Model A Body Styles -

A visual guide • 1928–1931

From open roadsters to hardworking delivery vans and heavy trucks, Ford offered an extraordinary range of Model A and Model AA bodies. Use the pictures below to compare the main shapes and learn what sets each one apart.

This guide focuses on U.S. body-style families. Year changes, Standard and Deluxe trim, Briggs and Murray construction, cab styles, wheelbases, and equipment variants are grouped where they share a basic body shape. Some AA bodies continued into 1932.

Model A Passenger Cars

Open and closed passenger bodies, including formal and taxi-service designs.

Roadster — Standard & Deluxe

40-A / 40-B

Two-door open car with a folding top and removable side curtains. Deluxe versions added richer trim; a rear trunk or rumble seat completes the body.

Standard Phaeton

35-A / 35-B

Four-door touring body with front and rear seating, a folding fabric top, and side curtains. Its open sides distinguish it from a closed sedan.

Deluxe Phaeton

180-A

A distinctive two-door, five-passenger open body. Longer doors and a more luxurious interior distinguish it from the four-door Standard Phaeton.

Standard Coupe

45-A / 45-B

Compact closed two-door body with one main seat and roll-up door windows. The rear deck holds a trunk or, on equipped cars, a rumble seat.

Deluxe Coupe

45-B Deluxe

The familiar closed coupe shape with upgraded trim and interior appointments. Equipment changed during production; a rumble seat alone does not establish Deluxe specification.

Special Coupe

49-A

An early coupe with artificial-leather covering extending over the roof and rear upper body. Quarter windows remain visible within the covered rear section.

Business Coupe

54-A

A fixed-top coupe with a fabric-covered roof and no ornamental landau irons. Early examples have blind quarters; later examples gained oval quarter windows.

Sport Coupe

50-A / 50-B

Its fabric roof and decorative landau irons suggest a convertible, but the top does not fold. Roll-up door windows and a rumble seat complete the sporting appearance.

Tudor Sedan — Standard & Deluxe

55-A / 55-B

Two-door enclosed sedan with a rear seat and large side windows. Front seats provide access to the back; Deluxe versions retain the same basic body shape.

Early Fordor — Leatherback & Steelback

60-A / 60-B / 60-C

An early four-door, blind-quarter sedan. Leatherback versions have covering over the roof and upper rear body; the Steelback version uses exposed metal at the rear.

Standard Fordor — Three Side Windows

165-A / 165-B / 165-C / 165-D

Four-door enclosed body with a rear quarter window behind each rear door. Briggs and Murray bodies differ in details while sharing this practical sedan layout.

Fordor — Blind Quarter

170-A / 170-B

Four-door sedan with a solid rear quarter behind the rear doors. The lack of quarter windows makes it easy to distinguish from a three-window Fordor.

Town Sedan

155-A / 155-B / 155-C / 155-D

An appointed four-door sedan with passenger comfort emphasized in its interior trim. Identify the body and equipment together rather than relying only on exterior accessories.

Slant-Windshield Fordor & Town Sedan

160-A / 160-B / 160-C

The 1931 sedan family uses rearward-sloping windshield pillars. Standard Fordor, Town Sedan, and Deluxe blind-quarter versions share this later design direction.

Cabriolet

68-A / 68-B / 68-C

A two-door convertible with a genuinely folding top and roll-up door glass. This weather protection separates it from the roadster; the later 68-C has a slant windshield.

Victoria

190-A

A compact two-door sedan with a slant windshield, rear seat, and a rounded, projecting rear body. Both leatherback and steelback roof treatments were offered.

Convertible Sedan

400-A

Two-door, five-passenger convertible sedan with a folding roof and roll-up windows. Often called the “A-400,” it combines sedan seating with an open-air body.

Town Car

140-A / 140-B

Formal chauffeur-style body: the driver sits in an open front compartment while rear passengers have an enclosed compartment. It is distinct from the ordinary Town Sedan.

Taxicab

135-A / 135-B

A purpose-built commercial passenger body for taxi service. Its rear passenger compartment and service-oriented fittings distinguish it from a family sedan used as a taxi.

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Model A Commercial Bodies

Light commercial vehicles on the Model A chassis. A pickup cab and its cargo box have separate Ford body-type numbers.

Station Wagon

150-A / 150-B

A wood-bodied passenger-and-cargo vehicle with several rows of seating. Commonly called a “woody,” it served hotels, depots, estates, and businesses as well as families.

Open-Cab Pickup

76-A / 76-B cab; 78-A / 78-B box

Light pickup with a roadster-style cab, folding top, and open sides protected by curtains. Its cargo box is separate from the passenger compartment.

Closed-Cab Pickup

82-A / 82-B cab; 78-A / 78-B box

Light pickup with an enclosed cab and roll-up windows. Cab design and cargo-box dimensions changed during production, including the later wide pickup box.

Deluxe Pickup

66-A box with Deluxe closed cab

A rare styled pickup whose smooth-sided box follows the cab’s body lines. Passenger-car-style brightwork gives it a more polished appearance than the standard work truck.

Panel Delivery

79-A / 79-B

An enclosed light delivery vehicle with solid cargo sides and rear loading access. Tall, uninterrupted panels provided space for business lettering and protection for goods.

Deluxe Delivery

130-A / 130-B

A lower, car-like enclosed delivery body with a more finished appearance than the tall Panel Delivery. Businesses could advertise on its solid rear side panels.

Drop-Floor Panel Delivery

225-A

A light delivery body with a lowered cargo floor to increase usable interior height. Its tall rear compartment emphasizes load space rather than passenger accommodation.

Special Delivery

255-A

A wood-bodied delivery vehicle related to the station wagon. The body is arranged for commercial cargo service rather than the wagon’s normal passenger seating.

Town Car Delivery

295-A

A formal delivery body with an open chauffeur compartment and enclosed rear cargo area. Its specialized appearance suited businesses seeking an upscale delivery vehicle.

Postal / Mail Van

Special-purpose coachbuilt body

Postal fleets used purpose-built enclosed bodies on Ford chassis. Body makers and specifications varied; these vans should not automatically be identified as ordinary Panel Deliveries.

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Model AA Trucks & Commercial Bodies

The AA was the heavier truck in the family. A cab could be paired with different work bodies; Ford-supplied bodies and specialist coachbuilt examples are shown below.

Platform / Flatbed

88-A / 185-A / 185-B / 187-A

A flat cargo deck behind a separate cab. Platform dimensions and wheelbase varied; the deck could carry bulky loads or accept racks and other equipment.

Stake / Rack Truck

Platform body with stake equipment

Removable upright stakes and side racks enclose the flat platform. Their open construction retains cargo while allowing access for loading and unloading.

Express Truck

89-A / 195-A / 197-A

A pickup-like cargo body with low permanent sides and a tailgate, built for the heavier AA chassis. Short and long body versions served different hauling needs.

Canopy Express

195-A or 197-A with canopy equipment

An Express body fitted with a canopy; screen sides were also offered. The roof shades the load while retaining more open access than a closed panel body.

Meat-Packers Express

239-A

A specialized Express body for commercial meat hauling, with tall open framework above the cargo area. Its equipment differs from a basic low-sided Express body.

Heavy-Duty Express

242-A

A substantial high-sided Express body for heavier commercial loads. Its box construction and equipment distinguish it from the lighter pickup-like Express bodies.

Grain Truck

244-A / 248-A

A wood cargo body with solid grain sides and flared upper boards. Optional extensions increased capacity for agricultural hauling.

Stock / Livestock Truck

Grain body with stock extensions

Tall stock extensions form an open-sided livestock enclosure above the grain body. This is an equipment configuration rather than a wholly separate AA chassis.

Dump Truck

200 / 202 / 204 / 206 / 208 series

A tipping cargo body for unloading bulk material. Ford offered several suppliers and lifting arrangements, including hand, gravity, mechanical, and hydraulic systems.

Coal Truck

201 / 205 / 207 series

A specialized bulk-hauling body for coal delivery. Body and hoist configurations included arrangements intended to discharge loads at different delivery heights.

Garbage / Refuse Truck

203 series

An enclosed or covered refuse body for municipal collection. The body’s loading openings and tipping arrangement differ from those of an ordinary open dump truck.

Ice Wagon

199-A

A dedicated commercial body for hauling and delivering ice. It belongs to the specialized AA work-body range rather than the passenger-car lineup.

Tank Truck

Special-purpose tank body

A cylindrical tank replaces the normal cargo box for transporting liquids. Tank equipment and body builders varied; the pictured tanker illustrates one period configuration.

Service Truck / Wrecker

229-A and other specialist equipment

A service body equipped for lifting or recovery work. The crane, boom, and storage arrangements make the working purpose immediately apparent.

Fire Engine / Fire-Service Body

Specialized body and firefighting equipment

Ford chassis carried pumpers and other fire-service bodies built to local requirements. Pumps, hose storage, ladders, and crew accommodation varied by builder.

Panel Delivery

85-A / 85-B

An enclosed heavy delivery body. Early and later versions differ in construction and appearance.

Long Panel Delivery

210-A

A longer enclosed cargo body on the AA157 chassis, with rear-door or tailgate arrangements.

Funeral Service Vehicle

270-A

An enclosed service body for funeral-industry transport, distinct from the more formal Funeral Coach.

Funeral Coach

275-A

A formal enclosed funeral body with side-door access and a finished coach-like appearance.

Ambulance

280-A

An enclosed patient-transport body with side doors and a dedicated rear compartment.

Police Patrol — Standard & Deluxe

290-A / 285-A

Police-service bodies combined a driver’s cab with an enclosed rear transport compartment. Standard and Deluxe versions differed.

Deluxe Delivery

300-A

A finished heavy delivery body with rear doors or a tailgate, offered alongside the plainer panel bodies.

Standrive Delivery

315-A

A specialized delivery van designed around a standing driving position and frequent stops.

School Bus

330-A

A Union City-built passenger body arranged for school service on a Ford AA chassis.

Passenger Bus

330-B

A Union City-built passenger-service bus body on the longer AA chassis.

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About identification: A photograph shows one example, not every year or equipment variation. Restored vehicles may carry accessories or changes. Body numbers identify designs; they are not a vehicle serial number. Custom fire engines, postal vans, tankers, and other coachbuilt bodies also appeared on Ford chassis, so there is no single finite list of every specialist conversion.

References & Photo Credits

Descriptions are written for this club guide. Each photograph links to its source. Modern photographs retain the author and license shown below the image; period factory photographs are credited to their archive. Follow the source link for a larger view and further identification details.

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