Where is the VIN plate located on the 1940 Fords? And does anybody have the book of codes to decode it?
Only code is the prefix--the rest is just a sequence number from engine production. 18 means it was a 221, 54 for v860, 99 for the few specials sold with Merc engine, also lots of heavier trucks got 99 engines. No info at all on body or options.
Hey Bruce, I see you have some knowledge about VIN's etc.. I just came across a frame for a 1940 Ford and I'm trying to locate the VIN. I understand it's located on the left frame rail between the cowl and the first X mamber (near steering box). Here is the problem, the frame, although solid, has years of built up surface rust on it. I took it to the sandblaster yesterday to clean it up and hopefully find the VIN hiding. If it can't be located I have another option, a Writ of Mandamus. I have a trooper coming over to ***ist me, but I doubt we will find it. Someone said manufactures did not start using VIN's until the 1950's but it looks like that's not true. So the question is: if it can't be located after sandblasting is there another way to reveal it? Someone told me to lightly spray paint the area and then lightly sand to see if it comes up that way. Do you have any other ideas? Thanks!
40ford.....while it is true there is a serial number where you described , there are also two more locations. since your body is off the frame you may be able to see them http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_serialnumbers.htm
It is a serial number, not a VIN, which is a modern thing adding in a lot of information. Start with a really strong light, slanted. If nothing or just traces...go to advanced search. Bluto. Acid. Not the one about college in 1968...
I've also tried putting a piece of tracing paper over the number then rubbing with a lead pencil helps sometimes.
This link shows the exact locations of the four common locations of the serial number. http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/1939ford-project-teardown-13.htm
Update....I just located the VIN on my 40 Ford frame. As "fordnuts" correctly stated, the VIN is located near the steering box. I found mine just in front of the steering mount area. It tood some light sanding with 800 grit, but she came out just fine. So now that I found the VIN all I need to do it get a ***le. Yeah, that sould be easy.
Just curious, did yours start with a 54? Mine starts with a 54 and as Bruce indicates, it must have came with a V8-60. After the 54 there are six additional #'s which I ***ume are production sequence. Others I've seen only have 5 additional #'s. Would this indicate my coupe being a very late production car? Thanks. Anyone.
Oh and by the way, Welcome to yet another Md. HAMBer if I haven't said so already, and good luck with your p/u project.
506,501 apparently was the first number for the very rare '40-60. I think these were leftover engines actually built in 1939...the 60 had a very bad reputation by this time and sales were dead. It was used here only '37-40, but was built in Europe from late 1935 til ??? Does yours have a tubular front axle?? According to records listed in the '39 resto book, the axles left from their very limited use on '38-39 221 cars were used up on 1940 60's.
It's got the original (I ***ume) I-beam axle, Bruce. No tube axle. There are 8 total #'s in the serial with the first two being 54.
HI GUYS NEW TO THIS BOARD. Need you help, same subject 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe serial number question. I purchased this car back in November and having alot of fun with it. the car has a zz4 with a 350 trans. the serial number is in the correct location but the numbers do not seem correct for this car. the original ***le was from M***. than Ct. from 95 untill NJ in 09 here is the number CEB1239V0521. My question is this a replacement number? and if it is do I need to take it to the nj state police to verify even though I have a clear nj ***le?
not any help with cars, I guess, but I found the s/n on my 1940 ford on the transmission was easier to read than the one on the left frame rail. There was a small plate in the floorboard just in front of the shifter, removed that and could see the s/n tag on the transmission. haven't looked at the number lately, but IIRC it started with "12" and it's a 3/4 ton with the v'8 logo stamped into the hood and the 60 hp logo on the front chrome. y'all have a good day, Keith
To be technical about it, the serial number was ***igned to the engine/trans unit, and all of the engines and transmissions for US production cars and trucks were built at the River Rouge plant in Michigan and then shipped out to the ***embly plants around the country. So, the number only tells approximately when the original engine and trans were built, not when the car was built. When the engine/trans unit was bolted into a ch***is, the number on the bell of the trans case was copied onto the frame rail. They literally had a guy with a set of number stamps and a big hammer there to put the number on the frame. That's why the numbers are stamped unevenly, not in perfect alignment, and why there is such variation in where they are stamped. The most common location is by the steering box, but I've seen them anywhere between the front crossmember and the cowl.
Bruce,am I to ***ume that some of the 40 police car vin numbers started with 99 rather than 18?I had read somewhere that some of the 40s with the merc engines had a P in front of the vin number,but haven't been able to varify that.
On the 239 stuff...lots of trucks (not commercials) got the 239, and had 99 prefix with a number form that sequence...low numbers because that engine only started in '39. I have never seen a Ford from the 221 years with an original 239 installation, but I have heard that this was done for special fleet orders like police and perhaps for some individuals. I would ***ume they got a sequence number from the 239 series, the only thing that would make sense. V8-times once featured the paperwork from a '41 Ford Woody originally special orederd with 239, and it had the 99 sequence number. I would bet that cars in this category got some letter designation by the 99 to mark that car numbers as a Ford. Trucks got 99T, the normal p***enger car designation was already in use for Merc in 99A, so something new would have been needed. After the war the prefix stuff got more complicated as the 239 was routinely used in all the lines and in the same sequence series so more prefix, like 899M for a '48 Merc.
i have a 41 ford 2 sedan deluxe that i am going to be in the process of applying for a ***le for.I have found my serial # by the gear box. going by the link that 36 3window posted showing the number squeancen (18-5,896,295 to 18-6,769,0350) my number doesnt fall between them numbers. mine is 18-53***** which falls in with the fourty... i have not pulled the kick board up to look at the back of the trans which should match this??? the car is 95% orginal id guess
That's like a half million cars out of sequence and my immediate su****ion would be that your 3 there is a badly stamped 8. Look on the trans (top of bellhousing part, right over the little tin inspection cover) and see what's there. Never looked on a '41, but on my '48 Ford near the center of the toeboard there is a little punchout piece, maybe 1/2" X 2 inches or so, that is still partly attached the the main stamping. Bending this up gives a view of the serial number...removing the floorboard will not be much fun, especially if you have a heater.
Hey Guys, this isn't rocket science. Why do you have to be so perfect? Back in the day if you had a serial number you were considered lucky and no one really cared if you didn't. The DMV gave you a set of plates even is you could afford the registration and knew that it was a Ford. Fifty percent of the population was illiterate and the other half didn't care as long as the car had a plate, and the cop could pinch you with a $2 parking ticket. Serial numbers never meant too much because most partsmen in the old days knew by sight what part fit each car because there wasn't too many variants that were made for it. Thank Henry Ford for serial numbers that started with the model year in which the car was built, ie: 1C *123456 which was a 1941 model year. Who would have know that it would blossom into a 17 digit number that would tell you, the country of origin, make, model, engine, etc. Too many people place too much importance on the numbers that their car has, rather then enjoying the driving experience that the car offers.
This is exactly my point, if my car had a P in front of it and it was a hot day, I know that it was going to stink for two days.
This thread came up in an online search as I was looking for '40 Ford serial number locations. I appreciate this is a few months old, but to be fair, these days the serial number is important to many people. If you're in Nome, Alaska, there may be a lot more important things to worry about, but certainly in much (or all) of Europe, and I suspect a lot of the USA, the bureaucrats have to have numbers to enter into their computers or their little self-centred world comes to an end. We wouldn't be able to register a vehicle without the correct numbers stamped on the ch***is. EDIT: The main reason for my search is to see if there is any way of decoding an approximate build date - my serial number is 558****, so somewhere about midway through the listed '40 Ford model numbers.
I have a 1940 pickup and the vin starts with a BB. Does anyone know what that means? Never saw this before.
I recently sold Richard D from here a 40 frame with very clearand distinct serial numbers. The top of the frame rail at the front crossmember rivets number had the five-pointed star, 18-, the sequence number and another five-pointed star. The number at the center of the top frame rail was the same but I believe the numb er at the rivets of the rear crossmember did not have the 18-, just the sequence numbers and stars.
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