It’s little surprise that once Detroit’s automakers turned to making electric vehicles, or EVs, their first ones would be pickup trucks, be it the GMC Hummer, Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet Silverado EV and newer entries, such as the Rivian R1T and the allegedly forthcoming Tesla Cybertruck.
Of course, the thought of an electric pickup is not a new one; GMC offered a line of trucks “operated by Edison current” in 1913 — something that General Motors seems to have willingly forgotten.
Yet the pickup truck has become the overwhelming vehicle choice of many Americans for decades. Indeed, the Ford F-150 has been America’s bestselling vehicle for 43 consecutive years, and its bestselling truck for 48 years.
That’s why this week marks an important milestone in American automotive history: In 1917, Ford introduces the Model TT pickup truck, the first factory-built pickup truck nine years after the start of the Ford Model T. Ol’ Henry not only gets the credit for initiating America’s most iconic vehicle, he also is credited with naming it.
But the pickup had its fair share of forerunners.
The Earth Before Pickups
In the 19th Century, farmers used hay wagons to haul hay, naturally, and any number of goods. Once the first automobiles began to appear, farmers adopted them for farm use, building cargo boxes onto the back of them by using some angle iron and wood, many resembling motorized hay wagons.
There were any number of manufacturers offering such vehicles, with many resembling oversized proto-pickups, including the REO Flareboard and the GMC Model 15 Express.
But these models postdate Ford’s first foray into the truck market, which started in 1905 with the Ford Model C Delivery Car. Few were built before production of the Model C ceased. Ford’s next attempt came in 1907 with the Model N Delivery Van. Based on the Model N car, it proved every bit as unpopular as its predecessor. But it was the introduction of the Ford Model T that changed everything — including trucks.
Based heavily on the 3-year-old Model N, the Model T was affordable, rugged and simple to operate. Today, it might be considered a light-duty truck. Henry Ford took the vehicle on a hunting trip to Wisconsin and northern Michigan. It could climb Pikes Peak, or the stairs of the Tennessee State Capitol.
The Model T’s many firsts are well-known, but its simple design made it easy to fix, while its rugged nature made it a natural for farm work. One Minnesota farmer converted his Model T Runabout for pulling a McCormick-Deering reaper to harvest grain by adding large steel rear wheels and a rear power takeoff unit.
In fact, The E.G. Staude Co. of St Paul, Minnesota offered a $195 Mak-a-Tractor conversion kit for the Model T in 1917. The Model T was transformed into a snowmobile by replacing the wheels with caterpillar tracks and skis. It was even used as a sawmill by attaching a belt to the rear axle, which powered the sawblade.
It was obvious Ford’s car chassis was being modified for heavy-duty uses. If buyers wanted a truck, they had to build it themselves, which many did. Even Henry Ford did, having taken a 1912 Model T and added a cargo box for use on his own farm.
After nearly a decade of such conversions, many supplied by coachbuilders or Ford dealers, Henry finally saw the market he was missing.
The birth of a legend
Although most casual observers thought the Model T never changed, it did. In 1917, Ford discontinued the Model T’s brass radiator; it was now painted black. Other changes included a new hood, curved fenders, revised windshield mountings, nickel-plated hubcaps, a revised steering box and the front radius rod and rear axle were changed.
But the biggest change was the introduction of the Ford Model TT, a beefed-up version of the Model T with a 1-ton chassis, a longer 125-inch wheelbase, a robust worm-drive live rear axle with transverse leaf springs, solid rubber tires, dual brake system, 10-gallon gas tank, and cowl lamps. It came with the Model T’s 20-horsepower 2.9-liter (176.7 cubic inch) L-head inline 4-cylinder engine and 2-speed planetary transmission, so many were fitted with aftermarket axles to give them more pulling power.
Costing $600, Ford sold 2,019 units that first year, but bodies came from the aftermarket; all Ford sold was a beefed-up truck chassis.
The first true Ford factory pickups
That would change for 1924, with the introduction of the Ford Model TT with Express Body, the first factory-catalogued pickup truck with a bed offered by Ford. The company also offered the first chassis with a truck, dubbed the Open Cab. It came with or without a bed, but and featured a slanted windshield and C-shaped daylight openings on a TT one-ton chassis. The bed could be fitted with a canopy top.
How popular were pickups becoming? A federal report issued that same year reported a sharp decline in the number of farm horses, and their cash value. It can be seen the following year, when Ford produced 270,000 trucks, a new sales record. It also saw the Ford pickup become a model in its own right, now known as the Model T Runabout with Pickup Body.
But Its introduction came as the Model T was entering obsolescence, as Model T production would come to halt in May 1927.
In all Ford sold 1.3 million Model T-based pickups by the time the 1928 Model AA Pickup arrived. It would be followed by the 1932 Model B Pickup, first Ford pickup available with a V-8.
But it would the arrival of the Ford F-1 in 1948 that marked the beginning of a modern truck dynasty, one that continues with the Ford F-150 and F-150 Lightning.
