help me understand Ford part numbers

[Andy69]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

Andy, before a suffix B is designated, there would be no suffix A. Continued production of both parts are identified thereafter with A and B, or whichever later suffix survives.

Oh Ok, so when there is just one part, there is no suffix, then if a second is added, the existing part becomes A and the new part becomes B. Then if A is discontinued, the B stays B, so there just is no A variation.

[ford38v8]

Why didn't I describe it like that?

[ford38v8]

Andy, beyond that, there may have been multiple designs, B;C;D; never released for production, then an E that may or may not have been released. In those cases also, subsequent production of the original part would have the A suffix.

[Cob]

Originally Posted by Andy69

I'm not here to deceive anyone. I have a bunch of Ford parts, which I intend to sell. That's why I bought them, because I make extra money to fund my car hobbies by buying and selling things, and I got a great deal on a huge lot of parts.

I don't know old Ford parts like I know 60s-70s Chevrolet parts. I figured perhaps you folks would be willing to help a guy out. We all have creative ways of funding our addiction, so I figured I'd be in like company. If that's not the case that's fine. I'm more than happy to figure out another way to smooth over the bumps in the road.

Helping out goes both ways - guys here are helping you so why not post your parts for sale in the Ford Barn classifieds for a while WHICH IS FREE BTW before paying money posting on Ebay ?

Helping each other out - truly helps each other out.
Seems using the guys here to help you clarify part numbers only for you to post them on Ebay so the guys who helped you can bid against the world is pretty one sided to me.

You were hoping these guys would help you out, well what are you going to do to help Ford Barn members out if you have a part they need ?

[Lanny]

Andy69, Cobs offer to you is a win-win for you and the Ford Barn members, as you
get the members help, identifying your parts, and then offer them up for sale Here,
in the Swap Meet section, (FREE) to help the members here who need your parts.

You must list a price for each part in your ad here, so price them very reasonable,
and after listing your price, say "Or Best Offer", and hopefully, you will sell some
parts here to members that need them......


You can still list your parts on Ebay, but at least give the members here, that
are helping you, a shot at them here, for a reasonable price.







.

[ford38v8]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Cob & Lanny, Andy's questions serve to educate us all with the answers received. As he hasn't responded to your well taken point, don't beg the man, we don't need his parts that bad.

[Andy69]

Originally Posted by Cob

Helping out goes both ways - guys here are helping you so why not post your parts for sale in the Ford Barn classifieds for a while WHICH IS FREE BTW before paying money posting on Ebay ?

Helping each other out - truly helps each other out.
Seems using the guys here to help you clarify part numbers only for you to post them on Ebay so the guys who helped you can bid against the world is pretty one sided to me.

You were hoping these guys would help you out, well what are you going to do to help Ford Barn members out if you have a part they need ?

I see your point. It's always a fine line. I have a small request, though. Can this side topic be moved to its own thread in a more appropriate forum? It seems like a discussion on part numbers would be useful to many people and it would be a shame for thread drift to ruin it.

No one is bidding against anyone, though. The majority of my listings are buy it now with best offer (some are auction style, but only because having a small number of auctions gives all my listings a boost in the search rankings). And I'll take just about any offer that's reasonable, so it's pretty much name your own price already.

I get help from other sources for other parts in a similar fashion, and I always have parts listed in the classifieds for a lot less than what they are on Ebay, because I save the Ebay fees etc., and also to help out forum members (because I've been a long time member of a few of them and gotten lots of help in the past). But that has tended to be items for which I have many of the same thing. The problem here is, which ones do I put in the ads? I've literally got thousands of different parts, and if I list them all individually, it would take forever and amount to little more than spamming the classified forum. No one wants that. I can pick a few here and there, and maybe I'll randomly pick one that someone needs, or maybe the part someone needs is still sitting in a bin.

I dunno, if I listed a single part in an ad then put a link to the Ford page, would that be better?

[Mike B]

I think it's unfair to ask the man to offer the parts here first, I say that because many members here ...who we know are in the resell business....always ask "what is this"...many chime in and ID the part in question, and not once have I heard of the backlash I have seen in this thread.

I have to ask...(because it was said) what is reasonable?

Does that mean a 300 dollar part should be sold here for 150, just because?

Or does one need 500+ posts to get info to resell parts without scrutiny?

Get Top Dollar Andy, or after you give a guy a deal, he'll get it.

[Andy69]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

Andy, beyond that, there may have been multiple designs, B;C;D; never released for production, then an E that may or may not have been released. In those cases also, subsequent production of the original part would have the A suffix.

The A1 A2 B1 B2 etc threw me for a bit, too.

I figured out that must be a minor difference, like a cosmetic change, that didn't effect the applications of the part.

[Andy69]

Originally Posted by Mike B

I think it's unfair to ask the man to offer the parts here first, I say that because many members here ...who we know are in the resell business....always ask "what is this"...many chime in and ID the part in question, and not once have I heard of the backlash I have seen in this thread.

I have to ask...(because it was said) what is reasonable?

Does that mean a 300 dollar part should be sold here for 150, just because?

Or does one need 500+ posts to get info to resell parts without scrutiny?

Get Top Dollar Andy, or after you give a guy a deal, he'll get it.

Thanks Mike.

[Andy69]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

As he hasn't responded to your well taken point.

Post 27 should cover it.

[1952henry]

Originally Posted by Mike B

I think it's unfair to ask the man to offer the parts here first, I say that because many members here ...who we know are in the resell business....always ask "what is this"...many chime in and ID the part in question, and not once have I heard of the backlash I have seen in this thread.

I have to ask...(because it was said) what is reasonable?

Does that mean a 300 dollar part should be sold here for 150, just because?

Or does one need 500+ posts to get info to resell parts without scrutiny?

Get Top Dollar Andy, or after you give a guy a deal, he'll get it.

I wondered about this as well, Mike. Poor fellow doesn't even have a chance to respond to cob's offer before someone is jumping him about not taking it.

[DavidG]

Andy,

No, the number such as 1, 2, or 3 following the letter in the suffix stands for a different suppliers. Ford often used supplier-designed parts or the manufacturing capabilities of different suppliers differed so that minor variations were permitted that did not significantly alter the appearance or change its functionality.

In some cases of strictly functional parts such as a ignition coil, appearance differences did not matter and in those instances the exterior appearance of one supplier's part could differ substantially from another's part. Of the four different ignition coils released for the '32 V-8, the last three had suffixes of A1, A2, and A3. All three are shown below (ignore the Model B coil on the left in the photo of three coils). The A1 suffix coil is known as the tall coil for obvious reasons. The A2 suffix coil has the cadmium-plated brass band running around the circumference and was used mid-model-year on a limited basis. The A3 suffix coil is the typical late '32 through early '36 dome coil (but it was only used on a limited basis late in the '32 model year). The A1 version was the only one of the three that was used throughout the model year.

(The first of the four is not shown as it was recalled very early in the '32 model year along with the distributor it was attached to.)

[Rowdy]

Here is a link that may help some. http://www.fordpartswiki.com/query
I have not used it yet, but have found the GM version of this this to be helpful. There used to be a web page with a pretty complete breakdown of reading the part numbers, but it has vanished in the last year or so. I have it on hard copy and use it often.

As far as selling it here first, that is what I always try to do, but after a while I load it on e-bay and let it run until its gone. Hoping to have most of my stuff sold by the end of next year if not sooner. That should cover most of my daughters med bills that are in collections and maybe I can get back to my projects. Good Luck. Rod

[Andy69]

Originally Posted by DavidG

Andy,

No, the number such as 1, 2, or 3 following the letter in the suffix stands for a different suppliers. Ford often used supplier-designed parts or the manufacturing capabilities of different suppliers differed so that minor variations were permitted that did not significantly alter the appearance or change its functionality.

In some cases of strictly functional parts such as a ignition coil, appearance differences did not matter and in those instances the exterior appearance of one supplier's part could differ substantially from another's part. Of the four different ignition coils released for the '32 V-8 the last three had suffixes of A1, A2, and A3. All three are shown below (ignore the Model B coil on the left in the photo of three coils). (The first of the four is not shown as it was recalled very early in the '32 model year along with the distributor it was attached to.)

Thanks for clarifying that.

Would all those minor variations be considered "correct" for the purposes of a 100 point restoration?

[DavidG]

Only if generally consistent with rest of the vehicle in terms of where its production falls within the model year (early, mid-year, or late).

[Andy69]

Originally Posted by Rowdy

Here is a link that may help some. http://www.fordpartswiki.com/query
I have not used it yet, but have found the GM version of this this to be helpful. There used to be a web page with a pretty complete breakdown of reading the part numbers, but it has vanished in the last year or so. I have it on hard copy and use it often.

As far as selling it here first, that is what I always try to do, but after a while I load it on e-bay and let it run until its gone. Hoping to have most of my stuff sold by the end of next year if not sooner. That should cover most of my daughters med bills that are in collections and maybe I can get back to my projects. Good Luck. Rod

Hi Rod. I've been using Ford Parts Wiki. It's a great resource, but incomplete. There are a lot of part numbers that come up with no results. I've had limited success by searching for the main number and suffix, and then interpolating the application with the prefix decode. That's incomplete, though.

Hope your daughter is doing well. My little girl is my baby.

[Rowdy]

I can mail you a copy of the 10 pages that used to be online, but it sounds like you already understand the part about the suffixes ( B8A being 58 Ford Galaxie, etc.) so I doubt it will do you much good.

My daughter is doing well after nearly loosing here afew years ago. Still have alot of doc appointments and was in Omaha last month for some more tests to try to find the cause and possible solution for the lingering chronic headaches. Its been a long road with her. Rod

[Andy69]

She looks tough as nails. Glad to hear she's hopefully through the worst of it.

Thank you for the offer. I've got some pages myself that I found in one of the boxes of parts. They are probably 15 years old but pretty complete with respect to decoding the prefix.

[Derek Kiefer]

I know Andy personally, and I referred him here with these questions.

I don't have a lot of posts here, but I've been a member for almost 2 years and read the forum frequently. I'm a Model T guy with a '25 Touring and a '26 closed-cab TT, and also have a V8-60 Midget.

Andy is good people, and I'm sure he'd like to have an early Ford if he could fit one in his tiny garage.