MYSTERY BED on PICKUP- whos up to the challenge?

I have a 33 BB pickup single rear wheel, 131.5 wheelbase. The bed has been quite a mystery as to the history behind it.

The fenders run all the way back. The bed is all wood with sheet metal on the exterior sides only. its 8.5 feet long and 56" width and 16" in depth (all interior measurements).

At first I thought it was missing a wheel on either side (dually) but I am not sure thats the case. The rear tires are 32x6 which is what the orginals had on them. Since the vehicles is otherwise totally intact sitting for 40 years I have since adjusted my opinion to be that it has only one rear wheel on either side. I figured if they took off the two of the rear wheels they probably would have molested it in some other way also.

The pic of the emblem makes me think this was a special post sale bed the owner had made. The emblem says "Cambridge Springfield Mass.- Albany Tarrytown NY- Hartford Conn." In white letters it has a name that I cant make out. Both of these emblems are on the front lower portion of both sides.
I am also of the persuasion that this bed was installed after the owner drove it for a while, how long I dont know but I say this because I found a hole in the rear of the cab about the size of a .44 round about 8 inches from the floor which means the bed wasnt on it when someone shot that hole in it since the bed doesnt have a hole.

The only other thing I know is that this truck was owned by one family up till I bought it this year. It was bought in New Hampshire or at least thats where the owner lived and worked- in ROchester NH. The owner built stone walls for graveyards and thus used this truck to do his job. It was parked in 1969 in AL where i found it.

Thanks for your help! I hope someone knows something about it. I can send more pics if it will help just ask

 

You have to remember,back then a very small percentage of trucks came from the factory with beds on them. Some left as being just a cowl with no cab!! This is especially true to the medium and heavy duty versions. They were either sent out to another company to be fitted with a cab and/or a bed of the purchaser`s choice,or sent straight to the buyer and they did as they pleased.

The truck could have been a flatbed for a short while and then that bed added later on. By looking at your pictures in your album,that bed is definately not home made. It was definately built by an aftermarket company as you can tell it was built with quality,and care.

 

Good point FOMOCO I saw some pics from the ford factory with them lined up and no beds on em so you are probably correct but I sure would like to know more baout who built the bed and the history behind it. Anyone from ROchester NH area?

 

The really interesting part I forgot to mention is that the fenders run all the way to the back of the bed which I have yet to see on another BB or pickup for that matter. It gives it a style that I have yet to see-and I like it.

 

looks homemade to me.

 

Might want to look at the pics I just posted

 

Possible express body (like an XL pickup bed) or grain box? Gary

 

in the top center pic , it looks like you can make out "springfield" in the center of the decal , anybody else see it ?

 

Nice truck
how would it look with a set of duals? would they be out side the rear fenders?

I'd love to find one of these.

 

i don't know if this is the case with your truck but i once spoke to a guy who restored a 1920's White truck with a similar wooden bed. his truck was built to deliver milk. since they didn't have refrigerated trucks back then they would put the milk cans in the bed then fill the bed with ice to keep it cold. the reason the bed was wood was to keep it from rusting as the ice melted. i suppose hauling anything that had to be kept cold would use the same design. good luck, mike

 

jerseymike makes a valid point,I forgot all about that...I have seen vintage milk trucks before with similar beds

And BTW,alot of things were built with wood back then instead of metal. It was easier to come by,work with,and cheaper.

 

This one looks like it might be close. Campbell made a lot of woodie bodys for many manufacturers. Chassis and cab, and chassis and cowl were trained there bodies and returned tot he manufacturer or set to dealers. Not uncommon for 3/4 ton commercial vehicles to be made this way. Go to this site scroll down to comercial vehicles and trucks and see if anything fits better. http://www.coachbuilt.com/index.htm

Officially Mid-State Body Co. - 1932-1957. The firm's Waterloo, New York factory was owned by Robert Campbell and closely associated with another Campbell-owned firm, the Hercules-Campbell Body Co. Inc. of Tarrytown, NY.
Mid-State's bodies were often marketed under different names which included Campbell, Campbell-built and Campbell Mid-State. Campbell expanded the Waterloo operation in 1939 and Hercules-Campbell used part of the facility to assemble school buses and other large commercial bodies.
Hercules-Campbell had sales & service depots in Cambridge, Massachusetts (at 130 Brookline St.); Portland, Maine; Albany, New York; Berlin, Connecticut; North & South Kearney, New Jersey; and Jamaica, Long Island, NY.
In the early teens, the Hercules Body Co. of Evansville, Indiana started building wood-framed stake bodies, jitneys, express bodies, delivery vans and depot hacks for Ford Model T and TT chassis. As their metal-braced wooden bodies were easily adapted to other chassis, Hercules soon offered separate catalogs for Chevrolet, Dodge, Fargo and Ford light truck chassis. During the 1920s, Hercules, now known as Hercules Products Inc., expanded into the manufacture of all-metal dump bodies and trailers, tractor trailers, insulated route delivery bodies.
Although Hercules bodies could be ordered direct from the factory, most were sold through authorized distributors who stocked the firm’s most popular bodies, crated and ready for assembly on the customer’s chassis. Hercules even leased a factory showroom and warehouse in the heart of Manhattan’s Automobile Row at 617-621 W. 57th St, New York NY during the 1920s.
Robert Campbell of Tarrytown, New York became a Hercules Body Co. (of Evansville, Indiana) distributor in the late 20s, and within a few short years, would start manufacturing his own commercial bodies. During the next decade the Hercules-Campbell Body Co. established satellite sales branches in Cambridge, Massachusetts (at 130 Brookline St.); Portland, Maine; Albany, New York; Berlin, Connecticut; North & South Kearney, New Jersey; and Jamaica, Long Island, NY.

 

A little searching found this:

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/s/springfield_body/springfield_body.htm

 

And no I didn`t simply use the link posted above mine,didn`t see it until right now.

 

what ever it is, it's a wicked-ass cool truck...bed or no bed! i think john walton drove that one! mike in k.c.

 

Is great minds thinking alike or fools seldom disagreeing????

 

And as you all ready suggest the rear wheels are as Henry made it. That truck is awsum. You have a great start, what ever you do with it. Is it a B or a V/8. Ice man

 

Brewery express flair board body.

check the line drawings about halfwad down onthe left just above the Ambulance bodies

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/p/proctor_keefe/proctor_keefe.htm

 

I plan to restore it exactly as it was bed and all but wanted some history with the bed. It is a flat 4 -C model I think. Going to register it tomorrow then drive it- legally.

 

That is very close to it but I cant read the length of the bed and it looks too long. I also saw that that company did mainly dodges and was based in Detroit as well as other cities which isnt the company that did my bed. There has to be something out there somewhere on this bed. I took more pics of the emblem to see if someone can decipher the name in red and white. For the others to see here is what Plym found- see attached pick it is close to the bottom right pic

 

This is close but maybe we could focus on the emblem and try to get the name of the maker from the emblem on both sides of the bed? You guys are doing a great job tho- I dont have the talent to figure out what to type in to get the results your coming up with. Nice job! We are close tho. Heres the pics again. Can anyone figure out what it says in the middle in red and white? I tried enhancing it with different colors hues and contrast and blue worked the best.

 

Funny you mention that Von. The fenders are wide enough to fit a second wheel under there. I dont know if they built the bed for it just in case or the truck really did have duallies? I agree it would look boss with duallies on it but I am leaning to keep it original- though it wouldnt take much to take off a wheel for shows eh?

 

I thought so too but it doesnt look like it fits. The first letter could be an S, L F T and the second letter looks like an R. Then I see (i think) ING or ENG in the middle. What you think?

 

Yep..or than again it may have had duals..and they took em off..no money to replace em?
bad wheel?..many possible reasons why that by the time to got it they were both gone..
still a sweet truck..if you run across another one give me a shout

 

The long runningboards are Ford, rear fenders were available...don't know if yours are original. The trucks were available with a LARGE number of bodies, a few by Ford, many by outside suppliers, and most would have come in at least 2 lengths to fit the different wheelbase trucks.
I think that configuration, the BB with pickup type bed, was called "express"...yours is very similar, don't know if body I am referring to was Ford built or outside supplied to Ford...
I actually have the '33 Ford truck salesman's manual...will see if I can find it.

 

Bruce,
Someone on Ebay had a truck manual for different types of beds on Ford in 33 but he wanted like 50 bucks for it. What you have may certainly help in this case thanks for continuing to help me with this and everyone else too! I am sure someone out there has an answer.

 

With that emblem on the side I doubt seriously that this could be a FOrd factory bed. I wouldnt make sense for Ford to allow someone else to advertise their beds on the FOrd truck so I am betting its an aftermarket bed but I need to know WHO made it. As I continue looking at the emblem it looks like the name could only be about 9 letters.

I dont remember the show I was watching but the guy trying to solve the murder said something like... knowing what it isnt is still a clue. Kinda like a process of elimination.

 

Look at this one. Springfield Body http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/s/springfield_body/springfield_body.htm

 

Sure looks like Springfield on center.

 

I'm sure that decal says "Springfield" across the center.

The long boards and aprons are factory Ford. Used on the BB pickups and panels, and adapted to by aftermarket body builders.

It is a goodie so enjoy it forever. SOmewhere I bet you'll find a replica of that bed maker's sticker logo so you can make some new ones for your restoration.