Slick 60's

I've found two production numbers being 174 & 247. Can anyone confirm what the right production number may be? I've also read that Ford didn't track crewcabs production, I hope that is not true.

Thanks
Robert

From what I understand Ford did not build any crewcabs, they were made by third party coach shops.

Ford is said to have built '66 crews in house. I have never seen a production number. I don't believe shops like Crown and Stageway, for instance, stopped building them, especially since those companies were doing other sorts of "incomplete vehicle" vehicle conversions for commercial and government customers. I believe the market for larger crew cabs was also handled outside Ford production lines. Those factors would likely complicate any attempt at an accurate number.
Paul

My book "Standard Catalog of Light-Duty Ford Trucks 1905-2002" by John Gunnell shows F250 one F350 crew cabs for 1965 and 1966 only. It does not show a production total for crew cabs in any category. As I recall there was a way to tell if they were built by Ford or sourced out by the type of hinges used on the back doors, but I don't recall the exact details.

Pat

CREW CABS Go all the way back to 1953 trucks,,,, BUT, BUT early ones where not built by Ford.. My biggest argument is why in the Ford Parts Books I have not found any parts listing until 1973 and up trucks so makes me believe they did not exist ?? BUT They did exist

There were coachbuilders making crewcabs as far back as the thirties (possibly even earlier)

Two of the bigger Co's were Crown, and Stageway. Crown used the external hinge on the rear doors, Stageway did not.

Some of the stuff I've read indicates that Ford started building Crewcabs INHOUSE part way through the 1965 Model Year, and all (regardless of dealer location) were produced in the Oakville, Ontario, Canada assembly plant.
As for the lack of specific parts listings in the MPC (Master Parts Catalogue), virtually all of the early ones were Special Order, and my theory is, if a dealer called FORD with a parts inquiry, they would need to provide a DSO #, then the parts required would be provided to match what was built??



**If you remove the headliner, and find an indication the the roof has a splice seam from one side to the other behind the front doors, you can be pretty sure it was coachbuilt.


http://www.coachbuilt.com/com/index.htm

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/c/crown_s ... _steel.htm

James

I don't think there was a break down for crew cabs but I think there was more built than most think, the problem was they were used and abused then sent to the wrecker when they too far gone ( at least in my area there was 3 or 4 back in the day but none are left now)
The easiest way to tell if it's a real Ford 65-66 crew is if the drip rail goes all the way around the cab

Having a 65 crew myself, I have tried to find any info on them, they are about as hard to get good info as finding a unicorn at the stock auction. My ranger short bed has been easier to find real information on compared to the crew cab. Like others have posted, no real numbers can be found. In my opinion they did make a lot of them, either coach shops or true ford built. Just in my state I know there are 7 crews within 2 hours drive of each other. So not as rare as one may think. What is rare is finding one that was private party ordered from the factory/dealership. Most were government or railroad ordered, which in my area went to logging outfits after the government or railroad were done with them. And a logger can ruin any truck beyond repair, quick. My final thought is that the productions numbers would be in the low thousands; i have personally seen more than 14 in the last ten years in my small area, extrapolate that over the US and larger cities and there were likely far more made than most suspect. But with so few surviving that kind of abuse and life, the prices are now so high that the first thought people come to is that it must be super rare to be so expensive.

bruceandersson wrote:From what I understand Ford did not build any crewcabs, they were made by third party coach shops.

Ford started building their own with the 65 models. Prior to that they were outsourced to three or four coachbuilders.