What month did Ford stop making 55's and start making 56's. Could a truck with a 55 grille built in Aug or Sept be 12 volt? I'm trying to figure out if it was converted. Can I tell by the serial #. I don't own it yet. Its a 223 6cyl.

Thanks,
Greg

 

The body style is different between the 55 and 56 Ford trucks. If it has a 55 grille, and the slanted windshield, instead of the wrap-around, then it's a 55. My understanding is the 12 volt changeover came with the model year change, so unless Ford did things differently with the bigger trucks, (ie, your F-600) it's more likely to have been converted. And that certainly wouldn't be unusual.

 

The Next years body styles are usually first made in June.

 

It is a 55 cab. Possibly one of the last ones since it was delivered on 9/30/55. Maybe ford had extra cabs they had to use up on the bigger models and the truck got 12 volts since it was possibly built during the 56 model year. Anyone familiar with fords practices back then?

Thanks,
Greg

 

I know a guy who has a 1956 F700, but it has a slant cab on it. When I questioned him on it he said that they did that with some of the larger trucks back then, that you'd get the 'left overs' on the cab.

So, it's possible I suppose. Course I couldn't verify what he said.

 

I know for a FACT Bigger trucks got usually the Body Styles 1 down from them. or they kept the same Body Styles Longer, Meaning a '67 F-600 will have a '61-'66 Cab.
A '73 F-550 will have a '67-'72 dashboard in it, with Bigger Fenders to accommodate the tires and a different grille.

 

All bets are off on the really big trucks, F-700 and larger. The 600, I wouldn't swear one way or the other, but I suppose it wouldn't surprise me, either way. The 73-79 big trucks have the 67-72 dash in them, and I've seen late 90's model big Fords with the 80-86 dash. Here's a 68 F-800 dump truck, that came factory with the 66 style cab. I've seen these up to 69 with the old style body on it.

68' FORD F800 PICKUP, DUMP BODY | Howell | Kijiji | 704197

For the 55 or 56 thing, the vin will tell the tale.

 

lol so does that mean my '56 was almost a '57 then?

 

So my suspicions sound warrented. So it could have come with 12 volts and still had the old style cab or on the other hand ford had alot of 6 volt parts leftover and used them on 55 style cabs. Interesting. Thanks to all that responded.
Greg

 

No 1967 F600 used the same cab as a 1966.

Only the 1967/69 F800/1000's used the 1961/66 cab, as did 1967/69 N/NT/T500/1000's, and...

1961/66: There were TWO different cabs.

1) 1961/64 F100/1100 / 1961/66 N/NT/T500/1000 / 1965 F100/250 4WD / 1965/66 F350/1100 / 1966 F250 4WD (1967/69: F800/1000 & N/NT/T500/1000).

2) 1965/66 F100/250 2WD / 1966 F100 4WD.

In addition, some 1966 F/N/NT/T500/1000's had a raised roof.

There was no such thing as a F550 back then.

The model changeover usually occured in late July, early August, not in June.

New vehicles historically are introduced in September of the previous year.

There are exceptions: 1965 Mustang (4/1964) / 1969 Econoline (2/1968) / 1969 Mark III (3/1968) / 1970 Maverick (6/1969) / 1983 Ranger (3/1982).

Ford had assembly line difficulties with the new 1957 trucks, which were not introduced until January of 1957.

Ford continued production of 1956 trucks past August to fill the gap until the '57's were introduced (info source: Pickup Trucks by Mike Mueller / MBI Publishing / ISBN 0-7603-1842-5).

There is no parts catalog listing for a 1953/55 windshield used in a 1956 truck, excepting Parcel Delivery's that changed very little from 1951 thru 1975.

 

Bill, What you are saying is that a truck delivered in sept would have been built in the spring? and considered a model of the prior year?

Thanks,
Greg

 

Since new vehicle introduction begins in September of the previous year, new vehicle production begins in August.

This is not correct. This is the opinion of a 15 year old kid with next to no knowledge of how the automobile biz works.

The model changeover begins in late July or early August, not in June.

 

Thanks Numbers for the insight. I don't have much knowledge of the auto biz and I'm still a bit confused. The truck in question has a delivery date on the ID plate of 9/30/55. It is a F600, is 12 volt that looks original and has a 55 cab. It was delivered to the military. Would a military truck have made any difference between time built and time delivered? Could they have built some trucks with 55 cabs and 12 volt electrics after the 56 model year started? or would they have built some trucks in 1955 with 12 volt electrics per order and not delivered them to the military until 9/30/55.

Thanks,
Greg

 

I would think a military truck would have a 24volt starting system, just a thought though I could be wrong

 

There are three possible reasons for the 9/30/55 delivery date:

1) When new vehicles are introduced...unless the dealer is very fortunate, there will be some of last years models still on the lot.

2) Military contracts can take a long time to fill. In what month (or year) was this military contract first tendered? How many trucks were involved?

3) It's possible the contracted trucks were stored on a FoMoCo storage lot. And then...when the last truck was assembled, all of them were delivered on 9/30/1955.

The Gov't specifies how vehicles are to be built under their contract. This is the reason a '55 could have a 12 volt system.

Some of these trucks came with Leece Neville alternators. The first Ford vehicles with standard equipment alternators were 1963 Thunderbird's, with the rest of the models getting one in 1965.

But alternators could be special ordered before 1963.

When one is dealing with the Gov't, who knows what the heck is goiing on? This was the case in the past, it's the case today...and will be the case tomorrow!