1928/1929/1930 Ford Stake bed Dually?

[Guest oilpan]

A freind of mine has a Ford Stake bed dually. The title says 1930 but a guy told her that its not a 1930, its a 1928 or 29. Do any of you guys have any ideas? Here are some photos.

Thanks, Art

[addicted to cars]

The first model A I owned was titled as a 30 and had the body of a 29. I was told that some of the early thirty models had 29 body's because Ford was trying to use up the last of the previous model year parts. Dont know if its true but that is what I was told.

[Layden B]

I once had a 1931 titled as a 1932, probably the date it was first sold. Many states did not go by vehicle model year but rather simply when you applied for registration. During the depression many cars and trucks sat for quite a while on dealers lots.

[Guest oilpan]

That coud very well explain it.

[jpage]

Your truck ,from the photos, seems to be a cobbled vehicle. It does seem to be a later 1929 truck because it has the Gemmer steering column that came out in Feb. '29 but the 5 hole Budd disc wheels weren't introduced until Oct. 1929. I see several "oddities" in the first photo that I question. The rear frame rails appear to be parallel to one another,a feature that did not appear until 1931; Model a commercial frame siderails were , to the best of my knowledge , one piece,the picture shows a larger frame riveted over the original frame to lengthen it,perhaps this was SOP on 157In WB ; the rear springs are not Model "AA" springs. Ford did not use an underslung spring and the rear hubs appear to be about 4 in.indiameter with hub bolts similar to modern rear ends. "AA hubs have a long conical axle hub with a single hex nut and hex cover. I think that someone along the line wanted a longer frame and faster rear gears so they added a part from another truck. More detailed photos could shed more light but this is what I see. If it is an original frame,the rear end and spring appear not to be! Many times these old trucks are altered and you must know what you are buying. It also has a four blade fan,while a popular "improvement"(or so thought) Ford did not use four blade fans in production. They were added later because people thought they would cool better! It was also a practice to title vehicles in the year they were sold,not manufactured, so you can have a new '29 car or truck titled as a 1930. Confuses alot of people who are not familiar with these vehicles. There were also "transition"vehicles, trucks built in early 1930 that will have some "29 parts mixed in. Usually left over bodies and sometimes lamps. It was Ford's practice to use up leftover parts on the commercial lines!

[MCHinson]

A lot of things could have been changed over the last 80 some years. Ford used parts until they were all used up, especially on commercial vehicles, so a 1929 Cab on a truck produced in 1930 would not be unusual. If the title says it is a 1930, then legally it is a 1930. What is the serial number on the Title? What is the engine serial number? Originally the engine number would have been used as the vehicle serial number. The serial number can identify the approximate date of production of the vehicle. If the title and the engine have the same number, it is relatively easy to date the vehicle from that number.

[Guest oilpan]

Thanks everyone. I'll look into all this. I appreciate all the help.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

I believe all early 30 trucks used the leftover 29 bodies till April or so. One way to tell is by the gas cap and radiator caps. They will have the quarter turn feature rather than the screw on style of 29. If it has this it is indeed an early 30. The dual wheels weren't available till later 30 but many trucks had them added

[Trulyvintage]

Very Cool Dually ....

Jim