Let’s be direct for a moment: Some readers last week questioned my use of the term “full set” when describing the stainless-bodied Ford Motor Company products that Allegheny Technologies will put up for auction this fall. As they noted, a trio of stainless-bodied Ford Model A’s preceded the better-known 1936 Ford, 1960 Thunderbird, and 1966/1967 Lincoln Continental. On first blush, it does appear that Allegheny had something to do with the creation of the Model A’s too. Yet after some digging, we find that may not be the case.

To begin with, Allegheny did indeed have a business relationship with Ford Motor Company dating back at least to 1930, when Ford introduced a number of stainless steel items on the Model A. A Ford brochure from the time touted the “greater value” of “rustless steel” as used in the Model A’s headlamps, radiator shell, hub caps, cowl finish strip, gasoline tank cap, radiator cap, taillamp, and other exposed metal parts. “It never requires polishing,” the brochure states. “You merely clean it with a damp cloth as you would a windshield.”