Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Frame number

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion << previous || next >>

Posted By Discussion Topic: Frame number -- page: 1 2 3     46coupe 05-14-2019 @ 8:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 271 Joined: Oct 2015 I contacted the research center as suggested. They had an answer for me within a week. Here is what they said. automobile specialists who has provided the following answer: The Benson Ford Research Center does not have production records for the year and model of your vehicle. A fire in 1970 destroyed most of our production records leaving only a limited range of years and models. Additionally, we do not have vehicle assembly plant records from most Ford plants. In early manufacturing years it is known that the Ford plants did not track their vehicles by serial number (frame number) and no information is known to exist about 1946 assembly records. The V8 Ford engines were built on two production lines at the Rouge Engine Plant in Dearborn Michigan. After successful testing they were stamped with a numerical serial number on the top front of the transmission case. They were then shipped to the final assembly plants, where they would be placed on a partly assembled vehicle frame. At that time the engine/ transmission serial number was stamped on the top of the frame rail near the front cross member with two or three prefix digits added such as 99A in 1946. This number is referred to as a “frame number”. The Benson Ford Research Center does have production records from the Rouge Engine Plant. The records indicate engine serial number 766379 was one of 1761 engines built on one production line December 18, 1945. The serial number range for the day was 764812 to 766573. It is generally believed that an engine would have been installed at the final assembly plant within 3 months of shipping by the engine plant. Would my car, assuming it was assembled in Dec at the earliest, still have the early parts installed from the 1942-45 time frame, which it does. I guess they had more NOS stuff laying around than I imagined. Anyone have any other thoughts? 46coupe 04-26-2019 @ 8:45 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 271 Joined: Oct 2015 Thank you. I'll see what they can tell me and let you and others know. trjford8 04-26-2019 @ 8:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4202 Joined: Oct 2009 If you are intent on finding out all the facts about your early '46 you need to contact the Benson Ford Research Center. They are located in Dearborn, Michigan. They do charge for their services. This message was edited by trjford8 on 4-26-19 @ 8:36 AM 46coupe 04-26-2019 @ 7:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 271 Joined: Oct 2015 Does anyone know anything about the paint trim in the grills, and other trim pieces? The change was made to paint the parts with the same body color. What was the color prior to the change order? Any help is appreciated. 46coupe 04-24-2019 @ 4:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 271 Joined: Oct 2015 I had gone to appendix D, but didn't find too much. My car is Navy Blue. No mention of interior other than adding brown upholstery to what was being used at the time. The oil bath air cleaner and filter were added, which I have. This happened Aug 9 of 45. In Sept they changed the paint on the grill bars to match the body color. My grill bars and related parts are painted an orangey red color which goes with the Ford word on the bumper. What do you all think? Was the car built somewhere around July/Aug of 45 given the early frame number and early items that were installed on the first run of production cars? Or am I being over zealous? Are there any other references I can check that you all know about? I understand about running changes and long time lapses which means this could be for naught. The hunt is fun though, agreed? This message was edited by 46coupe on 4-24-19 @ 4:31 PM 42wagon 04-24-2019 @ 2:01 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 584 Joined: Oct 2009 I second the recommendation that you get the 41-48 Ford book. Appendix D lists the running changes by year. You can compare your car to the list of changes authorized by Big Brother in Dearborn. Unfortunately this will only tell you that your car could not have been assembled before a certain date. Ford did not keep or they got lost along the way the daily production figures for each assembly plant. Also this list only tells you when a change was authorized. It is perfectly possible that certain assembly plants did not have the parts on hand to make the change until sometime later than the authorization date. Happy hunting. Let us know what you find. trjford8 04-24-2019 @ 1:25 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4202 Joined: Oct 2009 I second Charlie's comment about the V-8 Club's '41-'48 book. if you are a new owner of a '46 Ford the book is a must have to continue your research. you can purchase to book by going to the "Online Store" in the left column of this website. CharlieStephens 04-24-2019 @ 1:02 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 879 Joined: Oct 2009 Did you check the club's book for your car? https://shop.efv8.org/collections/ford-books/products/1941-1948-ford-book-softbound I don't have one that covers '46 or I would just give you the information. Charlie Stephens 46coupe 04-24-2019 @ 12:07 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 271 Joined: Oct 2015 Let me begin by saying how much I appreciate everyone's help and that I'm not usually lacking in detail research. However, I had some time to kill since this morning's post and went back to check my frame. I was very troubled with what I thought I had discovered in the mismatched numbers. So I took a different style brush and begin working on the one number that wasn't coming out clearly. I FOUND the line that is the rest of the 3 in the 379 section of the number. It was so faint that I missed it initially and mistook a scratch for the top of a 5. Whoever hand stamped this wasn't too consistent. Anyway I hope I haven't wasted too much of your all's time. Moving forward now that I know the numbers match, how can I get to the month and year of manufacture? Obviously, I'm a little excited about this. I get that way when researching other antiques also, which is surprising since I'm older now. 46coupe 04-24-2019 @ 9:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 271 Joined: Oct 2015 The only number I can find on the firewall while facing the drivers side is L 980. The data plate on the firewall is a Carpenter repro. No other stampings were found . However, I can't see behind the engine to check there. 51 Woodie: I'm not surprised that your number is a lot higher than mine as I believe that my car was built sometime in 1945 as it has several features that were listed in a V8 article about a 1944-45 staff car. Henry was known not to waste anything including parts left over from 1942 -45 production as stated in several articles I've read in the times. My car has the trumpet horns, round knob hood release, clutch grease fittings, etc as were used on the earlier cars. I'm having as much fun researching this car as driving it, especially when I play 40s music.

<< previous || next >>

PAGE: 1 2 3

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

EFV-8 Club Forum Home | Back to Home Page | Contact the Webmaster

Copyright © 2009 - EFV-8.org
Powered by < CF FORUM > v.2.1