antique car and hotrod swap meet. I think his sons run the swap meets now.
There was also a 1929 AA postal truck for sale in Whittier that Neil Wilson in Colorado ended up buying. I went and looked at it for Neil. It was nice except some of the top wood needed to be replaced.
Sorry for the rambling, but I always like the postal trucks. I hope whoever buys the one on ebay preserves it like it is.
 
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Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

PRODUCTION
Ford supplied Model “A” and Model "AA" chassis to
the U.S. Post Office for Mail Trucks in three separate
procurements. Deliveries were made as long as nine
months after the procurement dates noted in the
following summary . Because or the late deliveries in
the 1929 and 1931 model years, there are several
authenticated (but minor) variations of the actual
hardware supplied by Ford.

Mail Truck bodies were built by York-Hoover Body
Co., York, PA; Miffiinburg Body Co., Miffinbuurg,
PA; August Schubert Wagon Works, Syracuse. NY;
Metropolitan Body Co., Bridgeport, CT; and General
Motors Truck Co. Pontiac, MI.

Mail Truck bodies were buil! by York-Hoover Body
Co., York, PA; Miffiinburg Body Co., Miffinbuurg,
PA; August Schubert Wagon Works, Syracuse. NY;
Metropolitan Body Co., Bridgeport, CT; and General
Motors Truck Co. Pontiac, MI.

Body Builder________ Body Size____Procurement Date_______Quantity

York Hoover-------------100------------June--------1929-----------400
York Hoover-------------100------------ June-------1931------------500
Mifflinburg---------------100------------ March------1932---------- 500
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,400

August Schubert---------200------------June--------1929-------------400
Metropolitan-------------200------------July---------1931-----------1,000
General Motors----------200------------March-------1932---------- 1,500
-------------------------------------------------------------------------2,900
 
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Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

The standards haven't been updated since the '97 revision, there may be some new information in the next update. The best one source of info on mail trucks is in Aldie Johnsons book, available thru the postal A's web site www.postalas.org, a good addition to all model a libraries.

As for deviations to the bodies there were some very small differences, but the post office department were very specific as to the specifications of the bodies. The location and size of rear fenders on the small bodied trucks only changed due to the Ford differences between the '29 and 31 chassis. The AA bodied trucks were more prone to the fender deviations.

I will add, most if not all of both 31 procurements of the chassis were delivered well into 32. Henry wanted to supply 32 chassis as he had shut down production of 31's, but the p.o.d. Had the last word, ordering Henry to supply the agreed upon 31 based chassis as the bodies were designed to fit the 31, not the 32.
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

Synchro909 said:
They're only original ONCE. Watch someone restore the life pout of it now.:eek:
Click to expand...

What a time capsule. I'll be pouting if this gets anything but preservation treatment! :( Ought to be sold with a caveat to that effect!
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

It's heartwarming to see that originals are still out there, awaiting to be found and hopefully restored exactly to their former glory. Let's hope that happens to this one.
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

31 Model A said:
It's heartwarming to see that originals are still out there, awaiting to be found and hopefully restored exactly to their former glory. Let's hope that happens to this one.
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SAY WHAT?:eek:

This is too nice a survivor to restore. It's so nice to see good original survivors, as far too many good original cars have already been restored. I like patina. :)
And I hope Patina likes me!:D
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

I'm -- years young and lived in Bogota NJ (Bergen County). I distinctly remember a Model A mail truck being used to deliver mail to the Bogota Post Office as a child. This was back in the mid 1950's.
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

X2 what Tom said. Change the all the fluids, check the brakes and leave that truck alone. Perfect as is and would be hard pressed to find another like this. Hope the new owner, " if there is one", leaves it original. Just my 2 1/2 cents.
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

Much agreed Tom. Too many like this get restored and loose the originality that make them apealing. The rarer body styles like this are often better left preserved. The more common body styles nothing is really lost when properly restored even though some of the charm is replaced with shiney paint. If the paint on my delivery was better there would be no way that I would restore it. Rod
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

I saved all the ebay pictures to my computer, just so I could look at it later on..
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

Curious to know if there were any right hand drive postal trucks. Both Subaru and Jeep offer right hand drive cars for USPS rural route drivers that can be ordered once a year.
 
Model A mail trucks were not generally used for RFD mail. They were used to shuttle mail and parcels between post offices and other delivery points.
 
I would love to own that vehicle. I also love my wife. As is often the case, I might be able to afford the car, but I couldn't afford the divorce. :p
 
Re: Ebay: Worth a look...

Tom Wesenberg said:
SAY WHAT?:eek:

This is too nice a survivor to restore. It's so nice to see good original survivors, as far too many good original cars have already been restored. I like patina. :)
And I hope Patina likes me!:D
Click to expand...

Like any antique, it has to be preserved somehow and if it's to be driven still, it will eventually fall apart.
 
Thank you for changing the subject of this message to include "Mail Truck." The more descriptive subject lines help prevent redundant post redundancy.

-Tim
 
That's something not encountered on eBay or just about anyplace else too often. Remember seeing a restored Model A Ford mail truck back in the late 1970 at a VMCCA meet at the Larz Anderson estate in Massachusetts. To recollection, that mail truck was owned by a man named Greenland. He also owned a Model A taxi cab. Even back then, specialized Model A Ford vehicles such as these were rare and very pricey.
 
specialized Model A Ford vehicles such as these were rare and very pricey.


I have seen several of these for sale in the last two years-restored and unrestored and believe it or not, they dont fetch that much money. Because of their size and useability
they just dont command as much as you might think. Kind of like an oversized fire engine.
They are fun, but dont fit in every garage and really make more sense as a parade vehicle then going on a tour with.
Are you going to put your family in the back of one of these? ends up being more of a paddy wagon!
 
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