need your help
 

Greetings! I want to ask for your advice. My '39 Ford was registered many years ago, in Soviet Union time. Registration docs were changed and replaced over the years, and now registration papers don't bear any numbers that can be used to identify my car. They just state "Ford V8 1939, black"
I would like to put frame number in registration docs. The problem is that police experts can verify that the frame number is original and hasn't been altered. But they cannot certify what car model matches that number. They asked me to provide them with an official letter from Ford that would state that my number was issued to a 1939 Ford V8. Can you give me your thought on where I should address such request?
P.S. Our Russian Ford is ignoring my requests. Did you know that Ford has stopped selling passenger cars in Russia? Only commercial vehicles now...

Re: need your help
 

If "Ford V8 1939, black" is already on the papers ask them to include the vehicle serial number as it is on your frame.
In the USA that is usually all the information that appears on papers. Many vehicles are NOT identified as to exact body style.
I am not aware of information that could identify the body style from the vehicle serial number.
Do look at your vehicle firewall on the engine side to to see if there is a body number tag, high on the drivers side. If so that tag can contain additional information. It is unlikely there is a tag.

Re: need your help
 

Try this site....http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...sID_3speed.htm. If you look in the tool bar he list the ser# and corresponding years/range. Maybe it will work even though it's not an "Official" Ford document??

Re: need your help
 

The people holding the official old ford drawings/records may be as close you come to "official" ford that actually knows what you want and will deal with it...
I can get an official chamber of commerce certificate that a car is original with a correct chassi nr...that´s what we need here in sweden to get them in the register as collectors cars...not sure how good that would be at your end though...

Re: need your help
 

If the chassis number is in this range:
18-4,661,001 to 18-5,210,700 (From Mac Van Pelts site)

Then your car is a Ford 85HP V8 and the numbers fall in the 1939 range.

The only thing not stated is the colour.

Best check that the numbers are visible and make sense, before attracting attention to them.

Actually the numbers above are for USA built models. What is the origin of your particular car? Where was it built?

Mart.

Re: need your help
 

Moonraker, you might get some info here:https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/index.cfm
Good luck ! mike

Re: need your help
 

I spoke to the Benson Ford Research Center, and they may be the best source of help.

They recommended that you send an email to them requesting a letter that would confirm that your ID number is consistent with a 1939 Ford. I explained that you would not be asking them to confirm anything other than that the number was a 1939 number ... nothing else.

The Benson Ford Research Center in Dearborn, MI, sounds pretty official and may do the trick.

I personally would send a suggested reply that cleverly included the word "black" ... such as, "Our records indicate that your black 1939 Ford V8 with identification number, xxxxxxxxxx, was produced by Ford approximately during the month of xxxx, 1939." Or something that did not directly specify is was black originally.

The lady I spoke with was very helpful and careful to explain that there is a limit what they could do. I assured her we were trying to preserve an old Ford.

[email protected]

Re: need your help
 

Hoop's suggestion is the way to go. I would add that you should request that they also include a statement to the effect that: "The Benson Ford Research Center at the Henry Ford is Ford Motor Company's official archives for its production records for the period in question" or words to that effect.

Re: need your help
 

Thank you all for your ideas! I plan to follow Hoop's advice and contact The Benson Ford Research Center. Hope that'll work. I keep you posted.

Re: need your help
 

Moonraker, just out of interest, what can you tell us of the history of your car, and how it came to be in the former Soviet Union. I'd be guessing but they must be pretty rare over there, or are there others that you know about?

Mart.

Re: need your help
 

Yes, classic cars here are rare in general. Personally I know only two other Ford V8s - one is 1938 Standard ForDor, another is 1937 delivery truck that was converted into a prison transport. Sometimes I see classified ads for such cars but most of them in a sad shape, long since fitted with an engine and drivetrain from some Soviet car, non-original interior etc. The majority of them were brought to Soviet Union during WWII. In the beginning they drove big wigs. As they became older and started to brake down, they changed ownership to poorer owners or served more mundane purposes. I bought my car by chance. I'm restomodding '68 Fastback. A friend of mine knew about my hobby and told me that someone was selling '39 Ford V8 as an unfinished project. That time I really knew nothing about it. I looked at photos and fell in love with those teardrop headlights :). I couldn't get any info about car history from the previous owner because he was permanently drunk. The car was in a sad shape with non-original engine, drivetrain and interior. Many trim pieces were missing, the body was badly repaired many times, rotten trunk floor behind the gas tank etc. PO bought a donor car in US that was complete. Soon after he decided to sell the project. I disassembled the car completely, it spent about a year in a body shop, the rest was done by myself in my garage. Luckily most parts can be bought in US, it is just a matter of time. Two biggest obstacles I faced were to find an original and working clock for the glove box door and to re-chrome windshield frame. I had to smuggle it into a Navy shipyard in St. Petersburg because all other places either didn't want to take it or wanted to charge arm and leg for the job. Now I enjoy driving it in the summer and going to occasional car shows in Russia. Twice I drove to Minsk, Bularus - about 1000 miles round trip. It always brings smiles from people around. Love it!

Re: need your help
 

Pics please!

The old Ford diaspora never ceases to amaze me.

Re: need your help
 

I don't have many photos but here's some. I still need to take a photo in front of the Kremlin :)

Re: need your help
 

Very nice looking car! I will have to say, however, that's about the longest license number I have ever seen.:eek:

Re: need your help
 

That is a right nice '39 Fordor.
How was the steering wheel covered and what material did you use?

Re: need your help
 

Thanks!
The steering wheel was covered with some Japanese synthetic leather (if you want I can check with the upholstery shop). It feels like a real leather but very durable. For example, no damage done by a lit cigarette! Here it cost me about $100 including materials and it was done in my garage. I guess in the US it would be more expensive.

Re: need your help
 

Hi moonraker, thanks for the backstory. I always wondered when you would post with the snowy avatar, how, what, where, why. The pictures are stellar.

Best of luck with your documents.

Re: need your help
 

Love the car & pics !! Thanks moonraker. mike

Re: need your help
 

That's about as pretty a '39 as I've ever seen. Lucky guy!
What's with the extra long license plate numbers that don't match each other?

Re: need your help
 

Thank you, guys, I appreciate it very much! I took me 7 years to restore it to the current state.
As for plates, the standard in Russia is x000xx00 where x is a letter that's common for both Cyrillic and Latin alphabet (e.g. W or Q is not allowed), last two digits - region code. Now some regions ran out of possible combinations and have three digits in a region code. For example, the original code for Moscow is 77, now the police is issuing plates with 177 and 777 codes. Unfortunately for us, we cannot have custom plates. they are assigned randomly.
The long word in the photo of the car rear is not a plate. I took part in some local car show and the organizer required that you put a sticker with their name on you license plate.