My New Truck

[blgitn]

I bought the funeral car from Ontario. It arrived this week. It came from Kansas before that.
I think it's a 275-A, but I'm not positive. It has wooden sills and door frames. The front shocks are still there, the rears are gone, but you can see where they were mounted and some of the link hardware is still there.
It's sporting a replacement A engine with a 10/38 serial number, according to the Model A Garage, and it should have a "B" cam. It is not marked as a diamond block. I'm hoping I find a counterbalanced crank when I drop the pan !!
I will use it as a truck while I locate enough pieces to start assembling a funeral car; those front opening side doors may be a challenge!
I will be happy to chase any leads any of you will share for parts or information.
R/ Roger.

[al's28/33]

Wow great project keep us posted!!

[Dave Mellor NJ]

I see you have the hard to find big hub wire wheels and the stainless AA shell.

[Mike V. Florida]

I thought this was a 275A?

[Tudortomnz]

Unusual find : lots of work to get it back to an Ambulance/ Hearse.
Rare to see the deluxe AA s/s shell & Lincoln wires used on this model .

[blgitn]

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Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

I thought this was a 275A?

Mike,
Yes. It'll take a bit to get back to, but that's what I think it started life as.
R /Roger.

[blgitn]

Originally Posted by forever4

Actually those are not Lincoln wire wheels. They are AA unique wires with the separate snap ring rim.

The Lincoln wires are all drop center rims, just like regular Model A, except on steroids. I have some spare Lincoln wires, but I don't think I have any pics on the computer.
p.s. Also, a funeral home in Dearborn still has any original 1931 AA Hearse in its fleet.

Forever4,

Do you have any contact info for that funeral home?

R/ Roger.

[Bob C]

Here are some pictures I have. The last picture
may be the one Vince mentioned.

Bob

[pgerhardt]

I went to a cruse night yesterday in New Milford CT. There were only three model A Fords there (picture 1). One was a very nice all black 29 coupe. I did not have the heart to tell the proud owner that an all black coupe was not offered in 29. I just complemented him on the very nice finish.
However there was a cadillac hearse there, It made for a very interesting and CREEPY display that drew a lot of attention! (pictures 2 & 3)

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by blgitn

Forever4,

Do you have any contact info for that funeral home?

R/ Roger.

Querfeld Funeral Home, Inc.
1200 Oakwood Blvd.
Dearborn, Michigan 48124

Phone: (313) 561-0002
Fax: 313.561.1695

[Eckler's]

Very Cool

[blgitn]

Excellent! Thanks Mike!

R/ Roger.

[WTSHNN]

Other than anecdotal oral history how does one confirm this is a Funeral Coach versus a Police Patrol or Ambulance? I believe everything from the doors forward was the same with the exception of the Police Patrol having a cabinet above the windshield.

The wire wheels were available on all those vehicles.

The side door was also available on the Ambulance.

Also of note is the pictures posted above from then Elliot Museum are of an ambulance, not the Funeral Coach.

-Tim

[CarlG]

Ambulance is a 280A
That was my very first "vehicle" in 1955. It had the forward opening rear doors on both sides.

[d.j. moordigian]

Originally Posted by forever4

Actually those are not Lincoln wire wheels. They are AA unique wires with the separate snap ring rim.

The Lincoln wires are all drop center rims, just like regular Model A, except on steroids. I have some spare Lincoln wires, but I don't think I have any pics on the computer.
p.s. Also, a funeral home in Dearborn still has any original 1931 AA Hearse in its fleet.

Vince,...do you have a good photo of the hub cap? Also a measurement..
Thanks...Dudley

[CarlG]

Rumor has it that the 32-35 v8 hubcaps fit those wheels. I never had a chance to confirm or deny that while I had my 280A.

[blgitn]

Originally Posted by WTSHNN

Other than anecdotal oral history how does one confirm this is a Funeral Coach versus a Police Patrol or Ambulance? I believe everything from the doors forward was the same with the exception of the Police Patrol having a cabinet above the windshield.

The wire wheels were available on all those vehicles.

The side door was also available on the Ambulance.

Also of note is the pictures posted above from then Elliot Museum are of an ambulance, not the Funeral Coach.

-Tim

Tim,
Well,..I don't know. I'm sure there's no cabinet above the windshield. There's still upholstery up there. It seems like the present back of the cab was originally a partition with a screened window on the passenger side covered by a sliding cover. The interior rear view mirror is mounted on the passenger side too. It has wooden sills and door frames, and a bench type seat riser and springs. Can you shed any light on how I can tell what it might have been?
R/ Roger.

[blgitn]

Carl,
Can you recall any details of your 280-A that might help me ID the original body of my vehicle?
R/ Roger

[CarlG]

Gee Roger, It's been over 50 years! I do remember though that the back of the cab (B pillar) was quite a bit wider than the front of the cab (A pillar). The driver's door had an indent where the spare tire would hit it. And the back of the cab did have a window that separated the cab from the rear of the vehicle. On the back side of that partition were a bunch of hardwood cabinets, and on the right hand side of the vehicle under the long window toward the back was a fold-down bench seat that was probably 5 feet long or so. The back doors opened from the middle outward, and it had those wrap around rear bumpers unlike like the pictures shown here. The headlight buckets and radiator shell were all stainless as well.

Wish I could remember more.

[Bob C]

Originally Posted by CarlG

Gee Roger, It's been over 50 years! I do remember though that the back of the cab (B pillar) was quite a bit wider than the front of the cab (A pillar). The driver's door had an indent where the spare tire would hit it. And the back of the cab did have a window that separated the cab from the rear of the vehicle. On the back side of that partition were a bunch of hardwood cabinets, and on the right hand side of the vehicle under the long window toward the back was a fold-down bench seat that was probably 5 feet long or so. The back doors opened from the middle outward, and it had those wrap around rear bumpers unlike like the pictures shown here. The headlight buckets and radiator shell were all stainless as well.

Wish I could remember more.

Like this

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Bob C

Like this

yep, I missed that one. some of the other pictures had none or something different.

[blgitn]

Thanks Carl, that does help. I don't have the glass window, Mine has a metal mesh screen.
Tim's question's got me thinking too; do I see my screen in this 290-A Standard police patrol? Look through the first port hole window.
Did the 285-A Deluxe Police Patrol have the same screen?
My doors and sills are wood; does that indicate a Murray instead of Briggs body?

[WTSHNN]

"Between the front and rear compartments is a partition with a window covered by a wire screen."



I'm gonna say you have a 285-A Deluxe Police Patrol. Is there any sort of indication that a cabinet was mounted above the windshield? Was allegedly designed to store shotguns.

I don't have the pictures of the interior of the police patrol on this computer but when I get home I can find them and post.

-Tim

[WTSHNN]

Just found these pictures of your truck that I got off the internet a few years back. At that time it was being advertised as a former Police Patrol.





-Tim

[blgitn]

Tim,

That's it all right! I'll check for signs of the shotgun case tonight. That's a great ad. Do you have one for the standard patrol too?

R/ Roger.

[Bob C]

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The Book "Ford Truck Owner" by A.G. McMillan Has pictures and information
on the funeral coach,ambulance, standard and deluxe police patrol and all
the other Ford trucks.

Bob

[WTSHNN]

There is another Deluxe Police Patrol pamphlet and another pamphlet that advertises both the Deluxe and Standard.

-Tim

[blgitn]

Well, I can see where there was a case/cabinet above the windshield! I guess I have 1 of 41 Deluxe Police Patrols!
Thanks to Tim and all who posted to help figure this out. Next I'll try to find some body drawings and illustrations.
Thanks again!

R/ Roger.

[WTSHNN]

It could have been a deluxe or a standard as the deluxe wheels and bumpers were an option on the standard and I have seen era pictures of a standard with such features.

I would be interested in seeing some pictures of the remnants of the cabinet and partition.

The only extant police patrol I know of is in the Elliot museum in Stuart, Florida.

A guy made a reproduction of a standard police patrol in the late 80's. It was on the cover of the Sept/Oct 1993 Model A News.

-Tim

[blgitn]

Tim,

If that's the case, I'm leaning towards the Standard model. It is described in the brochure as 'outside of steel with inside of wood'. Mine has wooden sills and door frames. The Deluxe is described as 'the body is of steel'.
What do you all think?

R/ Roger.

[Bob C]

You have the side mount spare and indented door like the deluxe.

Bob

[WTSHNN]

Good point, Bob. Just looked through all my pictures and don't see any examples of a Standard with the sidemount.

-Tim

[blgitn]

Oh; So in 1931 I could have ordered a Standard with optional wire wheels, but I wouldn't get the 'door dent' or fender-mounted spare, right?

R/ Roger.

[blgitn]

Brothers in Rust,
Happy Fathers Day.
My kids were over today helping to figure out what we have: The plot thickens!!
After reviewing the "Green Bible" factory photos of the deluxe and standard police patrols, we notices that the deluxe has a small panel between the trailing edge of the door and the window panel, with an "S" shaped contour line. I thought if the panels wrapped around the partition on mine had that raised "S" pattern, that would clinch it. When we uncovered that piece, we found that the raised contour matches the photos of a panel delivery or funeral car (opposite direction of a police patrol) and is made of aluminum!
Below are pictures of the 'gun case above the windshield', 'partition with mesh screen over opening' and the panel (bent by a previous owner) with the opposite direction contour line.
I'm open to suggestions: Which body had aluminum panels? Could a Deluxe panel delivery have a partition with a mesh screen?

R/ Roger.

[blgitn]

It's a 285-A.

I followed some good advice and spent an hour with the April 32 parts book:

The wood-framed doors mean my truck can only be a 270, 275, 280, 285 or 300.
The bench seat riser and springs mean it can only be a 280 or a 285.
The wire screen in the partition means it can only be a 285.
The wire wheels, side-mounted spare and stainless radiator cover, cowl band and cowl lamps, and cabinet above the windshield supports this.

R/ Roger.

[SSsssteamer]

As a young kid in the 40's, a funeral home in Oak Harbor, Washington had one of those wired wheel hearses, it was just like new. It would sit for months without being used. Eventually neighbor Sherman Porter chopped the mint body off to make a flat bed truck out of it. His grandson Gene Porter and I learned to drive it around in the fields. It was low mileage ,and I always wanted to buy it from them. Eventually it disappeared. Memories.

[blgitn]

Originally Posted by CarlG

Rumor has it that the 32-35 v8 hubcaps fit those wheels. I never had a chance to confirm or deny that while I had my 280A.

Carl,

The V8 caps don't fit; I tried over the weekend.

R/ Roger.

[Jeff in BC]

I just found this on E-Pay:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ford-Model-A-...item2353dfb149

Check out his other items, there are 5 Fords(?) in total.

Jeff