Ride Of The Week 04/19/2021: Drew Hopay's 1928 Model A Panel Truck

Piggy-backing on last week’s retired professional vehicle in James Cogdill’s Suburban Ambulance, this week’s #rideoftheweek is a commercial vehicle that has had three generations of drivers behind the wheel.

Drew Hopay is a returning Car Show Life show board customer. In 2020 we designed the display for his 1936 Ford Woody Wagon (#rideoftheweek 03/15/21). During the design period, he was telling us about this 1928 Model A panel truck he was in the process of restoring. Since we’re in the business of telling the story of vehicles, we were really intrigued by the backstory on this one.

Drew’s grandfather, John, owned and operated this vehicle to deliver snacks from his McKees Rocks, PA distribution house. Later, Drew’s Dad, used the truck to deliver potato chips for two different brands, Best Yet and Snyder of Berlin. Drew told us about the efforts he made with the Commonwealth of PA to obtain the transfer of its Antique Vehicle plate, the 158th issued, and the original porcelain license plate from 1928.

It’s common for passenger vehicles to find their way down thru the generations, but it’s a rarity for a commercial vehicle. This 1928 Model A has its original, numbers-matching drivetrain. It is restored to appear as it did when Drew’s dad, John, drove it to deliver Best Yet Potato chips.

Mounted behind the driver is an early tube-radio that is fully restored to working condition, AM band only, of course. One casualty of the restoration was the porcelain adorning the original plate. It disintegrated, but the metal underneath was still intact, so it was repainted to original condition.

If you’d like your ride to be featured as a #carshowlife #rideoftheweek, send us your story and photos to info@carshowlife.net.