MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
 
JUMP TO PAGE   100  >  200  >  300  >  400  >  500  >  600
VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Chew Sing: 1915

The Bay Area circa 1915. "Chew Sing produce truck." The Fresh Fruit Ford. 8x6 inch glass negative by the Cheney Photo Advertising Company. View full size.

The Bay Area circa 1915. "Chew Sing produce truck." The Fresh Fruit Ford. 8x6 inch glass negative by the Cheney Photo Advertising Company. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Ralston Kit

The pennant logo below the drivers seat identifies the maker of the specific conversion kit that was used on this Model T car.

From the March 17 1917 issue of Pacific Rural Press, is a mention of a truck show held in San Francisco, which included these kits for would-be vehicle modifiers:

"Practically all of the leading makes of trucks will be represented and liberal space has been taken by those exhibiting them. Among those for which space has been definitely reserved are the International, Mack, Saurer, Stewart, Garford, Little Giant, AutocJr, Indiana, Four Wheel Drive, Wichita Sterling, Kelly Springfield, Bethlehem, Kohler, Signal, Vim, Rainier, and Clemens, while in the "Made in California" section will be found the Doane, Moreland, De Martini, Hewitt, Ludlow, Kleiber, and Ralston.
The truck attachments now being introduced for the conversion of Ford and other light cars into efficient and economical one-ton trucks will occupy a prominent position and the exhibits already entered comprise many of the most Important, including the Smith Form A truck, Hendricks worm drive, Ames, Hudford, Ralston, Brown and Holohan.
A large number of accessories will be exhibited and demonstrated, including the Champion and Autocraft spark plugs, Master and Miller Carburetors, Johnson Shock Absorbers, Nafra Warning Signal and a large exhibit of the Barnett Auto Body Company, consisting of models of auto bodies. A line of store, warehouse, and mill trucks, electrically and gasoline propelled, will be shown by Wood, Huddard and Brown."

I always assumed the kustom craze of today was a post WW2 phenomenon. But clearly this photo and article prove I was mistaken. Commercial customizing goes back over 100 years.

"Strawwwwwberrries"

This pic jolted my memory of the little vegetable truck that came through our neighborhood back when I was 6 or 7 years old in the late 40's.

T conversion

I think the base Model T for this vehicle is about a 1917 model. The basic car has been converted to a truck with one of many aftermarket conversion kits available in the day...everything abaft the driver's seat in this rig is aftermarket. The kit would have involved a rear frame that lengthened the T's minimalist 100 inch wheelbase and extended forward to support and strengthen the stock frame. In this one, the stock rear axle drives a chain to the new rear axle and its stouter wheels, dropping the final drive ratio as well.
Not long after this picture was taken, Ford introduced the TT, an extended and lengthened truck based on the T powerplant, as a production vehicle. General appearance was much like the rig pictured, though it had a worm geared drive at rear axle rather than chains.
Sing had a very neat looking truck!

Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.