Automobile Ford Model A Mail Truck 1929 in vendita

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To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The Boeckmann Collection | Online event, 4 February 2027.
Offered Without Reserve | $40,000 - $60,000 USD

Built for Model Products Corporation, corresponding to their 1:25th-scale model
Created to promote the US Postal Service’s recently mandated ZIP Codes
Hot-rod flathead drivetrain with all the best speed equipment
One of George Barris’s most famous creations of its era

During the golden age of model kits in the 1960s and 1970s, some of the most popular were based upon George Barris’s wild and wacky “kustom” creations. In the instance of the Mail Truck, the model kit actually came hand-in-glove—created by Model Products Corporation as part of a tie-in with an unlikely corporate collaborator, the United States Postal Service. The USPS had recently launched the new ZIP Codes and by the late 1960s was strongly encouraging the public to adopt them, and felt that an eye-catching vehicle, built by the hippest Hollywood customizer, would be just the ticket for making new postal service regulations fun.

The Mail Truck was built by Barris on the basis of a 1929 Ford Model A, outfitted in classic hot-rodder fashion with a 239-cubic-inch flathead Ford V-8, equipped with all of the best speed equipment including an Isky cam, Jahns pistons, Stromberg 97 carburetors on a Weiand dual-intake manifold, and Sharp heads, delivering its power through a three-speed manual transmission. (According to Barris, a flathead engine was stipulated by the Postal Service, “to offer relief to the flat feet of the postman.”)

Barris constructed the body of plastic-coated marine-grade plywood, flanked by bobbed fiberglass fenders, and finished it with hand-painted graphics, depicting the US Mail logo, Uncle Sam (an iconic feature of past mail trucks), the Mr. Zip character, and, of course, ZIP CODE. Ice cream parlor chairs were employed as the seats, accompanied by a Muntz six-speaker stereo system, and period lamps were used throughout, including a pair of iconic 1920s Woodlite headlamps. On the roof were mounted a wind meter and directional arrow. Should rain, sleet or snow prevent the Mail Truck’s passage, a secondary vehicle was provided: a Barris-designed, custom-built Stelber unicycle, carried on the driver’s side front fender. Exactly how useful a unicycle would be in a blizzard remains up for debate.

Following its promotional use, the Mail Truck became part of the Petersen Automotive Museum’s renowned collection in Los Angeles, and was acquired from them by The Boeckmann Collection in 2013. It has remained in the collection since, a visitor favorite, especially among those who remember putting together the MPC version at Dad’s work bench back in the 1970s.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/bc27/.