1972coronet Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Around town here ( Murrieta , Ca. ) , a local merchant has a "1941" Ford panel van . I put the alleged year in quotes because that's they year he told me the vehicle was ---- but it didn't look like a 1939-1941 model ! Instead , it had "perched" headlamps like the pre-1939 models . I have no idea what the heck this thing is ! It's definitely a heavy duty model ; 8-lug wheel retainers (with more modern , plain steel wheels -- no split-rim wheels) ; looks as though it's based upon an F2 or F3 chassis (yes , I realise that that nomenclature wasn't applied until the 1946 model year ) ; one-piece hood , etc. , etc. The main body looks like a raised-roof version of the typical sedan delivery , and definitely looks factory-produced . An internet search has turned up absolutely nothing about this vehicle ! Unfortunately , I couldn't take an photos of it as my phone was dead , otherwise I'd post some pics of this "mysterious" sedan-panel-delivery-van . Anyone have any idea what that model is called ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Haigwood Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 (edited) Maybe it is a Panel Truck rather than a Panel Van the body style is not the same. I found this photo on google but it there was little info on it Edited July 6, 2019 by Jon Haigwood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 EXACTLY ! That's it ! It has the same mirrors and emblems as the 2nd photo , too ! For the life of me , I cannot find a thing on the internet about these things --- even the go-to Wikipedia didn't show anything on them . I wanted to ask the owner of the one that I saw some questions about it , but he was in a hurry to get back to his store . I could ascertain that it wasn't completely stock ; I saw an aftermarket trans cooler , steel wheels , and what looked like a V8 under that ornate bonnet . Thanks much , Jon and Dan ! I hope to find out more about these ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Maybe its a difference between light duty and heavier duty...like how today we have F150s and Super Dutys with different styling. The red one is listed as a 'panel delivery truck', and has the front clip like a '41 Ford pickup. The grubby one is listed as a '1 1/2 ton panel truck'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Haigwood Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 3/4 ton truck https://www.google.com/search?q=41+ford+truck+3/4+ton&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxzsuDjKHjAhUlPn0KHfPTCeoQ_AUIESgC&biw=1366&bih=663 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Prolly 1 of these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 4 hours ago, Greg Myers said: Prolly 1 of these Quite like that (sans the ridiculous wheels and rubber band tyres) , though its roof was considerably taller . Frankly , I was surprised to see perched headlamps on a post-1938 Ford Light-Duty truck . I wonder how the 'contemporary' (i.e. , not split-rim) wheels were adapted ? They still had the 8-retainer arrangement , but were wrapped with radial tyres ( Load range "E" ) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muncie Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Back before the government stepped in, a dealer could use the year a vehicle was sold for the model year on the title. A vehicle manufactured in 1939 could be titled and sold as a 1941 model year. I'm not sure if that is what happened here - and I'm not that familiar with the Fords in the question... You could be looking at something that Ford built with a different model year than how it's licensed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 (edited) As I said above, the 40-41 light duty trucks (1/2 ton) had the car-like styling like the red one I posted, and the heavier capacity ones had different styling with the light pods. Like how they have been split the last 20 years between F150 and Super Duty designs. As far as I can tell from googling pics, it seems this was unique to 40-41 model years, the '42-47 generation seems to have had the same styling between the light and heavier duty models, and likewise for the late 30s. Trying to find an article about them, but Wikipedia and other resources seem to have very little about prewar WWII Ford pickups. Edited July 7, 2019 by Rob Hall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 9 hours ago, Rob Hall said: As I said above, the 40-41 light duty trucks (1/2 ton) had the car-like styling like the red one I posted, and the heavier capacity ones had different styling with the light pods. Like how they have been split the last 20 years between F150 and Super Duty designs. Exactly --- sedan delivery (light duty) versus 'Job Rated' (medium-heavy duty) .panel vans . As far as I can tell from googling pics, it seems this was unique to 40-41 model years, the '42-47 generation seems to have had the same styling between the light and heavier duty models, and likewise for the late 30s. Other than the obvious gap-in-production between 12/1941 - 1945 model years ,the styles were rehashed / leftover proposals . Trying to find an article about them, but Wikipedia and other resources seem to have very little about prewar WWII Ford pickups. It is an *interesting* gap in info on Wikipedia , as their pages ostensibly "skip" the panel vans all-together , other than the passenger car-based light duty models . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 (edited) 37 minutes ago, 1972coronet said: The sedan delivery was car based, but there are two lines of panel trucks above it---light (red one in the previous pics I posted) and heavy duty variants. So for 40-41, Ford had 3 types of 'vans'---the car-based sedan delivery, the 1/2 ton truck-based panel, and the larger truck based panel. It's an interesting obscure topic...not sure if Chevy or other brands had such variations. These photos illustrate the differences in the 3 varieties. Car-based sedan delivery: Truck-based 1/2 ton panel: Truck-based 1 ton heavy duty panel: Edited July 7, 2019 by Rob Hall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 21 hours ago, 1972coronet said: EXACTLY ! That's it ! It has the same mirrors and emblems as the 2nd photo , too ! For the life of me , I cannot find a thing on the internet about these things --- even the go-to Wikipedia didn't show anything on them . I just googled "1941 Ford Panel." Glad I could help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 6 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said: I just googled "1941 Ford Panel." Glad I could help. Googling turns up photos, but not much in the way of narrative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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