Thanks Brian

Is there any way we could see a picture of the firewall. There aren't many Buffalo built trucks in the database.

10 is color and I'm not sure if it was one of the grays (Dover) or beige?
BF would be Buffalo
88 ? not sure what that might be without seeing a picture
1J is in the right range for a Sept 1 build date

 

Here it is. I don't know the actual color. My dad thought green, most is a bleached tan like the firewall, but on the door frame and under a grommet I've spotted a maroon, which was one of the colors. But, this could be the primer and the real color has weathered off.

Here are the images... one in negative helps identify letters.

Also one of truck right before i put it in my garage after towing it 700 miles.

 

Nice - very helpful! Here's what I make of it. 10 BF C8 104

Color 10 appears to be Sunland Beige
Buffalo, NY assembly plant
C8 is March 8, 1950 assembly date
104 is the vehicle down the line

It looks like you have a good solid project there - enjoy!

 

March would be a better fit than September as they started putting shifter on steering column mid way through 1950 (or so i read).

Thanks for the info!

 

Yes, but don't read too much into those mid-year changes. Not every truck had column shift at that point, and it was only for the light-duty 3 speed trans. The 3 spd HD, 4 spd and all the others were still floor shift.

I've heard the same thing about box sides too, but have plenty of evidence to the contrary - the cutoff straggled along until '51 models. Ford tended to have assembly plants use up whatever left over stock was on hand before going to the new parts.

 

mtflat, You're right and as it turns out I have the HD 3 speed... only found that out when changing out gear oil and not having enough and then PMing one of the members (Albuq-F1). The HD was an option and always on floor from what I found. That also could be wrong though! I'm trying to figure out what the HD means for me, if anything.

 

I was also going to question the September date based on the earlier style bed (raised panels). My truck from May,'50 has the later 50-51 bed. Although the changeover varied by plant, it would be my guess that by September most of the plants would have made the changeover. March looks correct to me.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by raised panels on the bed. I'll have to look that up...

 

The side panels of your bed are embossed with a raised center section. I assume this was to provide more rigidity to the panel. Sometime mid-1950 this detail was eliminated and the side panels were made entirely flat. As a result, the rear fenders were also changed to eliminate the notch that was necessary to fit around the raised section.

 

HD means it is synchronized in 2 and 3 but uses a case the same size as the 4 spd. Most were floor shift, but not all. F3 and F5 parcel delivery trucks were column shift, but all others F1-F5 were floor shift. Your trans case should have T87D on the side. I have one in my '48 F1.

Its much more rugged than the Light Duty 3 which was used in 48-50 F1''s. The column shift wasn't included until 1951 according to the shop manual.

 

1 - 1950
2 - 97HC273806
3 - Bed - Raised Panel
4 - Yes
5 - 3 spd LD
6 - Floor
7 - 2CH 13B 4070A

 

Thanks for adding the info - did you need anything explained?

 

No worries, i just wanted to add my information to the database. Thanks

 

1 - 1950
2 - VIN # 98RC-410867 ( Series F1 )
3 - Bed - Raised Panel
4 - Is this the original bed - Not sure
5 - Transmission ?
6 - floor shift
7 - PANR14 F81

My dad just bought this and we are curious about what you guys can tell us by the VIN.
Thanks!
ed jr.

 

Not much by the serial number but the firewall stamping is helpful.
1950 V8 Half-ton, serial number 410867

firewall:
P - I don't know, but Norfolk is the only assembly plant that included this extra letter
A - color Raven Black
NR - Norfolk, VA assembly plant
14F - assembled June 14, 1951 <probably> (Ford used this old serial string until Sept 15, 1951)
81 - vehicle down the line