Volume VIII, Number 11

Ford Delivery Sedans in Miniature
By Doug Breithaupt


The sedan delivery is simply a commercial body on a production car or truck chassis. From the front bumper back to the front passenger compartment, these vehicles could pass for regular cars. Moving on toward the rear bumper, the car or truck body is replaced by a solid, usually windowless box that is intended for cargo. Known also as panel or cargo vans, these vehicles were targeted at small businesses that needed to transport small amounts of goods or make service calls. Some sedan delivery vehicles were just station wagon bodies without the rear windows. Some had rear clam-shell doors while others had tail-gates.

The sedan delivery arrived in the earliest days of the automobile and continued through the 1970's. After this point, it was essentially replaced by the delivery van, which is still the popular choice for small businesses.

With one exception, the models below are all Fords. I'm not sure if Ford produced more sedan delivery vehicles but toy car makers seem to like the Ford examples. I could not resist including the 1939 Chevrolet by Revell to round out the selections. While the Hot Wheel Poison Pinto is clearly a hot rod, it represents a real Ford Pinto body style and one of the last of the sedan delivery offerings. The Falcon Sedan Delivery by Johnny Lightning was the model that preceded the Pinto. The 1956 Ford is based on the pick-up truck although a car-based sedan delivery was also offered and at least one small-scale version exists (see here). The 1940 Ford has been a popular choice for toy car makers with a variety of coupes, sedans, wagons and pick-ups done. I'm not sure why the '40 Ford is so popular with toy car makers but three have done the sedan delivery as well. The '32 Ford Sedan Delivery is a model that shows how good a Hot Wheels casting can be. This 'Ford' variation is my favorite. Efsi of Holland provided the earliest version and this basic Ford Model T chassis can be found with an amazing number of bodies, including cars, trucks and even a Maserati V12 powered hot rod! The example here is just what a small-business in the early 1920's would have needed.


1919 Model T Delivery Van - Efsi


1932 Sedan Delivery - Hot Wheels


1939 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery - Revell
(OK, so it's not a Ford)


1940 Sedan Delivery - Johnny Lightning


1940 Sedan Delivery - Motor Max


1940 Sedan Delivery - Racing Champions


1956 Panel Van - Hot Wheels


1965 Falcon Sedan Delivery - Johnny Lightning


1975 Pinto Sedan Delivery - Hot Wheels

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