1931 express bed

[rollingsculpture]

hey guys i need an opinion ,i have an opp to purchase an express bed has normal coating of rust but looks all together there and no rust through from what i see it is also including an extra tailgate ,it is 2 thousand miles away so i will need to get it shipped any ideas on that? i need to think, is it worth the cost by the time i buy it and ship it ,the bed is 1500 bucks so it will run me about 2500 bucks i figure if shipping is 1k. is it worth it? i have a 31 near me that im going to purchase which does not have a bed of any sort so i was thinking to use it for that so by the time i put the two together i will have spent about 4k . the truck is decent with normal patch panels needed, the engine has already been rebuilt and is a numbers matching truck .

[russ]

Just noticed this evening that one of the usual suppliers,(maybe more) sell complete all steel repop truck beds assembled for $1800 including tailgate . Don't know anything about it, may not be compatible or whatever. Cheaper, and none of the usual rust.
Best, russ

[Jared275]

rollingsculpture,
Where is it shipping from? I have a friend who hauls for me and could ask him for a quote. He is good at what he does and cheap.
Regards,
Jared

[rollingsculpture]

northern california to the washington dc

[Neil Wilson]

The '31 SWB and LWB 195-A and 197-A express bodies are basically lots of wood with metal clad on the outside. The flares are separate parts (metal clad wood) supported by stamped steel brackets on the external sides of the body. Not many of these trucks are found. I try to identify each one I hear about (11 counting mine). This includes two '32's and a '34. So, if you want a unique Ford sold cargo body, it sounds like it is well worth the $2500.

I know of two 89-A express bodies which were just sold for $2200 and one has a fair amount of rust out at the lower body and I have not hear the condition of the other yet. While the 89-A is very hard to find. the 195-A and 197-A express bodies are much harder.

How about posting some pictures of the body please.

Attached is a picture of mine. I spend considerable time and $'s just having the flares made (missing in the pictures). And the support brackets which were missing (front) or cut off (rear) were made by a friend with the '34 express. So, I now have all of the metal for the body.

[Chris Haynes]

Just noticed this evening that one of the usual suppliers,(maybe more) sell complete all steel repop truck beds assembled for $1800 including tailgate . Don't know anything about it, may not be compatible or whatever. Cheaper, and none of the usual rust.
Best, russ

I would like to know who is reproducing AA Express beds. They are completely different then Model A beds.

[rollingsculpture]

hmm i just noticed the pic i have of a 30 exp has fender wells does this mean the one in rust is for a 28-29?

[Chris Haynes]

hmm i just noticed the pic i have of a 30 exp has fender wells does this mean the one in rust is for a 28-29?

No, It means that it is for a TT not an AA.

[rollingsculpture]

Damn!! i saw a TT bed at Hershey with some rust through for 500 bucks, the guys from colorado he was on chocolate field . oh well .....still looking.

[Chris Haynes]

I picked up a later Express Bed. Neither AA or TT so it must be an early V8. Does anybody have photos of post 1931's with the Express Bed so I can figure out what this one is?

[modeleh]

Chris,
Club member TomH has a '32 Express he posted a pic of awhile back. The link is below, or in the thread "Need Some Help" in the Discussion Forum. These express boxes sure look good on the AAs, it seems everyone wants one. I will have to be satisfied with the TT one that I have, and be envious of all you guys with "correct" express boxes.

http://forums.aa-fords.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1511

[Neil Wilson]

rollingsculpture,
I just noticed the pictures at the top of the thread. It is a TT express body (and both tail gates). It looks like the bottom (below the side curves and bottom 4" of the front panel) is mostly gone. This bottom area needs to be replace (along with the three cross members) to simulate an 89-A AA express (start of production through 1930). All 89-A's have the wheel wells (no TT has them).

How much is the asking price???

Chris,
I posted a picture of my '31 express body (missing the flares) above. This express body was the Ford express into 1934 based on my research. Attached is Keith Ernst 195-A.

[TomH]

According to a book titled "Ford Trucks from 1905" by James K. Wagner, the body on our 32 BB is a BB195 Standard Express. There were an unbelievable amount of different bodies for the old trucks. This book also states " Continued into 1933 without appreciable change were Fords Express bodies. Most popular was the Open Express (BB-195). No mention of them for 1934. Also of interest is the Large Standard Express Type BB 197 to fit the 157 inch BB chassis. That was one big pickup truck.
Our truck looks very similar to Keith's 31. The front of our body was shortened to add a hoist.
Tom H

[Neil Wilson]

The book titled "Ford Trucks from 1905" by James K. Wagner is incorrect. It shows the 195-A and 197-A as 1930 cargo bodies. The Ford archive photographs used in the book are from late 1930 but show pre-production versions of these express bodies.

The 195-A and 197-A express bodies did not start production until 1931. The body type designations were changed to BB195 and BB197 starting in 1932. The only difference in '32 was the location of the body bolts.

The Ford Model AA Truck club shows at least one member with two 1932 express truck and one member with a 1934 express truck. There are few of these bodies that have survised due to the wood cross sills and wood floor and the interior wood lined metal sides.

The bottom line is that the 1931 express bodies are nothing like the prior 1927 through 1930 express bodies (similar to the TT express).

[Chris Haynes]

This is the bed I am trying to identify. It is very different than a AA or TT bed.