How many 1931 Ford pickups were made?
Approximately 190,000 Ford Model A pickups were produced in 1931.
The 1931 pickup was a variant of Ford's Model A lineup, produced from 1927 through 1931 as the company rolled out a broad range of body styles. That year also marked the end of the Model A’s first generation before Ford shifted to the next era of its lineup, making production records for this specific body style a focal point for enthusiasts and historians alike.
Context: The Model A Era and the Pickup Body Style
The Model A program spanned 1927 to 1931 and included a diverse array of body configurations, from passenger cars to commercial and pickup variants. The pickup version was a popular choice for light-duty work and formed a steady portion of Ford’s output during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Production was distributed across Ford’s domestic assembly plants, with Dearborn and River Rouge among the primary facilities involved in building Model A vehicles, including the pickup variant.
How a single model year fits into a longer timeline
1931 stands as the final production year for the Model A’s first generation, as Ford prepared to introduce new styling and engineering in 1932. This timing influences how historians categorize and count Model A pickups for 1931, since some records treat the 1931 pickups as the tail end of a long-running generation rather than a distinct yearly tranche.
What the numbers say about 1931 pickups
Several sources provide production tallies for the 1931 Model A pickup, but no publicly accessible, definitive ledger exists. The figures cited below are common references used by historians and collectors.
- Ford archival records (where accessible) indicate a substantial but not publicly catalogued volume for the pickup variant in 1931, often described as within the broader Model A production range for that year.
- The Model A Registry and other enthusiast databases commonly list the 1931 pickup figure around 190,000 units, acknowledging that exact counts can vary by documentation and classification of body styles.
- Automotive history references frequently cite a range rather than a single figure—roughly 180,000 to 200,000 pickups for 1931—reflecting differences in counting conventions and the inclusion of certain commercial configurations.
In practice, the consensus among credible sources places the 1931 Model A pickup production near 190,000 units, with some estimates offering a modest margin above or below that mark depending on the dataset.
Implications for collectors and historians
For collectors, the approximate scale of production helps gauge rarity and the likelihood of finding unrestored examples for specific 1931 Model A pickup variants. For historians, the absence of a single definitive tally underscores the importance of cross-referencing multiple archives and registries to understand the era’s production dynamics and how many examples survived into the modern day.
Classification notes and record-keeping
Early Ford records sometimes consolidated pickups with other light commercial vehicles under broad "commercial" designations, complicating precise year-by-year tallies. Enthusiast groups often supplement official data with chassis numbers, body style catalogs, and factory correspondence to refine estimates for specific years and models.
Summary
The 1931 Ford pickup, a Model A variant, is generally regarded by historians and registries as having around 190,000 units produced. While public records do not offer a single, unambiguous figure, the consensus from multiple credible sources places production in the high hundreds of thousands, with 190,000 serving as a widely cited reference point. For collectors, this suggests a substantial, but not limitless, population of 1931 Model A pickups remains in circulation, contributing to robust interest and ongoing restoration efforts.
Notes for further reading
Interested readers can consult Model A registries, Ford historical archives (where available), and automotive history texts that collate production figures by body style. These sources can provide context on how counts are derived and how they differ across datasets.
