Ford Model AA camper (Registration VX6137).
Three emails received from Daniel Hudd in October 2018 contained a number of fascinating photographs, all of campervans/motorhomes that appear to have been hand-built by - or on behalf of - a gent seeking a comfortable bespoke motorhome for holiday travel following WW2. The two images shown here are of a late 1920s, or early 1930s, camper based on a Ford Model AA truck. The registration is VX 6137, an Essex series that ran from 1929 to 1931.
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The metalwork at the front end, namely the radiator surround, bonnet, and front wings are original Ford panels. From the scuttle rearwards though is all coachbuilt, with a large two-piece windscreen and smaller sections of glazing offering a reasonable view out from the driver's seat - clearly from the days before curved glass became commonplace on road vehicles. A large "jerry" fuel can is located ahead of the passenger door on the RHD Ford. The first photograph dates to 1958 and was taken in Oban, Scotland. Note the two-tone paint finish.
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The second photograph was taken in Ullapool, again in Scotland, although here the date hasn't been recorded. The paint scheme has altered slightly on the rear side panels of the Model AA, presumably after a refresh of its paintwork.
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Where is VX 6137 now?
Amazingly - and happily - VX 6137 survives to this day, Daniel pointed me to an online advertisement for the self-same vehicle in 2017! At that time, it was for sale in Suffolk. The listing advises that this is a 1929 Model AA, and now runs on either petrol or LPG. It started out in life as a 1.5 ton
lorry used by a Ford dealership in Chelmsford (hence the Essex registration) to deliver tractor parts. They undertook the camper conversion in
1949, and somehow it survived to the present day.
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The vehicle looks much as it did "back in the day", and is finished in a red/white combination which I think differs to how it was in the
old b&w photos shown here. It also now has a front bumper, but the remainder of the exterior looks much as it did in the late 1940s.
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Images hosted by Google show the camper at a number of classic vehicle events, in one it has a caravan in matching livery hitched to the rear.
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Hopefully the current owner of this eye-catching Ford will drop me a line, and provide an update on its life sixty-plus years after the above shots were taken in Scotland. My thanks to Daniel for ok'ing the photos' reproduction on OCC.
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Several Model AA Ford photos can be viewed in this section of the site. For example, this page features two photos of a Ford AA breakdown wagon, while two photos of other Model AAs - one in pieces - can be found here.
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Two other photo supplied by Daniel feature a wonderful pre-war Austin camper in them, they can now be found on this page, here at OCC.
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Return to Page 20 in the motoring photographs archive, or visit the main index here. This small collection of images also included a pair featuring a very rare Vauxhall Velox camper, a conversion performed by Martin Walter Ltd - they may be seen here. A separate scan features a camper based on a vintage Vauxhall, it can be found on this page.
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