Top Truck

Nineteen thirty-seven was a very good year. Production of US cars, at 3.93 million, was the best since the peak year of 1929, and trucks, at 891,016 even surpassed the earlier year's record. Particularly significant was Ford's tally, first place among truck manufacturers.

The 1937 Ford trucks were not revolutionary. The sheet metal was basically the same as 1936, but with a blunted grille shell and a split windshield. The major changes were under the skin, where the new chassis frame for passenger cars was adopted by the light trucks, along with cable-operated brakes and an updated 85 hp V8 engine. Also new was an optional 60 hp V8, a 136 cubic inch unit available in Standard passenger cars and nearly all trucks.

I've always liked 1937 Ford trucks, mainly because of the grille that's "softer" than the 1936 item. For 1938-39, Ford trucks got a new cab as well as a new "barrel front" grille. I don't care for those as much, finding the new grille too bold. Sales in 1938 dropped to a post-1934 low, as a new recession took hold.

I stumbled across this '37 Ford pickup at Hershey last month. Basically complete, it looked like it had been slumbering in a swamp. The engine looked inert, and the body was rotten. I couldn't tell whether the sagging was due to cab rot or a broken frame. There was no price evident, but it was clearly a project only for the stout-hearted, even with a spare cab included.