i just went and looked at a 1932 ford 3 window coupe. the guy has a california ***le. the vin no. on the ***le matches a no. on a small rectangular plate mounted to the floor under the carpet in front of the p***enger side of the seat. all the research i have done only indicates a no. being on the frame.? could someone tell me what this no. is? could it be a no. ***igned by the state of california at some point? or could it be original???????? thanks for any help. this is my first 32 purchase and just want to make sure?????? i did not look on the frame to see if those no.s on the plate matched the frame. maybe i should. it appears to be a all steel original henry ford body. but is there anyway to tell if the body is a original henry ford???? thanks again, Rob
Sounds to me like he bought a ***le from another car and stamped the VIN number onto a plate. He wouldn't be the first guy to do it, it's a fairly common practice.
Here is an explanation of the frame numbers. Scroll to the bottom of the page. http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_serialnumbers.htm
Original deluxe (3 window) coupe bodies were built by Murray and had a body number tag in the location you describe. These were numbered before the bodies were shipped to Ford and the cars were ***led by the engine/ch***is number so I don't if the body number really means anything. Over the years,as engines were replaced, some cars may have been registered by the body number.
I agree, sounds like he's using the body number, which isn't related to car's number at all. Old cars in general had ch***is/ engine numbers on frame and block. Putting serial an body is more recent. Car's actual serial would be on frame just in front of cowl, would be star 18(or less likeli, B) dash **** star, with the number running somewhere between 1 and around 200,000. If what the PO did works, you should probably go with it simply to avoid h***le. You might also find that the number on your frame is in use by a streetrodder somewhere...people are selling ***les with no frame all over now! Other possibility is that plate is a state issue serial done for a car with no ***le...each state has its own system and placement, but likely an abbreviation for issuing state and a fairly low number.
Rob---- Give me a call @ 928-445-RODS(7637) Maybe I can hep ya out Don in Prescott (I bought the 64 Rivi from ya a couple years ago)
The 1932 Ford 3W coupe body was made for Ford by Murray Body Company. They came with a number. ( 3w Larry's coupe and mine are only about 50 numbers apart ) 1st photo shows a Murray body tag and the second photo shows the location. The number on the body means nothing to the ***le ... and the numbers WILL BE DIFFERENT ... I would be willing to bet that coupe's real numbers are being registered elsewhere ... The photos shown are from a small collection of 3W photos and stuff. They are not from my 1932 Ford 3W
The serial number from Ford should be stamped on the left side frame rail , just behind the foot that comes off the firewall Photo included These are the ones on my frame. Stamped by FOMOCO in 1932. Mine are painted over ... but still visible. There are two other locations also ... but not easily seen or photographed with the body on.
thanks guys for the info. so i should not try and find no.s on the frame and use those as it would just confuse the situation with motor vehicle division. thanks, Rob
That's up to you. You have a car with a ***le with numbers that match something on the car. That'll fly with the dmv. Now if you have your own doubts or want to do your own research onto why it's ***led with those numbers and not the original vin go for it. Just make sure your prepared for what you might find.
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