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

Help decoding VIN

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Old Feb 25, 2023 | 10:12 AM
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Help decoding VIN

We have a F-1 that is a "decoration" for our wedding venue. We're starting to clean it up some and I'm trying to figure out the details of the truck.

I've narrowed it down to either be a 49, 50 or maybe 51 with a 6cyl. But need help narrowing down the year.

any help is greatly appreciated!


 
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Old Feb 25, 2023 | 11:20 AM
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There should be a series of numbers and letters hand stamped into the firewall or cowl, near the seam across the top of the firewall. That is your production code. A 293201 serial number from Highland Park, MI, would be right on the cusp of 49/50. Likely a 50, the production code will give us the build date to confirm, and add critical info to the database.



 
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Old Feb 25, 2023 | 01:22 PM
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They're very hard to make out- I'm going to try to clean them up some. I can tell it starts with a 2 and the ending is M1C2
 
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Old Feb 25, 2023 | 01:47 PM
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Most times they are unevenly stamped and hard to read. If you can clean them up and share a pic, sometimes we can read things from our experience others wouldn't expect them to be.
 
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Old Feb 25, 2023 | 05:15 PM
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The HP indicates Highland Park, MI and the 2 would be Vermillion (Red) and the 1C is likely March 1, 1950. The serial number fits there with others in the data. At the time Ford was using the calendar year as the model year so this would be a 1950, but from a practical point of view it doesn't make much difference.
 
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Old Feb 25, 2023 | 05:24 PM
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Tim, that was my original thought and started to type that all out, then backed off. If he's still missing some numbers in between, it could be 2 HM (some missing numbers)M, for a December build, with a 102 rotation number. I was hoping to get the rest of his info and possibly a picture to know for sure. As I read the chart, that could fit perhaps even better than a March build. Either way, I think by time it got delivered to a dealer and sold, it would have been sold and titled as a 50. That would answer the OP's original question, at least.
 
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Old Feb 25, 2023 | 05:37 PM
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Yep, I agree with your logic. Since the serial number indicated HP instead of HM I went ahead and took a shot at it. Will see if I screwed it up. The sn does show it among other C and D dates along with a few odd ones.
 
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