Briggs cowl #159

T

Thomas Overbaugh

Junior Member
I have a cowl and gas tank with a Briggs body tag #159 - 6220. What was this car? It is not listed in the new judging book. It is a 30 31 style with a stainless steel cowl band. It was an open car as it has the removable short stations for an open car with a folding windshield.
 
Well crap. Here all the information I have found says a 30-31 Deluxe Phaeton is 180A.

I can't find anything saying what a 159 is.

Where did you find that Greg?
 
Bob C said:
Check out this link page 2 near the bottom http://www.mafca.com/downloads/Technical/Body_Numbers.pdf

Bob
Click to expand...


The chart on your link says 159 is the serial number prefix. So presumably 6220 is the serial number of the OP cowl. However, the chart shows 3,945 Deluxe Phaetons in 1930 and 2,229 in 1931 for a total of 6,174 (granted it says that’s approximate production). Were the bodies not sequentially numbered or is the chart off by at least 46 units?
 
This will be undocumented for now but I am working on it...Ford originally gave the new Sports Phaeton the number designation A159. Briggs missed that memo and started stamping out body plates up to about 6500. These plates also had a nice old ford serifed type font. Ford marketing changed the name of the car to Deluxe Phaeton and also the body style number to 180A...But Briggs never changed the designation number...as I said undocumented...urban legend but I'm working on that answer.
 
According to the Ford Motor Company's Assembly Record Type documents, here is the following break-down of the 180-A Deluxe Phaeton's (Briggs Body Tag #159-xxxx) production numbers:

1930
Domestic (USA):3946
Foreign:257
England:10
Canada:152
TOTAL:4365

1931
Domestic (USA):2229
Foreign:463
England:7
Canada:176
TOTAL:2875

1932
Domestic (USA):1
Foreign:219
England:0
Canada:4
TOTAL:224

Grand Total: 7464

Pluck
 
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