Thanks again, this forum is a great resource! I was in contact with Stu on another thread and will be doing away with the original 17's. I am trying to research and plan my restoration to avoid repeat upgrades or mistakes. I have owned this truck for years and it was once my daily driver . I want to keep it as original as possible but address safety issues. I miss the days of double clutching!!
Dave

 

So I have looked through this thread and still need help figuring out the year of my f1. My Great Grandfather bought the truck new. No title can be found. My Grandfather always said it was 1949. My Great Uncle also says he rembers the day his dad brought it home . He thinks it was in 1949. He would of only been nine or ten at that time.
So everything I think I've read shows the vin after the 49 cut off with would make it a 50.

Firewall/ Glovebox and frame number's match

98RC 317618 Branch D1

Stamping on the firewall
DL 4 6B627


Also on the bottom left corner of the globe box tag it says Series F2. Why wouldn't it say Series F1 since its a half ton?

 

9=1949/1950
8R= 239 Flathead V8
C= F1 1/2 ton
Branch DL= Dallas

DL= Dallas
4= Birch Gray
6B= February 6 ( that should be 1950)
627= Internal plant code

 

The most likely answer is someone accidentally grabbed a tag from the F2 pile instead of the F1 pile and processed it. Things like that wasn't as big a deal as it would be today, and Ford wasn't going to hold up production or waste a plate because someone made a minor error like that.

Chalk it up to one of the cool little things that give your truck added character.

 

My 48 only has a frame number:

87HC92217

There is no glove box door; therefore no VIN plate. The firewall plate is just that, a plate. It looks like someone sandblasted the surface rendering it unreadable.

I do know that the original grille color was Tucson Tan as that is the color of the parking light housings. Other than that I don't know much more.

Phil

 

There's not much more to know just from that number. It says your 48 F1 was originally equipped with the 226 Flathead 6 cylinder engine. Unless you can see the stamped numbers near the center of the firewall, that's all there ever will be.

The more important question is, do you have title or legal papers with that number in your name?

 

98RC XXXXXX LB
LB 14 H 517
August 14, 1950
Long Beach, Ca
Raised panel bed
Meadow Green
239 V8
3 speed light duty trans
Dual windshield wipers
Dome light
I do not know the original owner but tracked it back to Compton Ca. The remains of the license frame was from Huntington Beach, Ca. This general area was rich in oil and so Mater may have been put to work in one of the oil patches. Judging from the accumulation of dust and grease it spent allot of time on dusty roads. It has allot of rub marks and small bumps in the sheetmetal which would lead me to believe it was a company truck or ranch vehicle that was serviced regularly. The original block was bored 080 and had not been cracked. The transmission case had been replaced with an earlier V8 case. I found lots of original ford parts such as the tie rod ends, remains of hand original upholstry, original ford shocks, springs with their original part number etc

 

Here is the info for my '49 F4, data tag on the firewall, glove box and frame numbers all match.
firewall tag 98RT 158974 KC
firewall stamp above the seam 2 KC 8 41
stenciled on the lower center of the firewall 1-24-A, I assume this is January 24 A shift.
my glove box tag on the line below the serial number line has, Series F4 Model WBTD
what does the WBTD mean?

 

I don't think I have posted anything here before, but I would really like to have it deciphered.
My truck is registered as a 1948. Title and owners card say so.
On the firewall I find:
MBF ? 7
On the glove box tag I find 98RC463910 and 9RC
It is all, as I was told, original including the flat side bed, three speed on the floor and small rear window.
Any guesses?


Mine is, it's an early 50 that some how, maybe when rebuilt, was registered as a 1948.

 

First, does the number on the Rating plate (Glove box) match what is on your title AND the frame?
98RC463910

9= 1949-1950 based on number should be late 1950
8R= 239 ci V8
C= F1
463910= unit number

MBF ? 7

M= Meadow Green
BF= Buffalo, NY
?= should be a letter would indicate month
7= Mostlikely day built

 

Since you didn't post the number, we can't confirm if your truck is actually a 1949 or 1950. That was the original intent of this thread, to attempt to determine where the number changed from 49 to 50.

 

Yes, Joe, the title and glove box carry the same number. I don't know about the frame as I have not been able to find it. The truck was a complete rebuild, (ground up) a few years ago and heavy paint/undercoating was used on all the frame and suspension parts. I will have to sand it off to determine if it still there.
I know from the numbers, it is not a 48, as titled. Even if the frame was swapped out, the possibility of those numbers being the same, except for the year, is almost impossible.
Of interest, two states have now accepted the numbers/truck as indicated.

 

Denny, the most likely reason that 2 states have accepted the mistake is probably because somewhere along the way there was not a title and a new one applied for. In that case, obviously the person applying for the title had simply guessed at the year and applied that way. The standardized VIN was established in 1981, so most states really don't have the documentation on hand to verify older vehicles.

 

My 1950 F1 # 98RC274896
MY 1950 F5 # 97HT274981

85 #s difference

 

Yeah, Joe. Being from Pa., where the truck was previously titled, I know from experience the people in Harrisburg don't like looking into the old, hand files, to verify anything. I'm guessing, much like you, the previous owner, who had had the truck for many years, had permitted the title to expire and lost it. When he went in to re-register it, he just assumed it was a 48 because it looked like one.