The original color was blue, so I guess it was Sheridan blue. It has the small rear window. The truck had a Ford heater, date stamped May 2, 1955, which I removed. As part of the job of closing the hole, I removed the data plate and put it in a safe place, which means I can't find it right now. As best I remember, it did not have an assembly code.

I bought the truck in Birmingham, AL, so it is a straight, solid southern vehicle. The engine and transmission are rebuilt and ready to reinstall when the cowl job is done. It has a complete brake system replacement, and a complete front end rebuild, including an NOS steering column. I have an original radio which I will probably not install. I did not have to replace any fenders or boards.

I have participated in VIN surveys for '35-'36 convertible sedans, '49-'51 cars, and '49-'51 woodies, and it is always interesting to narrow down when design changes occurred.

 

...Welcome V8ER, to Ford Truck Enthusiasts!

We are happy you have chosen the best source for Fords!

Enjoy FTE....and
JOIN CLUB FTE -SUPPORT THE FORUMS!
…..See you on the boards.

 

Sounds like a real nice truck. Ask away about anything on the trucks. I'm amazed at what people on this site know about these trucks.

FYI - My best guess on the firewall stamping is:
B = Sheridan Blue
Paint codes have shown up as numbers and as letters. Seems to depend on what plant built the truck and when it was built. These are some of the thing swe are trying to get figured out. I've seen B = Sheridan Blue on others and never seen it represent a different color.

12 F = June 12 Build date
Seems a bit late for the sequence portion of your Vin # but no telling how and when the Vin #'s were distributed/assigned to the assembly plants.

301 is a daily or weekly sequence # for the plant as best we can tell.

I'm assuming you already know but the VIN # breaks down as follows:

97HC = 1949/50 F1 with a 6-cylinder flthead engine
Ford used a 9 to designate 1949's and 1950's and continued the VIN sequence in 1950 where it left off in 1949. One thing we are attempting to determin is what that cut-off number is and is it different for 6-cyl's and 8-cyl's.
299377 = Vin sequence #
This is consistent with being a 1950.

I have no idea what to make of the stenciling. That is a first for me. I've seen build dates stenciled in and colors stenciled in but never a code like this.

 

1 - Year truck is registered as (or believed to be)
1948
2 - VIN # (The whole thing including the 98RC, 98RD, etc.)
88RY39735
3 - Bed - Raised Panel or flat panel
Not sure? Rusted steel on top of rotted wood, Short Bed.
4 - Is this the original bed
Yes
5 - Transmission
Three Speed Floor Shift (Most likely changed from original column shift since I still have the column shifter in truck.
6 - Column shift or floor shift
Both (teehee!~)
7 - # stamped into the firewall if you have one.
Only thing found in firewall was small aluminum plate on pass side of firewall only thing survived was letters DA stamped into plate. Also, on plate in glovebox, Series 8RC is on it too, but no idea what it means.

 

Just got a '50 pickup in for a complete redo (modernization).

1. 1950
2. 97HC*283574* KC (firewall plaque - no KC on the glovebox door plaque)
3. Raised panel bed
4. Must be original - has the same three layers of paint
5. 4-speed
6. Floor
7. 1CKC27C2-41

Original color was an ivory/off white?

Mike

 

For starters, thank you very much for participating.

Based on the VIN # it is definitely a 48 but as I mentioned to you in another thread, the odd part here is the Y designation which would indicate that this is an F3.

8 = 1948
8R = Flahead V8
Y = F3
39735 = Vin sequence #
It's possible the cab may hve been swapped out at some pint over it's 55+ year history. In fact, according to the Ford shop manual, the cab was considered a replacable part. Reasons for replacing could range from rust to accident damage to something falling on the roof and crushing it. These were work trucks after all. The VIN # should be located in 3 places:

1 - Glovebox VIN Tag
2 - Firewall VIN TAG
3 - VIN # stamped into framerail on the passenger side. This can be hard to find and may require some cleaning of the framerails to find. Look through this post and you will find another member in MN who uses the handle Christopher2. Look in his gallery and he has (or at least had) an picture of the stamping on his frame rail.

Up until sometime in 1950, the beds on our trucks had raised panels stamped into the sides of them. The rear fenders were notched oput to fit around the raised portions of the bed sides. These beds also had rounded stake pockets. The later beds, first introduced in late 1950 had flat sides and the rear fenders were flat were they interfaced with the sides of the beds.

Your truck wpould ahve come with a floor shift arrangement originally. The column shift did not show up in our trucks until sometime late in the 1950 model year. I noticed the dual shifter arrangement in your truck. The column shift is something that somebdy put in at some later date. Perhaps to accomodate a replacement transmission that was a column shift. Hard to say for sure why but the floor shift was original.

The tag you found on the firewall is the firewall VIN tag. The DA that you found would indicate to me that it was built in Dallas. Since you and the truck are Okies, it make sense. The firewall stamping we are looking for is different. On some trucks, there were a series of letters and #'s stamped directly into the firewall. Sometimes in the senter, soemtimes off to one side. sometimes with large characters and soemtimes with rather small characters. The format of these #'s seems to have been dependant upon the particluar assemble plant. We are trying to collecet as many of these as possible in an attempt to decode them. That said, some do not have these stampings. I own a 1950 cab that does not have them and I have seen another 1950 cab that did not. Some of the 1948 cabs had lettering stenciled onto the hood or firewall in paint, and some ahd absolutely nothting. They can be hard to read so look real careful when you get a chance. There is a photo of a firewall stamping earlier in thsi thread and in my gallery.

The 8RC on your glovebox plate would indicate that you have an F1 with a Flathead V8 whihcc is contradicary to the VIN # stamped into that same palte. This is a weird one. Look up a few posts and you will see that another member had a similar type Vin for an F1. Not sure why this was done.

Once again, thank you for providing your information and anything else you can tell us about it would be nice to know as you have an oddball wiht the Y in the VIN #.

Thanks,

Carl G.

 

Mike thanks for supplying your information.

From what we have been able to gleen thus far, yours would appear to be an early 1950. Curious if yours still has the original 6 cylinder or not. Will you be going back with it if it's there or will you be going with something else. good lcuk with the project either way.

Firewall Stamping:
These appear to have been plant specific codes that probvide the date of manufactrue, vehicel color and a series/sequence # for the palnt. Some plants used similar or same formats and soem were quite different. Somtimes they varied within plants. Go figure. I will do my best to break yours down.

1CKC27C2-41

1C = Not real certain. Any chance this C could be a 6 and the originl color may have been chrome yellow. That would jive with what we believe to be correct for the color code and where it is located in these stampings. These characters were not always stamped in very well.

KC = Kansas City

27C = Most likely indicates a build date of March 27, 1950

2-41 = Not certain. The generally accepted belief has been that the last characeters in these #'s are a sequence # for the plant. Either a monthly tabulation or weekly of perhaps an annual one for a specific trruck size or who knows. Problem is, I've not seen one with a hyphen before. Any chance this is a 4 that wasn't stamped very well. Might make more sense to us if that were the case. Could also be that the 2 goes with the C and your build date was March 2, 1950. In that case, I would have no idea what the 27 indicates. I suspect the hyphen is a partial read on a complete digit but you will know better than I do.

Thanks again for the information.

Carl G.

 

Mike,

Thanks for the information. I really do appreciate it. Your truck certainly appears to be a 1950 albeit an early one. Do you still have the original 6 and do you intend to reuse it? Just curious. Good luck with it either way.

The fiewall stampings appear to have been some sort of plant specific coding. Some plants used a similar format and some either used none at all or something different from the next plant. Go figure. They all appaear to provide similar information. I will do my best to break yours down.

1CKC27C2-41

1C = Any chance the C is a 6 and the origianl color was Chrme Yellow? It would jive with what we believe to be true. This is usually the location of waht we believe to be the paint code with this format of firewall stamping and 16 = chrome yellow best we can tell. If it is indeed a 1C, I'm not sure what it would indicate.

KC = KC assembly plant

27C = Build date of March 27, 1950 (Remember, model years didn't start the previous June like they do today) This would appear to be a valid date given your VIN #.

2-41 = Not real certain. The generally held belief has been that these last characters are some sort of plant specfic sequence # but I do not recall ever seeing a hyphen before. Any chance the hyphen is part of a 4. These #'s were not always stamped in very well and can be difficult to make out.

Another possiblilty is that the 2 goes with the C and you have a build date of March 2, 1950. In that case, I don't know what the 27 would indicate. I suspect the hyphen is part of a 4 that may not be legible.

Hope this is of some help or interest. Again. thanks for the information. I really do appreciate it.

Carl G.

 

I have a 1950 F-1

glove box # 98RC481822
Frame rail # on pass. side 281822*
Patent Plate on fire wall *98RC * 481822* SP

Raised bed

Floor shifter

number stamped in firewall MSP 16L4260 457

colter

 

Colter,

Thanks for the information. I noticed in the album that you began to set-up for thius truck that it has a block heater. That would be pretty cool to get prictures of sometime down the road. I can't say that I've ever seen one in one of these trucks.

Looks like they mis-stamped the frame rail on your truck. (281822 vs. 481822).

Your truck would appear to be a pretty late 1950. Couple of extra questions for you?

1 - Whiuch transmission do you have? 4 spd?, Hvy duty 3spd? or light duty 3 spd.?
2 - Does your truck have the larger rear window like the 1951/52's had or does it have the smaller rear window like the 48-50's had?? There is an old urban legend that some of the late 1950 trucks came with large rear windows. We haven't found any yet but yours is a pretty late build so I'm just curious.

Firewall stamping: MSP 16L4260 457

M = Could be Meadow Green or Black (Any idea what color your truck was originally??)
SP = Twin Cities (St. Paul, MN)
16L = November 16, 1950 build date
4260 457 = The last few numbers are usually thought to be some sort of plant specific sequence # but they do not normally have this many digits so I suspect the numbers mean something more, just not sure what.

Again thanks for the information, and hopefully I was able to let you know something aobut the truck you may not have known.

 

Finally found the SN on the frame rail. It was located on the driver's side rail, not the passenger side rail, by the front motor mount. SN is:88RY39735. Matches the one found inside the glove box.

 

Here's the pic I took of the frame rail..

 

Now that sure blows the heck out of Fords own books. You officially have an F1 with an F3 designation according to Fords own literature.

 

Hey Chris, the folks on the assembly line may have been hung over that day.

 

I even went back and pulled up my book dated April 1948 and it shows "Y" as an F3 or 3/4 ton "Heavy Duty"