for sale 1937 Ford Panel Truck

Matt Harwood · February 22, 2020

How awesome is this? Everyone here in the shop is in love with this awesome little Ford panel truck which also has a great story to tell. It's essentially a one-family-owned vehicle which was purchased new to deliver pretzels for H&H Pretzels back in 1937. It remained in the factory fleet for more than 80 years and enjoyed a comprehensive frame-off restoration back in the 1990s after which it was used for promotional events. It's wearing bright red livery and the lettering is just as it was in 1937, and details like the sidemounted spare and chrome "spider" wheel covers are just plain cool. Even with a restoration that's probably old enough to drink legally, it looks great and obviously hasn't been used much since it was finished. Doors close easily, the chrome shines up nicely, and aside from a little cloudiness in the rear window glass--which is original--it looks great. Inside there's a pair of black vinyl seats, which is a nice upgrade from the single bucket these trucks usually carried, and the gauges are the same as those found in the passenger cars so it feels familiar behind the wheel. There's an accessory Ford heater under the dash and obviously a huge cargo bay in back. Everything works, including the dome light in back. Up front there's an 85 horsepower Ford flathead V8 that was rebuilt when it was restored and runs great today. Easy start, quiet, smooth idle, and it drives well with surprising quickness for a truck. Details are well-done, including the unique multi-colored plug wires, correct carburetor and air cleaner, and Ford Green paint on the block. We just installed a brand new $800 radiator and a new battery, so it's ready to go. Ride quality is quite good for a truck, mostly because it's based on the passenger car chassis, and the brakes were upgraded to hydraulics during the restoration. Flashy Firestone whitewalls look good, but they're probably as old as the restoration and I think it would really work well with blackwalls.

I love this little truck and Melanie and I are both tempted to keep it. Unfortunately, we can't keep them all and if I'm going to have a truck, my heart is really set on a Full Classic wrecker so this one is reluctantly available for $32,900. Similar trucks have brought more at auction, and this one has the bonus of a great story and lots of documentation, including ration cards from WWII.

If you can't have fun with this, you should take up a different hobby. What an awesome little truck!