I picked up this delivery truck last week. It was a bakery delivery truck owned by either the Davis or Perfection baking company of Los Angeles. I can't find any name inside, does anyone know who may have made this truck? Thanks.
Nice acquisition there, Kim !
OMG! A pull out!
The rails above the pull out indicate that there may have been a second pull out at one time.
Still a nice body.
Kim, that is a way cool truck. I've never seen one like that! It looks to me like they may have changed their mind about the maximum height of their driver and lifted the front about 6 inches!
Definitely one more tray, maybe two! Too bad the "Snap-On" logo washed away.
Terry
I love it!
I hope that you don't ruin it with paint.
Kim-
I have never seen a C-cab shaped like that.
I guess it is a 3-cab.
Is the skin steel?
Very nice.
-Keith
It looks to me like the roof was raised, perhaps to add interior space, creating the odd extra arch.
Simply wonderful. So nice of you to share the pictures of it.
Rich
Holding out on us eh...Where are all the pastries?
Nice truck..... even though you didn't share the doughnuts!
I think Jack P. is right. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if there were more than two pull-out drawers. Bakery goods are not very heavy and they don't stack well, so drawers would be a natural way to increase load capacity.
My dad still remembers and tells of riding in a very similar T bakery truck with his father (who owned a bakery in San Jose, CA) in the mid-1920's. I'll ask him if he remembers how it was set up.
I grew up with the Helms Bakery Trucks in the Los Angeles area that came to the house frequently. I remember the slide out draws like are shown in your pictures. Check out this article of one like yours. Great find.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C8skfysYOSw/UPyOAhHhdoI/AAAAAAAAYaY/-1uGLgUuOfU/s1600/DL_Truckin_MAY_1977_Helms.jpg
Here is a picture of the interior construction of the bakery truck. I am sure that the truck was originally constructed with the higher top. If you look inside the body, all the vertical ribs extend all the way to the top. There is hardware for a second pull out drawer. The skin is steel. The baking company that owned my truck did sell out to Helms, but all the information i have found states that the Helms baking company didn't start business until 1931, so its very unlikely my truck was ever a helms truck. Thanks you all for your comments.
Kim, it looks like Paul Helms started business in New York in 1914 before moving to Los Angeles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Helms
Kim:
The only thing I see that is kinda strange is that the entire skin is wood and then there is steel over the top of that. I wonder if the steel was added later over the wood and did the steel cover up any sort of mounting holes for a rear fender iron? If not then is the frame an early frame that would have possibly mounted the cast type bodybracket/butterfly fender bracket combo thing? I have seen that butterfly rear fender bracket used on some early truck bodies but Ford did not do it that way for their 1912 Delivery Car. I too think the body always had the shape it does with regard to roof line anyway. The steam bent top slat would have had to be lengthened and steam bent new again and all of that to gain a few inches doesn't seem likely. Are the holes in the top sides near the rear to ventilate the heat from the hot bread bakery items?
Did you look under and around the seat support wooden parts for any serial numbers or stamped in numbers or letters? That was a common place that serial numbers were placed and most bodies have at least a serial number if they were produced in any quantity at all. The thing is sure a heavy looking box with all the wood AND steel covering.
John, I did try to mount the finders that came with the body but they are not the original fenders to the car and wont work. I'll pull a piece of the metal off the side tomorrow and look further into how the rear fenders were mounted. The front seat riser is missing, that may have been where the sr. no. may have been. The body is real heavy, took 6 of us to pick it up.
I believe John is onto something. The fitting/application of the steel on the sides doesn't look to be the same quality as the woodwork of the body. The rear doors fit well and may be original, but the side panels are rather sloppy.
Mike/Kim:
I wonder if there might be some owner lettering on the sides of the truck underneath that steel. Ford used same thickness steel on Delivery Car bodies as they used on regular Touring and Roadster bodies during 1911/1912 but judging by the size of those side braces it would appear that this body covering was wood from the beginning since on my Delivery Car the vertical side supports aren't as wide or nearly as thick as those pictured on this thing.
I got up this morning and took the tin off. Definitely a bakery truck, and number 92. The blank space was a painted canvas sign. The remnants of the canvas are still visible on the front edge. there is not much of the seat support left as the front kick panel is gone. So if the manufacture did as Ford, and marked the body on top of the seat riser then i wont be able to tell much. Mike, the rear doors are only a metal covered wood frame, so i think they are original to the truck.
Kim - Of all the various "finds" I've seen on this forum, yours is certainly in the top 2 or 3! What do you plan to do? You have some choices. I guess what I'm curious about is if you're thinking of using the metal on the sides or the wood with perhaps a replica of the original canvas sign.
Whatever you do, it'll be a top notch T for sure!!
I can see why so many of this kind of working T didn't survive. They were simply used up. This is a really neat find. I look forward to seeing it come back to life Kim.
It makes me think of another working truck I saw on the C-4 tour this year from the Stroh's brewery.
Love these work truck Ts.
I bet that thing smelled like baked goods for many years after it was retired.......mmmmmmm
Maybe truck 95 has your bread tray since yours should be numbered 92 ha ha.
What does the other side reveal - anything more?
I forgot to mention that yes most original truck rear doors I have seen were made with wood frame and metal skin. Typically they had "guard" slats located from about mid door height to the bottom of the door to prevent the metal skin from being bent out by sliding cargo.
Although I do not know the maker of my delivery body either, there are some interesting similarities to yours, like the rear latch and the painting on the sides.
That body looks a lot like our old '12 Paddy Wagon body...
I think you can trace that rear door latch to Studebaker Horse drawn delivery wagons. I have seen it on those bodies and chased it for awhile until I found a rear picture of my Delivery Car and realized that it was not ever used by Ford.
I once had the remains of an early (possibly horse drawn) tank wagon that had a latch very similar to if not identical to that one. Dave
OMG! That Helms Bakery truck is my truck.
Fred,Could you copy that article for me.
I'm willing to pay for any expenses.
Please PM me to discuss it.
Thanks,
Mark
Kim, why are you selling your truck?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Model-T-none-Model-T-Ford-Bakery-Delivery-Truck-/29 0977863746?forcerrptr=true&hash=item43bfa1d842&item=290977863746&pt=US_Cars_Truc ks
I have enough projects to last me until the Father calls. My 09 needs to get finished and I've got 2 1903 Fords that I'd really like to get on the road. I'd like to do the bakery truck, but I don't see it happening, so its time to move it along. I really hope someone gets it who will keep it as original as possible.
Kim, aren't you the current caretaker of an original condition '10 touring? If so I would happily take over watching that gem so you could concentrate on the others..... ;)
Good luck on the auction. I love the untouched originals. Hopefully someone won't want to do a complete restoration on the delivery truck and we can see it back on the road someday with some fine tuning.
Craig