The Ford Model B debuted in 1932 as the replacement for the Model A. While Ford also launched its landmark V-8 engine that year, the Model B carried on with an improved version of the Model A’s inline four-cylinder engine. Though similar in appearance to its predecessor, the Model B was entirely new, with a double-drop chassis featuring a longer wheelbase. The fuel tank was repositioned from ahead of the dash to the lower rear of the car, a layout that necessitated dispensing with the previous gravity-fed fuel supply in favor of an engine-driven pump. As with the Model A, the Model B was available in a variety of two-door and four-door body styles, in standard and deluxe trims.

The Model B Pickup offered here is finished in classic black over black and features color-matched wire wheels, a single, side-mounted spare, and driver-side mirror. It is notable in that, unlike a great many such pickups, it has neither succumbed to a harsh working life, nor been subjected to the errant torch of a hot-rodder. Rather, it came into the possession of a previous, long-term owner in Scottsdale, Arizona, who is said to have been dedicated to faithfully preserving early Fords in factory specification.

The consignor asserts that this previous owner commissioned Lon Kruger of Scottsdale, Arizona, known in the collector-car community for concours-level restorations, to completely disassemble and restore the Model B Pickup to a high level. This is said to have entailed stripping back body panels to bare metal and rebuilding the engine, brakes, suspension, and other mechanical components using NOS parts. The process took nearly two years, according to the consignor, and was completed in 2003.

The result is equal parts charming and utilitarian: An appealing Model B Pickup, restored to appear just as Henry Ford intended it to be back in 1932.