Ford PU Serial number

D

dirt t

Senior Member
Looking at buying a basket 46 pickup. Title says 41 seller said state listed it wrong.
The number on the title is 1GA602.
I believe the serial number is located on the passanger frame rail just in front of the firewall.
I did not find any numbers on the frame could they be located somplace else?
I would like to buy this truck but nervise about title saying 41 and truck being a 46.
Thanks in advance.
Terry
 
Hi, I found my serial #s on the frame under the front left corner of the cab, not visable with cab on. Russ
 
dirt t said:
Looking at buying a basket 46 pickup. Title says 41 seller said state listed it wrong.
The number on the title is 1GA602.
I believe the serial number is located on the passanger frame rail just in front of the firewall.
I did not find any numbers on the frame could they be located somplace else?
I would like to buy this truck but nervise about title saying 41 and truck being a 46.
Thanks in advance.
Terry
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If it is a 46 it will have 4 springs parallel to the frame, if it is a 41 it will have two cross springs to the frame. The serial number is on the drivers side
 
'41 and '42-7 pickups differ so much that the title tangle should be easy to decide.
A six cylinder '46 would have had the same G series engine as a six cylinder (first year available) 1941. The numbers following the engine designation were just the sequential number, and a '46 # would be MUCH higher than that. It is conceivable that the '41 title could have been from the 602nd 6 cylinder produced, as that was the inaugural year for the engine.
Look farther forward for frame number, too...they can be as far up as the crossmember. Look at toe-board in cab for a slot with punch-out cover near center...I don't know the trucks, but passenger cars of this period had a tab there maybe 3/8" X 2" that could be bent up to allow a view of the serial on the bellhousing.
And, as Jerry said, a quick census of your springs will tell you if the chassis is '41 or '46.
 
1941 was the last year for the torque tube drive in the Comercial models (pick up). In 1942 they went to parallel leaf springs in the back to hold the open drive rear axle and allow for more gross weight advantages. The front parallel leaf springs were also a way to "beef" the comercial models up to haul heavier loads. It definitely did away with the wishbone designs.

The 1941 comercial also still looked like a 1940 model. A far cry from the "jail bar" look of the 1942 front end.

Kerby
 
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The serial number is on the drivers side of the frame in frount of the firewall. Take a wire brush to it and you will find it. Truck could be a 42-47, but you won't know for sure until you find the serial number. Hope you get the truck and get another jailbar back on the road...
 
Most of the "jailbar" pickups I've seen are 42,46, and 47's and very few 45's. I have never seen a 43 or 44 but I am sure some were made for wartime use and farm work.
 
Lenney said:
Most of the "jailbar" pickups I've seen are 42,46, and 47's and very few 45's. I have never seen a 43 or 44 but I am sure some were made for wartime use and farm work.
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I'm going to ask my son for the serial number off of his 45.
Do the two serial numbers stamped further back on the frame hidden by the body have the star and prefix like the front number?
 
Lenney said:
Most of the "jailbar" pickups I've seen are 42,46, and 47's and very few 45's. I have never seen a 43 or 44 but I am sure some were made for wartime use and farm work.
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I see on the list from vanpeltsales that the 42-46 6 cyl.numbers are consecutive but the v8s aren't which would mean all 43-45 were v8s or maybe held over 42s.
 
An interesting twist according to vanpelt my 40 conv.has a 41 serial number.All 40s started out with I85,whereas 41s started with I85 but ended with I86.The car was a barn find with a very old title go figure.
 
The 18 is the prefix denoting 221 engine series, so that is the same on all 221 Fords.
The numbers following the 18 are just a sequential number the change from 18-5 to 18-6 is just the number of 221 engines built climbing. The '32 designated as the first of the line carried the number 18-1.
 
Bruce Lancaster said:
The 18 is the prefix denoting 221 engine series, so that is the same on all 221 Fords.
The numbers following the 18 are just a sequential number the change from 18-5 to 18-6 is just the number of 221 engines built climbing. The '32 designated as the first of the line carried the number 18-1.
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Bruce I understood that 18 denoted the 221 engine,but according to vanpelt all sequential numbers for 40s with the the 221 engine started with 5 whereas 41s started with 5 but ended beginning with 6.
 
That is just from the sequence of numbers growing, not a deliberate change in the prefix or style of the number. All 221's made for 1940 use were numbered from x to y, all 1941's from y+1 to z, etc. so that all 221's are on a list from 18-1 to the end of the line. Any particular number beginning with 5 will fall into a particular year range.
 
Bruce Lancaster said:
That is just from the sequence of numbers growing, not a deliberate change in the prefix or style of the number. All 221's made for 1940 use were numbered from x to y, all 1941's from y+1 to z, etc. so that all 221's are on a list from 18-1 to the end of the line. Any particular number beginning with 5 will fall into a particular year range.
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That last sentence tells it all.Serial numbers starting 5 fall into a particular range which was late 39 to early 41,whereas serial numbers starting with a 6 started with late 41 to all of 42s.
 
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