When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
OK, I've asked this question before last year and received very little responce. This is not surprising as Ford Australia in it's wisdom (haha), are using a completely different type of model ID and VIN to the US counterparts. So I've taken it upon myself to decipher Aussie VIN plates in the absence of any help from Ford Australia as they have no records of anything imported before 1969.
Having said all that, I need your help.
My specific questions refer to 1961-66 F100, F250 & F350's.
1) What Ford manufacturing plants in the USA and Canada (if any) that made 1961-66 F series trucks. What would the letter codes be for these plants if it was stamped on a corresponding US truck ?.
2) What would the letter codes be for the various motor and gearbox options and Diffs. i.e. I'm aware that 240=A, 300=B etc..
3) On US model VIN's what code is used to identify F100, F250 or F350 models.
4) Are chassic numbers used on US built trucks ?. If so where will this number appear ?.
Any answers to these questions would be real helpful.
Now I'll explain a bit about my theories on the Aussie Vin plates and will use our own 1966 F350 as the guinea pig.
Firstly the "Prefix" as Ford Australia call it has alphabetical and numbers on it and it is in this case AK3JFA. This number appears on the VIN plate which is attached by PK screws to the radiator support panel. It is also stamped on the firewall right about where the brake master would be on a LHD drive vehicle.
My current theory is the plate deciphers like this using what I have learned from similar year Aussie Ford Falcons.
A=1961
K=October
3=model F350 or perhaps F series ?.
J=manufacturing plant in the USA or perhaps Paint ?.
F= ditto above.
A=240.
Alternatively the plate could read.
A=USA.
K=Export model
3=model F350 or perhaps F series ?.
J=manufacturing plant in the USA.
F=Ford
A=Australia
Then there is the serial number which is also on the VIN plate, as well as stamped on the firewall and follows the above set of numbers and letters. The serial number is 20876.
Once again I'm guessing that this was an early production cab, due to the low serial number. Also this truck has round inner guards and step well in the cab. Are there any other body features which changed with the years other than grilles and badge placements ?.
The motor is a 240 with 435 NP. The engine mounts bolt to the front of the motor in a large horseshoe fashion. Gearbox mounts approximately at the bellhousing area. Front axle is an I-Beam but it has "slipper" springs at the front not shackles. Anyone seen anything like this ?, is it normal for a 61-66 F350 ?. The chassic has provision on it to fit a LHD steering box as the chassic is designed for either LHD or RHD. Are the US chassic's like this also ?.
If this serial number (20876) appeared on a US built 1961-66 F series would it be a (ball Park) 1961-62-63-64 model etc. ?. How many F100-F350's were built each year ?. Is this info on this site somewhere or is there a website which has production numbers ?.
I'm guessing that Ford Australia imported F350's as Cab Chassic's with no front clip. Then added the guards, grille and bonnets as the models changed. That way they could use up 1961-62 cabs with 1966 front sheetmetal. Don't laugh Ford Australia is known for being miserly !!.
Alternatively, Ford Australia may have bought old model cabs when the models changed in the US from stepwell to flat cab floor types. But the low serial number does not suggest this. If my VIN theory is correct then our truck is in fact a 61-62 cab with later running gear and sheetmetal all supplied and sold as a '66 model in Australia.
OR I could be completely wrong.........boy I hate using that word "wwwwrong".......lol
As yet I have not been able to sight other 1961-66 F series trucks, here in Australia, to test out my theories or correspond with other Aussies that have one.
I apologise for the long winded nature of this post, but any help would be appreciated.
Some of the online truck catalogs also have VIN # identification break downs with the body style changes listed as well. Remember the catalogs are only reference type information and may not be 100% accurate. I know LMC truck has this info. But the best bet for info will be from Number Dummy. He worked as a ford parts guy for 30 years so he may have a lot more info to give. Try giving him a PM to see what he has for you.
A "front clip" is the sheetmetal forward of the cowl. Therefore, a Cab and Chassis would include everything cab and forward. There were no, what Ford called "back of cab" equipment installed.
Back of cab equipment can be: a pickup or utility box, stake or platform body. Anything Ford made could be added. Many aftermarket body makers like Crown Coach built all matter of "back of cab" bodies.
Speaking of "old" equipment. Ford built a version of the 1963 Falcon in Argentina for 20+ years....long after the body design was changed here in North America in 1964.
And it gets even odder. Kaiser Motors closed its doors in the US early in 1955. The entire production line was transfered to Argentina, where Kaiser built 1955 Manhattan's under the name Caravelle into the 1960's.
In late 1942, Packard at the urging of FDR, gave the Russians their old body stampings, jigs and fixtures. The Russkies built 1942 Packard Custom Eights (with a 6 cylinder OHV engine copied exactly from Chevrolets) into the 1960's, calling the car a ZIL. It was for commissars and other bigwigs. The common folk had to settle for the Moscovitch, a terrible terd of a car, even worse than a Wartburg or Trabant, if that's possible.
btw: in the Russian Dictionary, the word for a heavy truck is...Studebaker! Most of the deuce and a half Studebaker trucks were lend-leased to Russia. Compared to what the Russkies built, the Studebaker truck was comparable to a Rolls-Royce.
Last edited by NumberDummy; 02-22-2007 at 10:58 AM.
Thanks for your replies. Yes we have some oddities here in Australia as well. Ford Australia sold the Side Valve V8 in vehicles up to 1956. OHV was not offered until 1957. Ford passenger cars were roughly 2 years behind US models until the early 60's, when we started production of local assembled Falcon models. F series trucks ran roughly 2 years behind as well until the early 60's. My father had a 1962 F 250 (bought new) which was actually a 1960 with the twin headlights. Then we get into a whole raft of badge engineered models. GM Holden did similar things in roughly the same years.
We have a couple of ZIL's here in Adelaide. EX diplomats cars I beleive. They turn up at cruise nights every now and then. Most people think they are Packards.
The 2000 to present model F series trucks sold in Australia are Agentinian built.
I have a completely original 1966 Ford F350 Dual RHD as it is Australian.
I need some help, if anyone can help me with an interesting feature on the chassis. It seems to have had strengthening plates added to the chassis. They have been hot riveted in place with dome rivets, so i would assume it is a factory addition. Is this correct.
Also near the RH side at the rear of the chassis, they have stenciled in white paint "F350". Was this done in the factory to let the workers know if they need to add these plates in place as it was for a Dually.
Also i am struggling with the VIN plate which i see someone else has brought up years ago.
I am after as much information as possible, as i am trying to restore the vehicle back to its original condition,similar to the day it rolled of the production line.
Some info to be found here, but unfortunately, only has vin decode info for 1961 thru 1964, nothing listed for '65 or '66
And amazingly, all this info is on a US based webpage??
Surely there's some OZ based site(s) that have this info??
As for the plates on your frame rails, I have seen similar (except stitch welded, not riveted) on Slick & Bumpside F-250 Crewcab chassis. Plating started just behind the the radius arm brackets, and ran to just in front of the front spring hanger bracket for the rear diff.
If you go look @ the 1965 Crew Cab sales brochure in this link, and look @ the SPECIFICATION Table on pg 4, for the F-250 with six man cab (ie:Crew), look @ GVW & note for the 7500 #, there is a notation (a), then, under frame, for Section Modulus, note there are two section modulus values listed, but if you look, they do not list two frame dimensions. Finally, at the bottom of the table, there is a note (a), which states "7500# GVW requires optional 4.97 SM frame. So, if they haven't changed the dimensions or thickness of the actual frame, the only other way they could have increased the SM is by plating the frame.
And if the Aussies were hot riveting the "Fish Plates" on, they were doing a nicer job than the Canadian & US Assembly Plants did
There have been several fellows with Bumpside Crews that posted pics of the plates on their frames here on FTE, and I have also seen in person a local guys '68 F-250 Crew that had them......but the sales brochure info pretty much confirms they're factory. So, not that much of a leap to assume if they wanted to increase the GVW on your truck, they would have employed the same method.
Welcome to the forum 'Barrytheridgeback'...
Like 'James Western Canada' shows in Post #2 with detail photo's are 'Fishplates' on his former Crewcab Slick.
Myquestion to you, Barrytheridgeback, is if you can post photo's of the subject areas of your 'aussie' chassis, or betteryet, photo's of the whole chassis of your truck for us forum member to see what is similar and/or different in manufacturing process and details on 'aussie' chassis' and north american chassis' for our trucks.
I, for one, would love to see the 'hot rivet' detail and plating on your aussie chassis and all those details.
Please include any and all photo's available as more is better.
Good luck with your information request - Pete
02-22-2007, 07:27 AM
