Historical question: how many Ford dealers were out there in Model "A" days?

[ericr]

-surely it had to be in the tens of thousands, undoubtedly many of them competing with each other. but I know some went bankrupt or switched to GM/Chrysler during the changeover delay from T to A and again from A to V-8.

[Lincoln]

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I can not answer your specific question, and I do not know if Ford released that information during the Model A period. FORD NEWS would have probably been the best source of such "active Ford Dealers", but I have not seen it. Of course I did not review all FORD NEWS for 1928-31 as some issues were missing (and I have since sold my FORD NEWS collection).
The number of "active FORD Dealers" in the USA probably never exceeded about 10,000 for each of all years. This would be my guess based on figures published by Ford on other years, such as: " 13,992 Total World-Wide Dealers with 9,566 U.S.A. Dealers in July,1924". No doubt some Dealers went out of business - or began selling other makes- in 1928-29 while waiting for "THE NEW FORD", but their numbers were probably small. The Model T repair and the Fordson Tractor new- sales business were still active - particular for those smaller Dealers located in the smaller towns.
Ford Dealer representation varied according to which Branch Office they were under. For example: the Chicago Branch had 425 active dealers in 1924 which took in, not only Chicago proper, but many medium - to small - towns. Many of those were in rural areas; the Buffalo Branch had 300 Dealers in March 1930; and in 1938 the St. Louis "area" had 235 Dealerships alone.
It will be interesting to hear if anyone else chimes in with other information as your question is an interesting one.
Lincoln.