I want to say Hi all first I'm new here. I just bought a 51 F1 that I am starting to restore. The truck has been painted but they did not do the fire wall or any other hard to get to places. The paint on the fire wall is original and there is USA and a row of numbers stenciled in paint on it. It look to be original to the truck and I was just wanted to know if this was something comon with these truck and what was it used for.

Thanks
Steve

 

Welcome! I've never seen one that said "USA". Was your truck military issue? What color is the firewall?

You might post the numbers and if it looks familiar we could decode some of it.

My 48 F1 had the date 11-11-48 stenciled on the firewall in yellow paint. This corresponded to the date code stamped into the firewall.

 

I am not sure about it being a mlitary truck but the fire wall is a med shade of green so I guess that is possible. I didn't know they used 1/2 ton trucks. The letters USA are at the top center and about 5" below that in the center are the numbers 2439979. The numbers and letters are about 2" tall and in white paint. I also have not made a good match up with the first part of the VIN # with any decoder I have found. (F1 R1HM****) The engine code (R) or the year code (1) does not match up to anything I have seen. Thanks for any clues with this as well.

Steve

 

The vin is easy - that's F1 for the half-ton, R for flathead V8 and 1 is for 1951. HM is Highland Park, MI assembly plant. The last 5 digits are the serial number. Ford vins weren't too complicated back then.

The stenciled numbers don't fit anything factory. It has to be aftermarket or military.

 

That is the Military registration number. It's a ex- US Army truck. Used on a base somewhere. These were support vehicles. They used to add a data plate to the inside firewall in the center area. Many of these were painted over in later life. It might still be there. It has the Ford serial number, Gov't contract number, date of contract, and any pertinent TM manuals issued for the truck.
I restored Military vehicles for 25 years before coming back to civilian stuff, in case you're wondering where I got my info.

Barry

50 F-1

 

Thanks for the information gent's, it's nice to now that I'm putting a shine back on the boots of an old army brat. Is there any way to use the number to find out when and where it was use?

 

NO, the gov't never really kept track of where vehicles were that close. They'd get moved from unit to unit as they were needed. It could have sat in a motor pool somewhere and not used alot. Most were auctioned off with little miles on them. Chances are your truck came from a base somewhere near your area. Alot of vehicle auctions in the 50's were held at the Letterkenny army depot in Pa. That's not too far from you. Another crazy thing that used to happen, was vehicles auctioned off were registered by the year they were gotten rid of, not the year it was made.

Barry

50 F-1

 

Thanks for the info. This helps explain the low mileage on the truck. I wish it had been stored better by the last owner. All the mechanical stuff on the truck is in great working order just rusty from setting

 

Welcome to the board. Good luck with your truck. look inside the glove box lid and see if there is any more numbers on it or info