Ok,

So my father in law has a 1952 Ford F100, guaranteed, but his ownership indicates its a 1953 F100. So this is a Canadian vehicle, can anyone help explain the vin # ? The VIN# on the ownership is BDA83H037985 and as far as I can tell, this has nothing to do with a F100. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

It's definitely Canadian. You mention "The VIN# on the ownership". Are you referring to the title certificate or registration papers? There should be a plate on the center of the firewall with all kinds of information about the truck. Have you looked at that to verify the numbers are the same? Let's also make sure we have our terminology straight, as well, so we know we're comparing apples to apples. There was no F-100's in 1952. The designation that year would be F-1. F-100 didn't start until 1953. So it's either a 52 F-1, or a 53 F-100, guaranteed. Another possibility that has caused confusion on titles is in some instances, if the truck was a leftover on the dealers lot from the prior year, it's not uncommon for the dealer to write the current calendar year on the paperwork when turning it in to the DMV for licensing, instead of the model year.

All that said, it seems you're missing some letters in your VIN, and the ones that are there don't quite jive with Ford's decode documentation. Here's what I have;

BD is the code for Ford F-1 in 1951 and 52.
A is a conventional type cab
83 is pickup or express bodystyle

Here's where it gets messed up. The next letter should be an A or a B, to denote standard or deluxe cab.

H is the assembly plant code, Home Office, Windsor Ontario

The next letter, if it's a 52, should be P. If it's a 53, it would read Q. It shouldn't (wouldn't) be the letter O or the number 0.

And then finally, your consecutive unit number, 37985.

So here's a little homework for you; please take a look at the truck and do a little research for the firewall tag and let us know what you find. Knowing for sure which year bodystyle the truck is would help, too. They're totally different between 1952 and 53. If it looks like the one in my avatar, it's a 52. If you can share a picture, that's even better.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum.

 

My 52 Panel was titled as a 53 when I bought it from the PO. Had to show proof to the Dept of Motor Vehicles that the 52 and 53 model years were completely different in design. Also brought them a book to show how to decode the serial number, but this is for a US made truck.