1933 Ford Pickup

Ford survived the Great Depression by offering innovative vehicles at competitive prices. Chevrolet, Ford’s biggest rival in the 1930s, offered a six-cylinder engine, giving them the competitive edge over Ford’s four-cylinder engine. To trump Chevrolet, Ford introduced the flathead V8 in 1932 as the world’s first affordable V8 engine available for passenger cars and pickups. This option immediately proved popular, and Ford phased out the four-cylinder engine in 1934 in favor of the now famous flathead V8. However, the V8 pickup was rushed into production and proved problematic, resulting in a limited number of trucks made with that engine.

Many of the design features of the ’33 Ford trucks were carried over from the 1932 design overhaul of the Ford assembly line. The redesign included a lower center of gravity, suspension components such as hydraulic shock absorbers and redesigned springs promising a more comfortable ride.

A Benzie County farmer bought this particular truck new in 1934 and drove it in the winter with no heat. The pickup—actually titled a 1934—was a leftover 1933 model at the local Ford dealership. It was common in those days to title pickups as the year in which they were purchased. In the 1960s, the Hagerty family found it sitting behind a car dealership in Honor, MI, full of used oil cans. They paid $500, which seemed like a high price at the time, but worth it for an all-original pickup with the locking spare tire hubcap and rare V8 engine. The pickup underwent a complete restoration in the Hagerty family garage and is still used by the family today.