I D question

HELENT

HELENT

Senior Member
is there any way possible to identify the back history of where my 1946 Ford Coupe would have been manufactured and the history of what Ford dealer would have sold the car?
 
I tried to trace info on my '41 Ford years ago. Evidently Ford wasn't keeping the line records for cars that far back. They were looking for someone to take them over, like
AACA or the like.
 
The only way to trace a car's history is to discover the previous owners, information that no DMV is revealing anymore.
 
I believe the code number stamped at the top of the firewall indicates which plant manufactured the car. Attached is photo of the code number in my '47. I havent decifered the entire number but understand the last "67" means it was manufactured in June '47. The code number obviously doesnt tell what dealer it was shipped to.

Regardless, when you bought your car you should have been given the MV Title from the previous owner. Mine is by State of PA and tells me when the previous owner registered the car, what state it came from (GA) and its state of origin (CA). Did you get a title document ?

Otherwise, have you talked to the previous owner ? What about web sites that claim they can track your VIN number ? (never tried them) Factory Body Code No.jpg
 
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At some point in '46-8 production, not sure when, they put a box for assembly plant code into the little patent data plate...if you have that and if it was used, there will be a 2-letter code for the plant punched into a little box. All other info on the plate is generic and was printed on. My '48 has ED there for its Edgewater build.
 
I checked these numbers and the same number is on the frame rail , drivers side, and on top of transmission. 99-262937. What does this mean? Was car made in Feb. of 46? 2937 production number?
 
That would be the serial number, not the same as described above. If you've read the number correctly, you may have an early '46 with a prewar engine/transmission. According to the Van Pelt charts, that number was part of the 1941 run, however, apparently some engine assemblies occasionally got held back for some reason or other, subsequently being assigned to the following year, in this case that could mean 1946.

A couple of answers here may help clear it up for you:
Check with a mirror and a flashlight on the top of the engine bell housing for a very large cast-in number 59. (59 means post war)

Check also on the top surface of the block intake manifold machined area for what is known as a "raised deck". This is a slightly raised area on the otherwise flat surface, machined for the manifold, beyond which is painted as the rest of the block. Hope I made that clear enough to understand?

Answers to these two questions may indicate that yours is a prewar engine/transmission. If not, then look closer at that serial number!
 
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The 99 in the number means that it is a 239, this code prefix was used 1939-48, but the number you have (which is just a sequential engine number in a continuous series used from '39-48 on all 239's) is way too low for 1946...according to Van Pelt chart '46 range is 99A-650,280 to 99A-1,412,709.
Since your number is on the frame and car is a '46, likely you have an obscured digit...
Look for the stars, number should be *99-######*...if you haven't found the dash and the stars, more digging is needed.
I think the 99 is the total prefix fro '46...Ford added in a year digit for '47-8, as in 799 and 899, but numbers were in same sequence. If prewar mods were used as apparently done on some early '46, this would not affect the serial on frame or trans. Engine would still be in that range no matter what manner of 239 casting was used for the engine block.
 
Probably from an earlier mis-reading? It is simply too low, it is a prewar number on a car built postwar. Not possible. Original title would have been based on factory paperwork, so likely at some time title was misplaced and car was inspected and issued a new one, with a digit missed. If you have a good title, run with it and get registered...but it is not right. It indicates that your car must be a '41, Merc or heavy truck...If you can see the number on frame, dig around and look for the stars and at the area where the 99 and first digit should be separated by a short special dash...somebody has missed something.
 
Regardless of what numbers are stamped into the various parts of your car, they have absolutely nothing to do with where the vehicle was made and/or who the original dealer or owners were..
As it has already been stated here-in, the only way to track ownership of Ford cars is via a paper trail that previous owners may have left with the vehicle when they sold it..
It is easy to track the ownership of my '36 Ford coupe, I've owned it for over 61 years, I'm the second owner.. Several years ago, while the previous owner was still alive I contacted him, asking for a written history of the car, he did not feel up to doing all of that writing, instead he sent me a taped recording of his memories of the car.... Pretty neat..
 
Bruce Lancaster said:
Probably from an earlier mis-reading? It is simply too low, it is a prewar number on a car built postwar. Not possible. Original title would have been based on factory paperwork, so likely at some time title was misplaced and car was inspected and issued a new one, with a digit missed. If you have a good title, run with it and get registered...but it is not right. It indicates that your car must be a '41, Merc or heavy truck...If you can see the number on frame, dig around and look for the stars and at the area where the 99 and first digit should be separated by a short special dash...somebody has missed something.
Click to expand...

In the old car game the above crops up on a regular basis... Case in point;
In the mid 1970's my brother purchased a really nice '37 Ford 4dr.. The car was reputedly an unmolested original.. One slight problem, it had hydraulic brakes.. '39 pedal assembly, '39-41 brakes... My brother was told that the car was a special order car that came equipped with the hydraulic brakes..
I told my brother there was no such car ever made, someone had modified the car... Once my brother makes up his mind, there is no changing it..
Fast forward to 1982... My brother moved to Idaho, the car had to be inspected in Idaho, serial number, etc. Turned out the frame number was correct for a '37, the tile number was correct for a '39, Hmmmm ?
It was obvious that someone had "married" a couple of cars together.. Of course my brother had no idea there was a serial number problem because he like so many other people had never had the need to check the serial numbers..
I have always figured that someone, way back in the past had "dug" an undocumented '37 out of a garage/barn, cleaned the car up, repairing it as needed, added the hydraulic brakes and then sold the car.. It probably went through several owners, with it's history overlooked each time it was sold..
My brother still owns the car...
 
On the back of the block in big casting is 59 on the block on the top under the intake ab 84 does this help
 
59 back there would be normal on all '46-8 V8's. I think the other mark is from some inspection or rebuild, not relevant to original serial number. As pointed out above, finding the right serial number won't actually tell you much...it just denotes 239 engine and its place in the huge numbers built from '39-48. All USA ones were built at the Rouge factory, then dispersed to the many assembly plants for use, so build date of the motor is normally somewhat earlier than the date your car was put together.
 
HELENT said:
On the back of the block in big casting is 59 on the block on the top under the intake ab 84 does this help
Click to expand...

That does indicate an engine of 1945 - 1947 vintage, right in your ballpark. ...So, forget about my earlier idea about an earlier held back engine.

I don't see any other explanation than what has already been put forth: The nuber you are working with is incorrect for your car.

Here's one more idea, though: Look closer at the number on the frame, without comparing to the transmission or title number. That's the only place you can verify the correct number, as the transmission could easily have been replaced, and titles get snarled up all the time anyway. Your frame number is going to be the correct number.
 
My '47 had the entire frame replaced. I bought it in pieces and the body was just sitting on the frame. Very few of these cars have "numbers matching" today. Also, according to the Early Ford V8 resto book, the varoius manufacturing facilities had differing ways of painting the underneath of the body. Some were body color, some red oxide and some were black. Mine was originally black underneath with maroon body color everywhere else. You can tell when you scrape off the undercoating. I decided to go black on black for the restoration. Just enjoy your car and don't worry about all of the dead ends. Record keeping really sucked back then.
 
I had similar misinformation regarding the serial number and what was on the title. I bought my '41 in California. Had it registered in my name using the number on the title. Moved to New Hampshire and had it registered in the same way. Moved to Ohio and they want to physically inspect the number. I wire brushed it and found the number in perfect condition. But.. for all the 15 years I had had it the title number was wrong. Someone way back thought the stars were fours and the dash was a seven. I had to take it to a State Patrol garage. They looked at the number and gave me a letter confirming the number so I could get a correct title. God only knows how long the car was titled with the wrong number.
 
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