The Ford Barn

Titan1225 · 11-17-2021, 09:15 PM

Could a late model 1931 have come with a model B engine?? It only has 12K miles total so seems unlikely that it needed an engine change! Doug

Incognito-A · 11-17-2021, 10:49 PM

Wow! 12k… how is that verified?

Are you sure it is a B engine? Maybe it has a B head.

Post some pics please.

Titan1225 · 11-17-2021, 11:56 PM

Yes I am sure it has a B engine! I've been a mechanic for 65 years!!!!!

Randy in ca · 11-18-2021, 12:43 AM

I believe that the last Model A's (cars anyways - not sure about trucks) were assembled in March 1932 when the first Model B engines were also starting to roll out, so could maybe be possible. What's the number on the engine?

nkaminar · 11-18-2021, 08:01 AM

Where are you located? I sold an AA truck many years ago with a B engine. Only because someone gave me the B engine. Does the cab have bullet holes in it going from the inside out? I was in central California at the time.

Keith True · 11-18-2021, 08:42 AM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Miles don't mean too much compared to age.A fire dept a couple of towns over has an A truck with less than 6000 miles.Word of mouth,passed down from father to son volunteer firemen,says it is on it's third engine.Two were from freeze cracking,and one from inhaling too much dirt.It spent hundreds of hours parked on a sandy beach pumping water for the town during a drought.You never know what happened in the last 90 years.Back in the 70's I took a low mile speedo out of a fire truck and put it in my coupe.I wasn't selling it,I wasn't looking to make it look like it had low miles,the speedo just had perfect numbers and face.I put my old one in the fire truck,it is still in there and working today.

rotorwrench · 11-18-2021, 09:03 AM

The engine serial number would tell the information if it is still mated to a B or BB clutch housing . Ford started with model AB engine production in late November of 1931. The B engines all started life with a new clutch housing to accommodate the new transmissions used in 1932 production.

Ford made the Model A and AA engines up into November of 1931 for production but none were produced at the Rouge after the Model B started production that same month. Ford outsourced the castings for the Model A type engine and built them on a separate line clear up to 1941. They started using model B cam components in august of 1932 so that they wouldn't have to manufacture two separate assemblies.

A lot depends on the serial number of your truck as to whether it may have a B engine but those first B engines were AB or AAB prefix till April of 1932. The number were not on the engine but only on the flywheel housing.

There is so much water under the bridge since that time, it would be hard to prove one way or the other but the truck would have to be a very late 1931 to have even considered whether a B engine was installed at manufacture. This is a good link for numbers.
http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/ABenginenumbers.htm#C1

Titan1225 · 11-19-2021, 12:50 PM

Well--Here are the numbers on the side of the block---5214937-- No STARS BEFORE OR AFTER & NO AA OR BB. Maybe the engine was an up grade !! The transmission ( 4 speed) appears to have a bellhousing attached to it. Doug

Bob C · 11-19-2021, 01:48 PM

That's a May 1933 number.

Charlie Stephens · 11-19-2021, 03:10 PM

Titan, How do you identify a Model B engine? Any chance that the truck is actually a .32? How about some pictures?

Charlie Stephens

Titan1225 · 11-19-2021, 04:00 PM

Charlie--Thanks for your response. It has a model A Cab on the truck & the title says it is a 1931 AA Ford. It has very low miles. Doug

Titan1225 · 11-19-2021, 04:05 PM

Charlie--Also the oil pan is dimpled for the larger diameter connecting rod bolts, it has a fuel pump, a model B head & water pump, etc. Bob (From above post)--I would say even though it has low miles that the engine must have been changed sometime in its past!!! Doug

rotorwrench · 11-19-2021, 04:29 PM

My Pop had multiple harvest trucks over his life time and we didn't really put a lot of mileage on them but we hauled a lot of heavy loads over the years. They were mostly used during harvest and several times during the year for hauling grain that had been stored on the farm and for hauling livestock to market. Fleet vehicles are generally a different story so it depends on what it was used for.

We never had any warranty problems with the trucks when they were new or problems within 4 or 5 years of new but I've seen other trucks with engine troubles in the area where I grew up in Kansas. Things happen no matter how well a person takes care of their equipment.

The AA truck's transmission and clutch housing will bolt right up to a B engine. It looks like someone purchased a new or good used engine to replace a problem engine at some point.

Charlie Stephens · 11-19-2021, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan1225

Charlie--Thanks for your response. It has a model A Cab on the truck & the title says it is a 1931 AA Ford. It has very low miles. Doug

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan1225

Charlie--Also the oil pan is dimpled for the larger diameter connecting rod bolts, it has a fuel pump, a model B head & water pump, etc. Bob (From above post)--I would say even though it has low miles that the engine must have been changed sometime in its past!!! Doug

Sounds like you are looking at all of the right things. Does the fuel run down from the tank and then through the pump?

Charlie Stephens

Titan1225 · 11-19-2021, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie Stephens

Sounds like you are looking at all of the right things. Does the fuel run down from the tank and then through the pump?

Charlie Stephens

Charlie--The fuel pump is not used & the carburetor is normal gravity feed from the tank! Doug

rotorwrench · 11-20-2021, 08:48 AM

Folks just put a block off plate on the pump pad when putting them in an A.

11-17-2021, 09:15 PM	#1
Titan1225 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 6	1931 model AA truck Could a late model 1931 have come with a model B engine?? It only has 12K miles total so seems unlikely that it needed an engine change! Doug

11-17-2021, 10:49 PM	#2
Incognito-A Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Left Coast Posts: 211	Re: 1931 model AA truck Wow! 12k… how is that verified? Are you sure it is a B engine? Maybe it has a B head. Post some pics please.

11-17-2021, 11:56 PM	#3
Titan1225 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 6	Re: 1931 model AA truck Yes I am sure it has a B engine! I've been a mechanic for 65 years!!!!!

11-18-2021, 12:43 AM	#4
Randy in ca Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,640	Re: 1931 model AA truck I believe that the last Model A's (cars anyways - not sure about trucks) were assembled in March 1932 when the first Model B engines were also starting to roll out, so could maybe be possible. What's the number on the engine?

11-18-2021, 08:01 AM	#5
nkaminar Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 3,898	Re: 1931 model AA truck Where are you located? I sold an AA truck many years ago with a B engine. Only because someone gave me the B engine. Does the cab have bullet holes in it going from the inside out? I was in central California at the time. __________________ A is for apple, green as the sky. Step on the gas, for tomorrow I die. Forget the brakes, they really don't work. The clutch always sticks, and starts with a jerk. My car grows red hair, and flies through the air. Driving's a blast, a blast from the past.

11-18-2021, 08:42 AM	#6
Keith True Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Epping N.H. Posts: 2,983	Re: 1931 model AA truck Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Miles don't mean too much compared to age.A fire dept a couple of towns over has an A truck with less than 6000 miles.Word of mouth,passed down from father to son volunteer firemen,says it is on it's third engine.Two were from freeze cracking,and one from inhaling too much dirt.It spent hundreds of hours parked on a sandy beach pumping water for the town during a drought.You never know what happened in the last 90 years.Back in the 70's I took a low mile speedo out of a fire truck and put it in my coupe.I wasn't selling it,I wasn't looking to make it look like it had low miles,the speedo just had perfect numbers and face.I put my old one in the fire truck,it is still in there and working today.

11-18-2021, 09:03 AM	#7
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,422	Re: 1931 model AA truck The engine serial number would tell the information if it is still mated to a B or BB clutch housing . Ford started with model AB engine production in late November of 1931. The B engines all started life with a new clutch housing to accommodate the new transmissions used in 1932 production. Ford made the Model A and AA engines up into November of 1931 for production but none were produced at the Rouge after the Model B started production that same month. Ford outsourced the castings for the Model A type engine and built them on a separate line clear up to 1941. They started using model B cam components in august of 1932 so that they wouldn't have to manufacture two separate assemblies. A lot depends on the serial number of your truck as to whether it may have a B engine but those first B engines were AB or AAB prefix till April of 1932. The number were not on the engine but only on the flywheel housing. There is so much water under the bridge since that time, it would be hard to prove one way or the other but the truck would have to be a very late 1931 to have even considered whether a B engine was installed at manufacture. This is a good link for numbers. http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/ABenginenumbers.htm#C1

11-19-2021, 12:50 PM	#8
Titan1225 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 6	Re: 1931 model AA truck Well--Here are the numbers on the side of the block---5214937-- No STARS BEFORE OR AFTER & NO AA OR BB. Maybe the engine was an up grade !! The transmission ( 4 speed) appears to have a bellhousing attached to it. Doug

11-19-2021, 01:48 PM	#9
Bob C Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: So Cal Posts: 8,741	Re: 1931 model AA truck That's a May 1933 number.

11-19-2021, 03:10 PM	#10
Charlie Stephens Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Southern California Posts: 7,030	Re: 1931 model AA truck Titan, How do you identify a Model B engine? Any chance that the truck is actually a .32? How about some pictures? Charlie Stephens

11-19-2021, 04:00 PM	#11
Titan1225 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 6	Re: 1931 model AA truck Charlie--Thanks for your response. It has a model A Cab on the truck & the title says it is a 1931 AA Ford. It has very low miles. Doug

11-19-2021, 04:05 PM	#12
Titan1225 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 6	Re: 1931 model AA truck Charlie--Also the oil pan is dimpled for the larger diameter connecting rod bolts, it has a fuel pump, a model B head & water pump, etc. Bob (From above post)--I would say even though it has low miles that the engine must have been changed sometime in its past!!! Doug Last edited by Titan1225; 11-19-2021 at 04:17 PM.

11-19-2021, 04:29 PM	#13
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,422	Re: 1931 model AA truck My Pop had multiple harvest trucks over his life time and we didn't really put a lot of mileage on them but we hauled a lot of heavy loads over the years. They were mostly used during harvest and several times during the year for hauling grain that had been stored on the farm and for hauling livestock to market. Fleet vehicles are generally a different story so it depends on what it was used for. We never had any warranty problems with the trucks when they were new or problems within 4 or 5 years of new but I've seen other trucks with engine troubles in the area where I grew up in Kansas. Things happen no matter how well a person takes care of their equipment. The AA truck's transmission and clutch housing will bolt right up to a B engine. It looks like someone purchased a new or good used engine to replace a problem engine at some point. Last edited by rotorwrench; 11-19-2021 at 04:40 PM.

11-20-2021, 08:48 AM	#16
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,422	Re: 1931 model AA truck Folks just put a block off plate on the pump pad when putting them in an A.