[rosenkranswa]

When I restored my 1930 pickup we found some reasonably intact newspapers from the late 40's used as stuffing to fill out the top which had clearly been repaired. During the teardown I noticed that everything on the drivers side was difficult to remove, then when we got the body off and could check out the number, it was from a 1929 series, the engine from a '30 series, with a '29 style front crossmember. Checking the frame for straightness it was clear the frame had been bent in on the drivers side at some point and needed straightening. Our conclusion was that the truck started life as a 29 and had been in an accident that pushed in the frame a bit and probably trashed the square cab. A later model cab and fenders were put on with the higher radiator and hood and the rest made to fit. But they never fixed the frame, hence the difficulty getting things apart. With the frame straightened and a '30 style crossmember added everything went back together pretty well. I always wondered what happened and when? Was anybody hurt? etc. Did the late '40s newspaper in the top indicate when the accident was? Was the truck fixed rather than scrapped because it was the war years and they needed transportation?