My bill of sell I received when I purchased my A states it is a 1931. It did have a 31 radiator shell. I ran the numbers on the frame and it was produced in 1930. I'm going to tag the car this week and won't have a problem changing the year if it is not correct. Would the numbers on frame be the correct year or could the car have been sold as a 31 when it was new?
Lot's of model A's have a later radiator shell, just register the car with the paper work you have, there is no reason to potentially create a problem at the dmv. HRP
Some states including "progressive" states like Calif****les cars the year that they were first registered. For example my mom bought a new '65 Buick in early '66 in San Francisco. It was****led and registered as a '66 (which was a blessing when she traded it in). The differences in the '30/'31 Ford were so subtle that it really doesn't matter. I think it is a matter of what you prefer unless you are doing a restoration in which case you would wan it to be****led as what it actually is.
Bad English. I usually don't notice it because I see so many guys saying things like I am think I am going to sale it instead of sell it.
I chalk it up to lack of decent education (I raised my oldest granddaughter and had to deal with school LOL) and the web where proper grammar isn't that important. I often do slang on line myself but some things just wrong not slang at all.
If it is not going to be extra work now is the time to get the year right. The number on the frame was the number transferred from the engine/transmission****embly when it was built. If I remember correctly the Model A judging standards for the Model A say to allow up to 3 months for installation in the vehicle, how far off are you? Why don't you post the number with the last three digits as***X? What body style do you have, that may have other unique features? Late '31 had an "indented firewall" and a gas shut off under the hood and not in the cab. An early '30 would have an oval speedometer, after mid '30 through '31 the speedometer was round. After late '30 the splash aprons were one piece. I am sure there are other features that I can't remember on short notice. As post two points out it could be a '30 that wasn't sold until '31. How about some pictures? This would be a good question for fordbarn.com. Ask for features to look for. Charlie Stephens
LOL my great uncle had a '30 with '28/9 fenders. He bought it new off the showroom floor and it was always a point of contention with my dad. No way it could have come that way but it did. Tell that story on Fords Barn and see how long the thread stays open.
Don't forget sail. After being on the hamb for almost 17 years I just overlook a lot of spelling mistakes, I try to proof read my replies and I find I too make them, I also realize we have a huge amount of member who's first language is not English and somehow they manage to get their point across. I would be up Shinola Creek if I had to try to communicate in Swedish..HRP
Many manufacturers built parts ahead of time and most new year models are released before January 1st, making it not-at-all unlikely that a car would have date codes a year earlier than the actual model year of the car. Sounds like a '31 to me.
Porknbeaner, You just made my day. I won't go into detail unless someone want's them, but i have a '32 roadster with doors that look like model A;s because they over lap but the rear fenders are '32. I have pictures of my '30 coupe rear fendres and my " '32 roadster" and they are definetly not the same or anywhere near the same. If in fact the body is a model A how can the '32 fenders fit that contour???? The car was purchased out of a wrecking yard by the previous owner in 1949 and i boutght it from his widow several months ago. I've tried to see if anyone can shed a little light but mostly what they want to do is discredit the whole thing, not really try and help with a solution. Oh well, I hope this doesn't kill the thread??
It is that stupid spell check messing with our minds. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Back to the original question.....do you have a picture? One of the best ways to tell a '30 from '31 is that the '30 will have 2 piece splash aprons above the running boards where the '31 has one piece. Oops...didn't read post #11.
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