Ford Model AA

• Edsel Ford, the son of Henry Ford, was largely responsible for designing the Model A passenger car and the Model AA trucks. Influenced by European automotive design in the 1920s, he revived the moribund Lincoln with graceful styling, and then applied Lincoln design cues to the Model A and AA. Under the hood was a new 40 horsepower 200 cubic inch in-line four-cylinder engine. The truck was equipped with all-wheel mechanical brakes, a spare mounted on the left fender, a hand-crank windshield wiper and faux leather seats. Edsel redesigned the truck in 1930 to smooth out the front end, round out the cab's corners, restyle the fenders and install a slimmer radiator. In 1931, Ford introduced a larger 22.2-cubic-foot cargo box compared to the older 16.8-cubic-foot version. Open cab versions ceased produced in 1934.
  
  

Model AA Body Styles

• Ford offered its early 1930s Model A trucks as a closed cab, express body, stake body and panel delivery. The 8-foot, 1.5-inch stake bed trucks came with stakes, cattle racks or grain sides. Ford claimed the closed cab version could accommodate three adults on a 44-inch wide seat. The express body version had an interior cargo space that was 86 inches long. The panel delivery featured a wood-framed interior and steel exterior. The interior was 43 inches wide and 88 inches long. A deluxe delivery body version resembled the Tudor sedan body style and featured rear side windows.
  
  

Model BB

• For 1932, Edsel Ford continued his preoccupation of mimicking some of the Lincoln's body characteristics for the Model B and BB vehicles. Ford dropped the four-cylinder engine in 1934 due to poor sales. However, the big news was the introduction of the V-8 engine in 1932. The flat-head V-8 provided a healthy output in a compact 221-cubic-inch engine. The V-8 had a 5.5-to-1 compression ratio and delivered 65 horsepower. In 1933, Ford bumped it to 75 horsepower and gave the engine aluminum heads. In 1934, the horsepower increased to 85.
  
  

Late 1930s

• In 1938, no less than 21 different types of Ford trucks featured the familiar egg-shaped grille. There were four types of dump trucks, six platforms, three stake bodies, three panel deliveries, three closed cabs, one standard pickup and one express. Wheelbase lengths ranged from 101 to 157 inches. Ford also produced cab-over-engine models and school buses. Buyers could order the trucks with the 85-horsepower V-8 or the economical 60-horsepower 136 cubic-inch flat-head V-8 introduced in 1937. The standard pickup on a 112-inch wheelbase and its body was 157.4 inches long with a 77.7-inch long cargo box. The cab's bench grew about 4 inches wider than the Model AA. Options included a chrome windshield frame, grille and exterior rear view mirror, and body color wheels with passenger car hubcaps.