I am in need of some help. I recently bought a 1942 ford 1/2 ton pickup. But i would like to verify the year; the inspection sticker has 1946 in the "year" box. Can i break down the chassis number on the left front area of the frame rail??? I cannot find any other data plate except for the patent plate under the voltage regulator. Thanks in advance...Josh.

 

Welcome to the boards, you'll find lot's of info here.
The patent plate will be of no use to you in i.d.'ing the year. If you can post the VIN number, or email to me, I can break it down and let you know. Quick things to look for in visual i.d. of '42 and '46: I believe that '42 had chrome die-cast Ford script on the side of the hood. '46 had the Ford script stamped into the side of the hood.

Gary
==============================
46 truck-6cyl now, 302/C4 soon
46 truck-flathead 8, 4spd
47 truck-getting a 429/C6
57 Ford FL 500-4 dr-312/AT
70 Mustang fastback-351W/FMX
72 Olds Vista Cruiser-350/AT
88 Bronco II, 500,000+ mi.

 

Thanks Gary, I sent you a message but i am not sure if you got it.(i'm a rookie!!)
the chassis # is: IGC297966
also the scipt is stamped into the hood; no seperate emblem.
I was told pre-war vehicles didn't have extras like that..untrue??
Thanks again. I believe i will be asking you alot of questions along the way. Joshua.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 12-Mar-02 AT 09:18 PM (EST)]Josh, got the email and replied to it. I'll try to answer as many questions as I can for you. As you can see in my signature at the bottom, I kinda like the '42-'47 Ford trucks.

Gary
==============================
46 truck-6cyl now, 302/C4 soon
46 truck-flathead 8, 4spd
47 truck-getting a 429/C6
57 Ford FL 500-4 dr-312/AT
70 Mustang fastback-351W/FMX
72 Olds Vista Cruiser-350/AT
88 Bronco II, 500,000+ mi.

 

Josh and Gary,
I've got a 71GCXXXXXX '47 1/2 Ton and the 71GC indicates a '47 1/2 Ton with a 6 cylinder flathead. The leading 7 is a little hard to read and indicates the year, but the ID books are very clear that 71GCXXXXXX was a '47 .5 Ton 6 cyl. 799CXXXXXX was the VIN for the 8 cyl. My 71GC had the 6 taken out and a '50's V8 put in. If either one of you guys still have a 6 in your 42-47 I'd be curious where the battery tray was located. It's on the passengers side now with the 8 but some say with the 6 it was on the driver's side. Thanks. Walter

 

Walter, the battery tray for 6 cylinder trucks was on the drivers side. The tray it sits on is mounted to the frame right over the steering box. The 8's had them on the passenger side frame rail, right next to the firewall. Hope this helps you out a little bit.

Gary
==============================
46 truck-6cyl now, 302/C4 soon
46 truck-flathead 8, 4spd
47 truck-getting a 429/C6
57 Ford FL 500-4 dr-312/AT
70 Mustang fastback-351W/FMX
72 Olds Vista Cruiser-350/AT
88 Bronco II, 500,000+ mi.

 

Thanks Gary, that does help. I looked on my 71GC above the steering box and I think I can see how a battery tray was attached there at one time. I'm going to put out a new article asking if anybody in the Midwest, preferrably in Missouri, has a 42-47 car or truck with a "G" series 6 cyl. in it, as we really need to see the engine compartment to see all the necessary changes to go back to 6 cyl. from V8. The radiator is obviously different with one water pump, but not sure about the bolt pattern on the tranny, for example. Walter

 

Walter, if I was in the area I would have liked to have helped you out, but my '46 has an H series 6 in it, and my dad's '46 also has the H series. I also have a '47 that was an 8. The main differences I could see were the radiator is mounted further forward on the frame on a 6, the panel with the latch for the hood isn't as deep, and the splash panel behind the grille in the bottom isn't as deep either. The bellhousing pattern on my 6 is different than the ones on my 8's. Battery is on the driver's side with a 6, passenger with an 8. The radiator has the one top outlet and one bottom outlet, of course the 8's had 2 top, 2 bottom. Gas pedal has different linkage since the linkage on a 6 has to travel towards the passenger side since the carb isn't in the center of the motor. Those are really the only differences I've seen after working on 5 of these trucks. Hope this helps you out some.

Gary
==============================
46 truck-6cyl now, 302/C4 soon
46 truck-flathead 8, 4spd
47 truck-getting a 429/C6
57 Ford FL 500-4 dr-312/AT
70 Mustang fastback-351W/FMX
72 Olds Vista Cruiser-350/AT
88 Bronco II, 500,000+ mi.

 

 

I just started working on restoring these two trucks and i have the vin numbers off the frame but i need to decode them to find out the years
The one trucks vin starts with 99c- and i need to find the year any help would be great

 

I have a bunch of pictures here that might help you out.

 

So I have what was sold to me as a 46 Ford 1/2ton cab and chassis no title. I've located the Vin on the frame rail but haven't found any decoding info that shows a star. My stamped vin is ⭐99C-684715 can anyone tell me what the star is ?

 

The star is a placeholder to ensure the VIN didn't get altered.

 

Hey Gary,
wondered if u might be able to help on a truck my wife and I got to build together. So far I have only found the chassis number and know visually it's a 46-47 1/2 ton but it didn't come with a title so I have to get a bonded one. Curious what year it is and build location original color and if it was originally a V8 truck. Frame number is *99C-638440*

Thanks for any info you or others can give me.

 

Check out the post you made, I replied to that one before I saw this one.