Noticeable differences between a 1928 - 1929 Fordor Briggs sedan

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billybronco1

Well-known member
Are there any things that stand out different between a 1928 & 1929 Fordor Briggs sedan - I'm not sure if my car is made from pieces of each and who knows what else. Vin on engine is 1928 I do not know what is on the chassis. Did Briggs mount a vin on the firewall of there body's? Is there any way to see the chassis vin without removing the body? What sudel difference could I look for to determine if it one or the other - thanks
 
Briggs put their body tag on the inside in front of the seat. Many times it is missing because it was nailed to the wooden cross piece. There is no way to see the chassis vin with out removing the body.
 
The 60-A in 1928 had a brown ro of and the 1929 60-B had a black roof. I know the end of 60-A and the beginning of the 60-B did not exactly corrospond with the change of the year. Rod
 
I would not unscrew another bolt till I had it titled in my name. I don't know how Mass. is , but some states are notoriously difficult. I'm assuming that you don't have a title for the car? Is that right? Get it titled ASAP!
Terry
 
Yes, I have a copy of the title it calls the car 1929 but the engine vin (A43033) is found in the chart as March 1928. I know the engine could be a replacement but wondered if there where any other things to look for that would confirm the rest of the car was a 1928 or 1929 other than pulling the body to see the chassis vin
 
The brake system and clutch, if they weren't changed are good indicators. Split brake shaft until November 1928 and multiplate clutch until November 1928. Also the A used a solid front motor mount until November 1928.
 
The early 1928's had a cowl vent door on one side, the only differance that I know of other than top material. Bob
 
Not specific to Briggs Fabric fordors, but having either a red or black steering wheel, single bulb or Twolight headlamps, body mounted or fender mounted tailamp bracket & whether the front engine mount is bolted to crossmember or to a spring yoke, all can point to the car being made in 1928 or '29. These are some obvious differences & many earlier features got changed to later ones if bits wore out or were damaged.
 
My 60B is stamped on the firewall with the build date (Feb13, '29). I also have a 60A body for parts and it's stamped Dec, '28 (Can't recall the exact date). The only body differences seem to be the top color, brown for the '28 and black for the '29. But one is late '28 and one is early '29. Is the build date stamping only done on Canadian cars?
 
billybronco1 said:
Yes, I have a copy of the title it calls the car 1929 but the engine vin (A43033) is found in the chart as March 1928. I know the engine could be a replacement but wondered if there where any other things to look for that would confirm the rest of the car was a 1928 or 1929 other than pulling the body to see the chassis vin
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It was fairly common practice "back in the day" to date the title as the year the car was sold rather than the year it was manufactured - so a 28 might be titled as a 29. Although in this case, that would have meant the car wasn't sold for at least 9 months - seems like a long time for it to sit around. I'm guessing the engine was replaced.
 
JC60B said:
My 60B is stamped on the firewall with the build date (Feb13, '29). I also have a 60A body for parts and it's stamped Dec, '28 (Can't recall the exact date). The only body differences seem to be the top color, brown for the '28 and black for the '29. But one is late '28 and one is early '29. Is the build date stamping only done on Canadian cars?
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Gas tanks were dated from early 28 until late 29. No one is sure, but it's thought to be the date that the tank was built and tested, rather than the date the car was assembled.

My 2-23-29 Tudor has drum taillamp but has the new 2 tooth steering box, which was just introduced in February 1929.
 
The number on the chassis will only confirm the approximate date the engine was installed in that chassis (generally a within a couple weeks for a Dearborn car to a couple months for one made at one of the assembly plants). Since there are no records you can't tell if the body that is attached to it now is the one it was born with.
 
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