Ford Wreck in the Desert (1)

[Bill Murray]

Evening Kuno and others:

Kuno, I would say that my reference sources would agree with your opinion on Marmon=Herringtons used as patrol cars. I have never seen any reference to 4 wheel drive cars used before the CMPs and Jeeps arrived.

As to the pictures, I agree it is hard to tell if it is a 40 or 41 Ford although it seems certain that it is not a 42.

As a side question, may I ask where you are living? Your name seems to be German but your messages almost seem to indicate you are in Libya or somewhere in the Near East.

Tony: Thanks for the ID tip. On this same subject, when I was still travelling a lot to Sweden and able to visit Bart occasionally and had a very active correspondence going with him (this would be 20-25 years ago) he and I and some other contemporary enthusiasts put together a fairly comprehensive "Hints and tips list" for identifying vehicles from a wide variety of countries. Sadly, and I have looked high and low, this little booklet seems to have not made it in my many moves of households I have gone through. I will try to reconstruct what I can from memory and going through my stuff and if it results in something useful I can perhaps post it here.

As to my comment on American MH vehicles usually having smaller wheel/tyre equipment, has this not been discussed on this or the older forum? I cannot find it but I know I have read it somewhere. I am referring to our stubborn insistence on staying with much smaller wheels and tyres and the use of dual rear wheels all the way up into the 1970s or 1980s.

I feel certain that I either have or have read a study made by the American Ordinance Dept. or some such that basically concluded that smaller cross section tyres were better for all-round all-terrain use and that dual rear wheels offered the possibility to continue to function if one tyre or wheel was out of commission.

Finally, let us hope that most of the Ford/Ford Marmon Herington pics we see will be some sort of side view so we can check the front wheel hubs.

Cheers
Bill