aa-fords.com

The following email was sent to us by Ron Rigby : rwrigby@telusplanet.net

I'm posting it here in case anybody has leads for them:



Greetings from the Stampede City Model A Ford Club (SCMAFC) in Calgary, Canada Gents,

Per the attached photo we have been working on an AA as a Club project for several years. To date, the chassis and cab are essentially complete and we have acquired and are currently working on an Express style box for it, - - all of course, excepting for a few parts, courtesy of manhours and parts that have been donated from within the Club. (Photo Attached).

We had not known of the existence of your Model AA Club until a Club member recently noticed it listed in the Specialty area of the Club Roster that appears in the Restorer so we thought that someone in your organization just might have a pair of rear fenders that would fit an AA with an Express type box.

We are also in need of a set of long running boards and splash pans but we do have the option of manufacturing these utilizing short ones if we need to. It is more difficult to fabricate fenders however and in that regard we are wondering if you could contact your various members on our behalf to ask if any of them just might have a pair of AA Express rear fenders excess to their own needs?

Thank you kindly on behalf of the Stampede City Club's AA Project Committee. Ron.

I bought my Express Body fenders at Hershey. I had been looking for a pair for over 20 years so i gladly paid the $900.00 cost.

Try Howell's in Texas for long aprons.

Hello Ron,
I note that your request has been put on the AA-Forums site. So, I will be posting this information on the site for all to see.

I have added you to my "Want List" for '30 AA rear fenders. Please note that I have never seen any '30 AA rear fenders (for sale or otherwise). These fenders were only used for the last half of 1930 and are unique to the express body. I have copied John Charlton in England on this e-mail. He may have a pair of these fenders (I can't remember for sure). Shipping will be a problem for England.

Prior to mid '30, the express used the '28/'29 style rear fenders. These fenders can be modified to fit the '30/'31 AA long splash aprons. Your truck has a '30/'31 cab and '30/'31 front fenders. This requires the '30/'31 long running boards and the '30/'31 long splash aprons which connect to the front fender splash aprons currently on your truck.

You are welcome to place an ad in the April 2008 newsletter for the parts you need. Just send the exact wording for the ad by February 15, 2008 to my e-mail address.

The express body shown in your picture is a TT express body. This body will need modification or adapting to fit the AA frame. If you do not convert it to be like the AA express (with tapered sills), then there will be problems using original mounting hardware, the rear fender brackets, and rear fender spacers. Since the center stake pocket is the wrong length for the AA express, the pocket would need to be shortened or the rear fenders notched to fit around the pocket.

The first picture attached shows the side of an 89-A. Note that it has a short center stake pocket above the wheel well.

The second picture shows a side view with a '28/'29 rear fender. Some of the original mounting hardware can be seem. The forged steel, rear fender bracket can be seen.

The third picture shows a rear fender spacer. Original mounting hardware and rear fender spacers will not fit a TT express with parallel sills (tapered sills are needed). The forged steel rear fender bracket will also not fit a TT express. However, there is a stamped steel rear fender bracket which bolts to the frame and would be the most appropriate for your '30 truck.

The fourth pictures shows an inside view of an AA express showing the tapered sills and three cross members.[attachment=0]x11-11-06 left rear fender b.jpg[/attachment]

Here is the first picture which didn't make the note above.

The Canadian parts book I have shows a few part numbers for rear fenders for a AA 30 or 31

I have been checking in on the Stampede A's website for quite awhile now, viewing the progress with their AA. It will be a really nice truck. A good website with lots of nice touring shots throughout Alberta. I am working on a similar AA truck, and through joining this club (which I found by an internet search for AAs), and through Neil Wilson's wonderful articles in the newsletter, to my disappointment I found out that my express box is really a TT box.
I sent the Stampede club a friendly email about a year ago explaining the differences in the TT and AA boxes which I had learned here. I received no response from them, to which I figured either my email wasn't received or they weren't willing to accept that they may have the wrong box.
The seemingly impossible task of finding the correct rear fenders for this application combined with the fact that one must modify the TT box and tailgate in order to make it appear like an AA box has helped me decide that I will not try to pass my truck off as an "AA Express" rather an AA with a TT box. The TT fenders are fairly easy to make as they don't have the same edge countours and "rear ducktail" for lack of a better description. I purchased a rough TT express fender through Hemmings which I made two copies of, as the left and right fenders are essentially the same except the stake pocket cutout is switched. If anyone is interested I can take photos and measurements.

I searched for my first AA express truck for about 10 years before I even saw one. I could quickly see the major differences. And, after study found many minor differences. Given the lack of correct information and the amount of incorrect information about the TT and AA express bodies, it is not supprising that many AA'ers end up with a TT body and get it to a restoration point of no return (i.e. too late for the restorer willing to make sheet metal changes for the TT to AA conversion).

I know of at least one TT express which was converted to an AA in every detail. So, it is doable! The wheel wells is the hardest in my opinion. The wheel wells are really not needed but are a very obvious difference.

The TT express bodies seem to be fairly easy to find. Changing the sills from parallel to tapered means replacing the bottom (below the side curves). So, a TT express which is rusted out in these areas is no big deal since it need replacement anyway. This is the most important conversion needed to allow the body to rest on the AA tapered frame and use original mounting hardware.

I am in the process of building a January 1928 AA express truck. The express body will have the early center stake pockets and AA rear fender with cut outs for the pockets (see attached pictures). I have yet to see an original early AA rear fender with the cutout. If anyone has one, pictures would be great.

I bought some door replacement panels from Howell's. They were made incorrectly and are unusable. Many E mails to Howell's have remained unanswered. Beware of Howell's. They only talk to you when they think they can get your money.