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A 1920 Atlas - Lambert Manufacturing Co. catalog offered a number of bodies
for the Model T and Model One-Ton chassis.
Wagner's Ford Trucks since 1905 claims that many Atlas bodies were exported
to Mexico.
A 1920 Atlas catalog shows a screen side canopy express body with a
partially open cab. Another image shows an open-sided bus. For 1921
Atlas offered an attractive 10-passenger open bus body for Model T and TT
chassis that featured a more enclosed rear compartment, roll-down storm
curtains and a large rear step. Although Atlas specialized in open-style
bodies designed for warmer climates, they also manufactured closed side
panel trucks as well as express bodies with integral flared rails to
facilitate easier loading.
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Although some very early Ford trucks were sold with commercial bodies,
Ford discontinued the program in 1913.
For over ten years Ford had literally given away their truck body
business to independent builders around the country and in 1923 decided to
stop being so generous, and implemented a new fully equipped Ford Truck
sales program starting with the 1924 model year.
Some of the 1924 Ford brand commercial bodies were built at Ford's
Highland Park plant while others were outsourced from various suppliers who
included Budd and Simplex Manufacturing. The first body made available was
an all-steel express body, a canopy express body became available later in
the year in three popular styles; totally open, screen-sided or with roll-up
curtains.
The new Ford bodies were stocked by larger dealerships and could be
ordered individually through regional Ford distributors by smaller dealers,
who couldn't afford to keep them in inventory.
Following closely behind the express bodies was Ford's new enclosed cab
which were easily identified by their sloping windshields and half moon
openings in the rear quarters. By the middle of 1924 Ford had 8 distinct
fully equipped (cab, chassis & body) light trucks available across the
nation. Within 5 years many of the small commercial builders found
themselves out of business, while larger ones prospered, providing that they
were official Ford body suppliers.
In 1925 Ford introduced an optional body for their runabout which
attached to the chassis in place of the rear deck. That body was the first
production Ford pickup truck, a vehicle that eventually became the
most popular motor vehicle in North America, and remains so today. The
official name of the vehicle was the "Ford Model T Runabout with Pick-Up
Body", and it sold for $281 fob Detroit. It featured four stake pockets and
an adjustable tailgate, and required a 9-leaf rear spring.
Ford also introduced an enclosed cab to go along with their open cab in
their new truck body program during the same year.
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There was also an Atlas Carriage Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio who made
carriages from 1880-1910.
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Dec. 1922 - Atlas Body Works, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn.,
manufacturer of automobile and bus bodies, has awarded the contra t for
building an addition to its plant. The structure will be one-story high, 80
ft. x 90 ft., of brick and steel construction, and it will be modernly
equipped throughout.
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