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1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Fat Fendered and Classic Ford Trucks

Production codes?

Old Nov 3, 2019 | 01:12 PM
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Production codes?

I've searched the web and the forum and have come up empty. Is there no decipher source for the production codes in the lower right on the '51-'52 rating plate? Is there a way to find out what options were original, such as deluxe cab, heater etc? If there's a link to earlier forum threads, please direct me there.
Thanks,
Brian
 
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Old Nov 3, 2019 | 04:15 PM
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The production code on the rating plate is a carryover from the firewall stampings of the earlier trucks. It contains the scheduled build date and the rotation number. The build date is listed first, seen as a number-letter or number-number-letter, depending on the day of the month of the build, followed by the rotation number. The rotation number is the number assigned by Ford in which the vehicle was to go down the line, for tracking purposes. It has no correlation to the vehicle or options. It's simply a meaningless tracking number. That number would rotate from 1 to whatever the top number Ford used, then started over again. I've read that the top number would have varied by plant, and that it was high enough no two vehicles would have the same number in the plant at the same time during the assembly process.

Any records Ford may have had relating to purchase orders, invoices or option lists have been long gone and/or destroyed.
 
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Old Nov 3, 2019 | 04:46 PM
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Thanks! Is J for January, June or July? I'm looking at a plate with 6J 118
I have a repro '52 brochure and nothing in it mentions a heater. Were there different options?

Brian
 
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Old Nov 3, 2019 | 05:54 PM
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No, J is for September

ABC DEF GHJ KLM

no I
 
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Old Nov 5, 2019 | 04:38 AM
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Originally Posted by ribside
Thanks! Is J for January, June or July? I'm looking at a plate with 6J 118
I have a repro '52 brochure and nothing in it mentions a heater. Were there different options?

Brian
A = January, M = December. The letter I is skipped.

6J = September (J) 6, 195?
 
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Old Nov 5, 2019 | 05:40 AM
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Originally Posted by mtflat
No, J is for September

ABC DEF GHJ KLM

no I
This makes sense but then again ford does weird things
Originally Posted by NumberDummy
J = January, M = December. The letter I is skipped.

6J = September (J) 6, 195?
so which one of you is correct?
 
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Old Nov 5, 2019 | 05:45 AM
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Originally Posted by bigwin56f100
This makes sense but then again ford does weird things

so which one of you is correct?
I've known that A refers to January for over 50 years, then I typo'd that J is January.

Stupid!

I corrected my post.
 
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Old Nov 5, 2019 | 06:52 AM
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We are both right

I knew what Bill meant.
Tim
 
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