missing body number plate

B

buzz882

Junior Member
my 37 is missing body number plate. is there a way to find what the number should be? I want to put a new plate on it
 
I don't think the bodies built by Ford had a body number plate, just the subcontracted ones. Check the restoration guidelines from the Early Ford V8 Club (earlyfordv8.org). If you need a body plate make a guess based on the serial number of the car and the total production of your body type.

Charlie Stephens
 
I'm sure the 37 bodies often had a suppliers' ( Briggs, Murray etc ) number stamped on the firewall, but nothing from Ford except maybe the open cars and station wagons.
 
For closed cars Briggs and Murray added a body tag.

Here is my 1937 De Luxe Fordor Body Number.

Can anyone tell me which it is? Briggs or Murray?
 

Attachments

  • DSCF9427.jpg
    DSCF9427.jpg
    51.4 KB · Views: 74
Charlie Stephens said:
I don't think the bodies built by Ford had a body number plate, just the subcontracted ones. Check the restoration guidelines from the Early Ford V8 Club (earlyfordv8.org). If you need a body plate make a guess based on the serial number of the car and the total production of your body type.

Charlie Stephens
Click to expand...

That's correct for '35-'36 Fords as well according to our restoration book by Don Rogers.
 
If the body had a body tag plate on the firewall, it generally would have been located on the right side of the cowl above the battery box. Look for two small holes indicating where the tag was located. No holes or indentations for same would indicate that the body is Ford built, not an out-sourced unit.
Generally speaking, though the years I have found that Ford did not like/let his vendors brand their parts, the exception being Dodge Brothers (DB) on early Model T's. Other manufactures let Briggs, Murray, etc., brand their parts.
 
And...do you see a plate with a bunch of patent numbers on your firewall, held by 2 rivets?
If not, you may just be seeing the holes left by that plate. The plates are available in decent repro, and in 1937 do NOT have any info for a particular car.
 
With respect, I believe that the patent plates were retained with four fasteners (headless drive screws, not rivets).
 
There are just two small holes in the firewall of my '37 where the BODY NUMBER plate should be. Is there any other way for me to determine if the body of my car was made by either Briggs or Murray etc.?
 
TonyM I believe the tag above is Briggs. Here are more 37 body tags
 

Attachments

  • Body tag 37 Ford.jpg
    Body tag 37 Ford.jpg
    69.8 KB · Views: 49
  • Body tag 37 coupe.jpg
    Body tag 37 coupe.jpg
    35.5 KB · Views: 44
Here are three 35 body tags the center one is a Fodor Convertible Sedan body by Murray. The top tag is Briggs
 

Attachments

  • Body tag 35 top Briggs Tudor mid Conv Sedan Murray bottom Station Wagon Murray.jpg
    Body tag 35 top Briggs Tudor mid Conv Sedan Murray bottom Station Wagon Murray.jpg
    48.5 KB · Views: 32
Terry said:
TonyM I believe the tag above is Briggs. Here are more 37 body tags
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Briggs and Murray supplied completed bodies (and body panels for assembly) to Ford MoCo.

Was this at Dearborn?

Where was Briggs located?
Where was Murray located?

Did Briggs and Murray supply bodies to Ford assembly plants around the country or just at Dearborn?
 
There is a third, Budd, They did supply finished bodies to Ford assembly plants (I do not know about panels?? or who supplied panels??) I believe at least two of the three were in the Detroit area. They did supply bodies around to all the Ford assembly plants USA, shipped by rail box car. The bodies were not used at the plants in order that they were received from the supplier. So, for example, a 35 Cabriolet way have a frame number from April production (body drop) but the body may have features dating it to Jan or Feb. There is additional info on the web and also Sorensens books.
 
Terry said:
(I do not know about panels?? or who supplied panels??) .
Click to expand...

Terry Thanks for the help.

The way I understand it ( and someone correct me if I am wrong ) is that Briggs and Murray would supply body panels to be assembled at Ford plants. Briggs and Murray completed / assembled bodies had a body number plate. Briggs or Murray produced Body panel kits ( I think they are called "knock-downs") that were supplied to FoMoCo and were assembled by Ford did not have the body number plate.


I knew about Budd but I thought that Budd Company supplied only open car bodies to Ford. Not sure of the whole story with Budd, but willing to learn.
 
DavidG said:
Actually, Budd was a supplier of truck and commercial vehicle components such as cabs.
Click to expand...

DavidG,

Thanks for the correction about the commercial bodies.
Is it correct that Ford did not make their own open body car bodies?
I think I read it somewhere.

Found this great info on the internet.



http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/f/ford/ford.htm


I am trying to figure out the origins of my 1937 ( I know, an impossible task--but any info is good info ). Wondering if my "Briggs" body number plate means that my 1937 Fordor De Luxe body was manufactured by Briggs in the Dearborn area. And if so, then does that mean the car was manufactured at Dearborn, or was the completed Briggs body shipped to another Ford factory in the US and assembled there? If Briggs did not ship completed bodies to other factories in the US, then I guess one could assume the Briggs body produced in the Dearborn area then would be manufactured into a car at Dearborn rather than at Chicago or somewhere else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top