Ford Model A Roadster Pickup truck.
Model A Fords came in all shapes and guises, including but not limited to various different Saloons, Coupes, Tourers, Sport Coupes, Pickups and - the version shown below - the Roadster Pickup, one of the most desirable - and hard to find - versions today. It was known as the "Open Cab" Model A when new. They were all powered by Ford's dependable 3.3 litre sidevalve four-cylinder engine, although many that were sold new to Britain were fitted with a smaller displacement version of the same motor. Business users needing more carrying capacity than the Model A truck could instead opt for the beefed-up Model AA, which used the same engine and was available in a variety of different wheelbases, and a bewildering choice of body options.
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Rob was kind enough to allow me to share his old family photograph. Shown are his grandfather, at the wheel of the nearly-new Ford, with Rob's very young mum sat on her father's lap. He believes that the photo dates to about 1927 (his mother was born in 1923), the year that the Model A went on sale. He adds:
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"My mother was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1923. When she was 2 years old the family emmigrated to Vernon, British Columbia. They went into the dairy business amongst other ventures. They milked and marketed. This photo is my Mom as a youngster hanging out the window, and my Grandpa driving. I put it at about 1927, if that makes sense. His name was Robert Stockton, as you can see from the dairy logo on the box, and he was from Manchester. My Grandmother was a Campbell, and she was a 'pioneer', a 1919, woman, 'Registered Druggist and Chemist', both in Aberdeen, and London UK, and Kamloops BC."
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The pickup's rear load area cover is liveried with the dairy business' details, "Vernon City Dairy". Also interesting to note is the tailor-made cover fitted to the spare wheel. The Ford oval logo can be seen printed upon it, with an illegible legend just below it - possibly details of the supplying dealer.
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There was also a closed-cab version of the pickup truck, which is probably the one I'd go for given our climate. Most pickups of both types have of course been scrapped over the years. Commercial vehicles are usually worked very hard from day one, often resulting in them falling to pieces long before their saloon-car relations. Those that survive are fairly few in number. Many have been hot-rodded, with the usual very mixed results, leaving original examples both quite scarce, and therefore desirable.
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Other Model A content on Old Classic Car.
I was particularly pleased to receive this old photo, as until now I'd only had period shots of more common Model A Ford variants, such as the saloons, and tourers. They can be found on this page. A period photo of a van is on this page. A few examples of the larger AA truck may also be seen in this section of the site, for example: AA breakdown truck, and a couple of others on here.
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The interesting story of how a Model A came to be purchased in the early 1950s, and was heavily modified before being used for a tour of Europe, may be found on this page.
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Return to Page 19 in the photographic archive, or visit the main index here, where you'll find many more photos of early vehicles such as this.
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