Question for senior members
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Tuned
Joined: Aug 2019
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Question for senior members
Last night the neighbor brought home a 1937 Ford 4 door sedan with a vin# C30638. Can anything be gleaned from this number, or is this before the more complex numbers were instituted?
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Simi Valley, CA
On Ford's, the engine number was also stamped on the hogshead.
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Tuned
Joined: Aug 2019
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Thanx ND, the number was from the title. When I get home tonight I'll ask him if I can take a look at the engine. And just so I don't look to goofy, where's the hogshead?
Last edited by MannyC750; Nov 17, 2019 at 01:29 PM. Reason: Spelling
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Burbank, WA
Ford also stamped the serial number on the frame, too. It's typically found on the left side frame rail near the steering box. Back then, the title/registration always referred to the engine number, but way too often the engines were swapped out with rebuilt or remanufactured engines, and the correct engine with the registration number was lost. It made it difficult to identify vehicles by the engine number when the engine had been replaced. That's why Ford stamped the engine number on the frame and transmission instead.
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Orange County, CA
If that's the only number on the title, it isn't the original serial number.
The original number really only tells you what engine the car had.
You might have better luck asking in the '47 and older group.
The original number really only tells you what engine the car had.
You might have better luck asking in the '47 and older group.
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I have a 40 Ford coupe and it is my understanding that the number on the frame was transferred from the engine number stamping as the chassis was being constructed. It has also been said that not every chassis got stamped. In those days the numbers were used for production purposes and not so government bureaucrats could track it.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Burbank, WA
Hard to say. US production serial numbers were a continuation for many years. By 37, the serial number would have been much larger. It may have even been an invoice number someone wrote on a document some time, not knowing what the correct number to use was.
Early Ford Serial Numbers For Cars and Trucks Manufactured for the USA Market from 1932 to 1953
Early Ford Serial Numbers For Cars and Trucks Manufactured for the USA Market from 1932 to 1953
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