Topic: Solved TGF-68: Ford V8 1941, by BUCA (L)

[targhediferro]

What is this little nice truck.   Make, model, year and coachbuilder: all this for a point.

[targhediferro]

As usual no try by rookies.

[Bill Murray]

Hi Fabrizio:

Nice photo.  I am pretty certain it is a Matford (French) of the general time period 1946-1948 but I have no idea who built it unless it was the Ford works at Poissy (spelling?).

Bill

[targhediferro]

I don't have it as a Matford (but as you are pretty certain, I'll check it); the coachbuilder is not from Poissy, and earlier.

[targhediferro]

According to my source, the base of this truck is not a Matford.

[Bill Murray]

Thank you for keeping up with this one.
Here is the example photo I used to choose Matford.
Bill

[targhediferro]

I found that picture...perhaps is from the same coachbuilder.

[frederick59]

i think of a Ford F698w built in Poissy?

[targhediferro]

It is a Ford, but not from Poissy.

[Bill Murray]

A bit of a mystery this one.

First, a technical correction regarding my identification of the truck as a Matford.
I had forgotten that Ford Motor Company discontinued the collaboration with the Mathis firm in 1940 and from then forward the Ford products in France were once again called "Ford" or "Ford SAF".  Thus, your vehicle is a Ford, not a Matford in an officially correct sense.

However, I do believe that the Ford in your photo was based on the 1940 Matford design which was then built for a few years after the war as well.  Thus, it could have been built in the Poissy factory.  Or, and I can find no evidence of this yet, Ford SAF might have exported bare chassis or assembly parts to another European country, Belgium and Holland come to mind here, and they may have been assembled there.
Danmark and Sweden are two other such possibilities but rather remote ones.

Just to keep trying to be technically correct, the photo I posted was likely a 1940 model and the photo shows a truck used in a victory parade in 1945, possibly in Paris.

So, am I getting any closer??  This week has been a bad week for me in solving puzzles.

Bill

[frederick59]

yes it seems that it's a WW2 victory day but definitly not in Paris,i would say Holland for this picture

[frederick59]

built in Germany?

[targhediferro]

We have a new starting point; the base is a Ford.
As Frederick suggest, your picture seems to be shot not in Paris, but perhaps in Holland. This clue, added with what you said about Ford SAF's export business, should get you a bit closer to the solution.

[targhediferro]

built in Germany?

Not in Germany.

[Hiawatha]

Any connection with Chausson? They normally built the cabs for Ford trucks..

[Bill Murray]

Welcome to this one Luciano

To add to the confusion or maybe solution, I have found that the Ford Assembly Plants in Holland and Sweden assembled Fords imported from France.  No mention was made of heavy trucks but certainly automobiles and light commercial vehicles were done.

To me, the locale of the puzzle photo more resembles Holland than Sweden so maybe that helps.

Bill

[targhediferro]

Not Chausson. Bill is on the right path.

[targhediferro]

No more guess from experts? 48 hours before moving to professionals.

[Bill Murray]

You know I don't like to guess Fabrizio, but I am hours into this one without coming up with an exact answer.

The best I can give you for now is the coachbuilder Verheul built many, many bodies on Ford chassis in the Netherlands.  They were the successor company to Kromhout if my Dutch translation is correct, so it may have been them as well.

Bill

[targhediferro]

Hi Bill, you're geographically near, but neither Verheul nor Kromhout are the right one. The coachbuilder is quite obscure, his name is short, and I should say he's "hardly" Dutch, but not Belgian!

[DeAutogids]

You know I don't like to guess Fabrizio, but I am hours into this one without coming up with an exact answer.

The best I can give you for now is the coachbuilder Verheul built many, many bodies on Ford chassis in the Netherlands.  They were the successor company to Kromhout if my Dutch translation is correct, so it may have been them as well.

Bill

Verheul was a body manufacturer, Kromhout a vehicle manufacturer. When Kromhout decided to get out of the vehicle business this was taken over by Verheul. But this was much later then the 1940's. However Verheul was at that time building bodies. Just to add some info.

[Bill Murray]

Thanks for the additional information, DeAutogids.

I have only just started to penetrate the Dutch/Belgian civilian vehicle scene since joining the forum a few months ago.  Prior to that, my main interest in those two countries was confined to military vehicles, my hobby for over 50 years.

So, I know a fair bit about the military production of DAF, Miesse, FN etc. etc. but little about the civilian side.  A rather steep learning curve I must say based on the wealth of information available on the internet.  You just have to find it.

Bill

[targhediferro]

I appreciate your job so I think you should have a little clue. The coachbuilder is from BeNeLux. Get this information together with what I said yesterday and You have the right country.

[Bill Murray]

Pirsch of Luxembourg, better known worldwide for their Fire Engines??
I found a few Fords done by them, all Fire Engines.

Edit:  I tried to delete this post but could not.  I realize Pirsch is an American company but they apparently had some connection in Luxembourg as well.  Probably a totally wrong answer.

Bill

[targhediferro]

Not Pirsch, but the coachbuilder is from Luxembourg.