MTFCA Forum

There is a fellow in the Model A club writing a book on Model A pickup beds. He contacted me about Model T pickup beds. He found some information I wasn't aware of, and I'm looking for facts, not opinions. He found data that says Ford made 33,795 pickup beds in 1925. To me that seems a little extreme. Could it be possible that figure is 1925 and 1926 combined?

Could that include TT beds also?

Probably very close, remember that 1925 also includes 1926 model year & I would imagine beds themselves not with a new vehicle were sold to folks that wanted a bed for their older Ts. Just an opinion but I believe it was a strong probability. Best John

I recall reading somewhere that there was 33,*** +/- TT C-Cab Express trucks produced - I have my Gramps' 1924.

Here is a link to the MTFCA Encyclopedia page for 1925:

https://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1925.htm

Also, look at page 469 of Bruce's book, it details 1925 Truck production and then on page 471 it details 1926 production

33,795 Pickup Body for 1925
79,406 Pickup Body for 1926

33,795 Pickup beds appears to apply to TT trucks the way I read it. This # is in the Truck production section. The pickup bed being one of several options behind the open or closed cab.
Adding the cabs & deducting the bed options results in 270 units, presumably TTs sold without a bed option? Cab & bare chassis?
The Roadster Pick Up production figures are absent.
"pickups not separated from runabouts"

Here is a scan from Model T Ford, page 469. This breaks it down pretty well, Pickup Body is column 9.

Is not this all TT related?

The first thing to remember is that what you are calling a TT truck pickup bed Ford called an Express bed, so that total is in a different column in the production chart. The second thing to remember in 1925 the way that Government taxed the 1925 and later roadster pickups was different. A 1925 roadster sold as a passenger car sands turtle deck was taxed differently than a 1925 roadster with pickup bed. The tax on commercial vehicles was higher so Ford carried the 1925 roadster bed as a separate idem , plus there was a market to sell the beds to customers that already owned a prior year Model T roadster. Also many of these pickup beds got sold to export market, the 33K production number does not sound that high when you consider how many 1925 roadsters Ford was making at the time.

What does everyone make of what Bruce wrote here? and this I am not sure what to make of this, but it is what he wrote...

Mike

Mike Silbert wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 12, 2025 7:19 pm

What does everyone make of what Bruce wrote here?
Screenshot 2025-12-12 191251.jpg
and this
Screenshot 2025-12-12 191354.jpg
I am not sure what to make of this, but it is what he wrote...

Mike

Assuming that everything quoted is true, then I would say that only 3458 Roadster Pickups for the 1925 model year (Aug 1924 to Aug 1925)rolled off of the assembly line with the factory pickup bed installed.

The second table is noted to represent the calendar year and if Ford did produce 33,795 pickup beds in the calendar year, then the difference of 30,337 beds would probably installed on 1926 model year (Aug 1925 to Aug 1926) Roadster Pickups or sold as loose beds to the dealers for installation on Runabouts that had been previously produced with a turtle deck. I would personally guess that the loose beds were a small percentage of all steel pickup beds produced.

The confusing part is that the published production numbers for complete cars and truck chassis has been accepted to be for the model year, and the production numbers for truck bodies, according to Ford, is for the calendar year. So you can't directly really tie the numbers together in a single year. However, If you totaled all of the steel pickup beds produced during 1925-1927, you would probably be fairly close to the actual number of factory Roadster Pickups produced in those three model years.

So nothing definitive, but that's how I read it.

Keep crankin',
Eric

I'd guess a lot of pickup beds were put on roadsters already sold.

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 13, 2025 11:11 am

I'd guess a lot of pickup beds were put on roadsters already sold.

Agree, that's why sometimes one finds a NOS '26-'27 turtle deck.....dealer take off to install the pickup bed!



Hershey a few years ago......


Still has the anti-squeak strip







Just like as painted in a Ford factory branch!

Is that a Packard running board?

I would say that running board is for a much later vehicle, perhaps the 1930's?

My understanding is most 25 beds were not on cars when they left the factory. Due to the tax on trucks. However, the early ones did. My 25 Roadster pickup I think was a truck when it left the fat.
Reason is two fold.
1. No Ford script on the gate. Have seen less than a handful of these beds. One is the one from Ford pictures In Bruce’s book.
2. My pickup has no trim around the stills on the back where the trunk goes. No need if the bed is going to cover it up.
Course this is just a wag, no one is alive that knows.

Now my Canadian RHD 25 Roadster pickup has the trim plus 2 doors. And gate has Ford in. But when you say Canadian that changes everything. Dan

Looking at all the numbers again, I found an interesting "anomaly"
Fact: The pickup beds were made in both a TT style and a "car" style
Fact: For the TT truck it was called the "Express Body" and the truck bed was also used for the "Express Body with Roof" and if you added the optional screen side setup.
Fact: The car and truck chassis beds are not the same size.

I was not working for Ford in 1925 so I have to rely on documentation left by Ford and the research of others.
It is also known that sometimes the information we have is not as complete, clear, or accurate as we would like.
I am very thankful for the efforts of those in the past to have things as good as we do have currently.

But I find something that I do not understand.
If you look @ the 1925 Ton truck production number page it lists pickup body as 33,975 US Totals
If you go to the car production number page it lists that Ford made 33,975 pickup beds
Now what are the chances that they produced the same number Ton Trucks with beds as car beds?

But then the 1925 Roadster Pickup production data you get that in March and April 1925 they produced 3,458 Roadster pickups.
And 1926 production started August 3rd, 1925 leaving May, June, and July in question
More stuff from Bruce's hard work I believe to solve this question (if it can be) there needs to be more research and data.

Years ago Trent sent me a list of the bolts that were included for the installation of the pickup bed. I still have it somewhere!