I know this might seam silly to all of you, but please be patient with me and my lack of knowledge. I am wondering if Ford has a department that you can contact and give them vin numbers and if they have fact records on that particular truck?

 

There is a vin decoder above on the Articles/Specs. Don,t know if Ford has a department or not.

 

negative, ford of canada has vin decode on trucks built up there, but the U.S does not. Your best bet is to decode the vin from a shop manual or parts book. There are marti reports, but they do not start until 1967.

 

No, they didn't keep indepth records back then. There might be some contracts with special orders on them, but they are burried.

On the Ford web site they have an option to write for historical info and if you are lucky enough to get an answer, they will usually refer you here.

If you post the Serial Number here we can decode it for you. And with a few pictures probably tell you more about your truck than anyone at Ford ever could!

 

I tried the Ford of Canada route looking for info on my Merc. I gave them every code and number I could find on all my tags. The only thing they could tell me was what is published in manuals and VIN decoders. Basically what I already knew. I was a bit disappointed.

 

I don't know about the accuracy of this claim, but I've read in several places that there was a fire eons ago in one of Ford's warehouses and most of the build and serial number records went up in smoke.

 

I heard that too - 1972? I think.

 

I've always heard the big fire at Ford was in '67 - which squares with the above.

The serial numbers don't tell you much. As they said, we can tell you more than you'll find anywhere else.

 

Yea I kinda figured I was shootin in the dark. Just not knowing for sure about the bed that was originally on my truck is bugging me. But that aside I have had good progress this last week. I got her running good. got the door hardware on so I could shut the doors. I got the gas tank cleaned out now just need to weld it back together and I got the brakes bleed and working. So all in all I am happy. And this week am already working on electrical for lights and tail lights. Am hoping to get to take a 20 mile trip with her this weekend. But the starter is already acting up, so might have to rebuild it.

 

You realize of course that the truck may have come out of the factory without any bed at all??!!??

They were produced such that if you had a special need or back portion (like a Coke truck or a milk truck) you could buy it with just a cab, etc.

Here's a drawing of what I'm talking about:




Edit note: a 20 mile trip for a maiden voyage? Take your cell phone, make sure it's charged and take you AAA card with your. I'd be tempted to taka few 5 mile-er trips first!

 

In 1989 FoMoCo was planning to THROW all the records that pertained to 1967/79 FoMoCo vehicles into the TRASH.

Kevin Marti, a Mustang "nut" from Phoenix AZ found out about Ford's plan and got ALL of it.

If you contact Ford for build sheet info for 1967/79's, Ford will supply it...for free...but it takes weeks, because Ford has to get the info from Marti (martiauto.com).

Marti can supply far more than build sheet info, but there is a fee for these services. This is known in the hobby as a Marti Report.

There is nothing available from FoMoCo prior to 1967, you wanna know why?

Because the same things occured...that would have occured in 1989.

It had nothing to do with any fire. FoMoCo THREW their meticulous in depth records into the TRASH. I kid you not.

When Henry was running the show, FoMoCo saved everything. But after he was forced to step aside in 1945, the "Whiz Kids" that 'The Deuce' hired, changed all of FoMoCo's procedures, all of which were antiquated and out of date.

The reason why there are production figures available, is because R. L. Polk & Co. kept track of these records for the entire auto industry beginning in the 1920's.

mtflat: I don't recall any fire in 1967, what I do recall is...1967 was the year of the UAW strike against FoMoCo that lasted 10 weeks, cost Ford over a billion dollars in lost sales.

Since the Teamsters backed up the UAW, not one part was delivered to the dealers. We had to strip parts off new cars to fix others under warranty. It was a FIASCO!

 

Yes Julie I do plan to go into town a few times first and on the day of the trip my wife will be following me in one of my other trucks just in case. I also have a mechanic friend who will be on call for me in case it goes really south on me. But I am starting to wonder if I will actually have her ready anyways due to heavy work load this week.

 

Bill, thanks for shedding light on what happened in 1967. You know how the grapevine goes............ I appreciate you for setting the record straight.

rodeojunky - only drive as far as you want to walk back - lol

 

This might explain some of the stories of a fire at Ford. Whether or not any records were consumed, I'm not sure, but it surely was a tragic event.

detnews.com | Michigan History

http://automotivemileposts.com/autob...rdrotunda.html

 

lol. Actually the engine is fully rebuilt with only about one mile on it. But the starter is giving me fits. Does anyone know where I can get a rebuild kit for it? Its for a 52 or 53 v-8 flat head. LMC do not offer one.