Model Identification by serial number?

3

30yr32

Junior Member
I have recently acquired a 1929 oval window business coupe that previously belonged to George DeAngeles and Ed Frances. It came with a 1937 title that called it a sport coupe. I am curious if they converted it to a business coupe. Is there any way to determine what it was born as by serial number? It does have a non adjustable seat frame and a trunk lid.
 
30yr32 said:
I have recently acquired a 1929 oval window business coupe that previously belonged to George DeAngeles and Ed Frances. It came with a 1937 title that called it a sport coupe. I am curious if they converted it to a business coupe. Is there any way to determine what it was born as by serial number? It does have a non adjustable seat frame and a trunk lid.
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No.

Pluck
 
Hello,
By chance is there a number stamped into the top of the front steel body cross member just behind the horizontal wooden floor board? It might tell you what body style the car was born with.
Dave
 
Dave in MD said:
Hello,
By chance is there a number stamped into the top of the front steel body cross member just behind the horizontal wooden floor board? It might tell you what body style the car was born with.
Dave
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David,

That does not even do it...those "codes (letters and numbers)" are telling one just what assembly plant the body was assembled at and the numbers tell us what number of body it was coming dwn the assembly line.

Pluck
 
Those numbers are very much 'serial' numbers not Vehicle Identification Numbers. They are either the next number of the engine as it came off the break in stand, or body produced.
 
Twin Cities built Model A's have a code on the right side of the rear crossmember that could help. My 1928 Phaeton has "P 8" which means this frame is for a Phaeton and gets the 8 leaf spring. My 29 Tudor has "T 0" meaning Tudor with a 10 leaf spring.
 
Steve,
Most of the 1928 coupe bodies used a single letter that seems to be by body style. Special Coupes (and possibly Standard Coupes) used letter D, Sport Coupes used B and the Business Coupes used C. What I don't know is if this was only on the 1928 vehicles or it may have extended into 1929.
Dave
 
Dave in MD said:
Steve,
Most of the 1928 coupe bodies used a single letter that seems to be by body style. Special Coupes (and possibly Standard Coupes) used letter D, Sport Coupes used B and the Business Coupes used C. What I don't know is if this was only on the 1928 vehicles or it may have extended into 1929.
Dave
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David,

Now that is a new one on me! Interesting...

Thanks for the information!

Pluck
 
Dave in MD said:
Steve,
Most of the 1928 coupe bodies used a single letter that seems to be by body style. Special Coupes (and possibly Standard Coupes) used letter D, Sport Coupes used B and the Business Coupes used C. What I don't know is if this was only on the 1928 vehicles or it may have extended into 1929.
Dave
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I know you guys are not really interested in ''foreign'' Model A's but at a recent Model A event here in Canterbury NZ there was an early '28 Business Coupe with body # CO 04206. This is on a Canadian chassis.
Later Business, Sport & Std. Canadian coupes here [ '28 '29's]have the Ford City Ontario letter F, eg. F 559 which is a later'28 business Coupe.
I read of your findings on these BO, CO & DO stamped Coupes a year or so back & it sounded likely to me.
I believe Ford Canada may have used some early US assembled Coupe bodies before getting full Canadian body assembly into production. There are a very few other US assembled bodies I have seen on early & late Canadian cars here.
BTW, the owner of CO 04206 has no knowledge what it means & if I said something, I would be setting myself up as an ''expert''.
Keep up the good work on Ford Production.
 
I have the sad remains of an English built van . It was on the 103 1/2" chassis .The serial number starts with AA so I guess was fitted with the 4 speed transmission .I wondered if this was also the case in USA ,if a pickup was factory fitted with the 4 speed was it serialed AA ??? Just curious .

John in autumnal weather (damp /rain ugh) Suffolk County England .
 
I think you are correct in that some bodies built at the Rouge were sent to Canada for final assembly. They may have been sent to other plants in the U.S. The 1928 Coupes are unique in that most of them (or at least the early ones) have leading zeros before the production number. In fact, the only cars I had equated to the Buffalo, NY plant were 1928 Sport Coupes so the equation of BO for Buffalo is wrong. I think but cannot prove that these 1928 Coupes/bodies with the B,C and D (not BO, CO or DO) letter codes were assembled at the Rouge.
Tudortom would you be able to look at the 1928 Business Coupe to see if the second and third characters look the same? The number on my 1928 Special Coupe is D000313 and the second,third and fourth characters all look the same. This has caused me to think these Coupe cars or at least the bodies all came from the same assembly plant.
Dave
 
Dave in MD said:
Steve,
Most of the 1928 coupe bodies used a single letter that seems to be by body style. Special Coupes (and possibly Standard Coupes) used letter D, Sport Coupes used B and the Business Coupes used C. What I don't know is if this was only on the 1928 vehicles or it may have extended into 1929.
Dave
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FWIW: My A-49 Special coupe has a firewall stamp of 8-3-29 and a cross member stamp, "S7134". There is no letter "D" that I can find to indicate it is a Special Coupe. Would the body style letter, if present, be located on the cross member or someplace else? Thanks for the insight!

Mike in Oregon
 
Dave Mc,
The body style indicator is not what was stamped into the front body cross member. They are what I had called assembly plant numbers and I now think they are production numbers. Most contain the assembly plant code followed by some numbers. For example the Norfolk, VA plant used letter code of NK.

29er
The letters B, C and D have been mainly seen on the 1928 Coupes, but I am not sure if they continued into the 1929 production. The S7134 number would indicate the Somerville, MA assembly plant.
Dave
 
It is possible that when the vehicle was sold and the title reassigned by the State, the person doing the paperwork made a mistake. Several years ago, I purchased a 1930 Roadster and sent in the title to the State. When the title came back several weeks later the body style was listed as a 'roller' not a roadster. I live in Illinois, where anything is possible. George probably never looked at the title, and just put it away...
 
Many cars over the years as they traded hands, bill of sale may have simply stated : Two door, four door, convertible. Factor in the 50 states and there's a bunch of possibilities.
FWIW
Paul in CT
 
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