Location of vin on '32

[Reds34]

Where would the "vin" be located on a '32 big truck? I think it's on the bellhousing? I am selling a long wheelbase and want to find the serial number, but there is a lot of grease to scrape off.

Red

[corvette8n]

Should be on the frame also
http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...ialnumbers.htm

[Krylon32]

On all the 32 passenger cars I've had the VIN was located just in front of the left firewall leg on top of the rail. On the original framed 32 pickup I recently acquired the VIN was inside the left firewall leg on top of the rail. When I had a BB truck the VIN was again located on top of the rail in front of the left firewall leg. The VIN location on the pickup was unusual to me but this was an original framed deuce pickup.

[DavidG]

On '32 commercial vehicles' and big trucks,' frames the engine number or VIN, was only located on the top of the frame near the left leg of the firewall as well as on the bell housing of the transmission. The three locations shown in the illustration in #2 above apply only to passenger car frames.

[Krylon32]

As I stated above the VIN on my 32 pickup is stamped inside the left firewall leg. I'm not disputing David but that's where it is and the frame is original to the truck and to my knowledge the number has not been moved but I could be wrong. Got interesting when I took the truck to the local sheriff's office for inspection of an out of state vehicle. I showed the number to the deputy and he got his flashlight out and looked and looked. I think he finally spotted a couple numbers that matched gave up and signed the inspection form.

[40larry]

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Is there really an engine number? It is not found on the engine. VIN number is for vehicle ID and on transmission case and frame.

[40larry]

Originally Posted by DavidG

On '32 commercial vehicles' and big trucks,' frames the engine number or VIN, was only located on the top of the frame near the left leg of the firewall as well as on the bell housing of the transmission. The three locations shown in the illustration in #2 above apply only to passenger car frames.

How can it be called an engine number when it is not stamped onto engine?

[TJ]

Originally Posted by 40larry

Is there really an engine number? It is not found on the engine. VIN number is for vehicle ID and on transmission case and frame.

I have found that some rebuilders would stamp a number on the engine after the motor was rebuilt. Some used their own numbering system and others used the vehicle ID number.

[DavidG]

It is the sequential number of when the engine/transmission assembly was produced and became the VIN when the car was registered. It was stamped on the transmission case with V8s and on the bell housing of fours. While it is the number of the engine in terms of its production, unlike with the Model A engines, it was not stamped on the engine block itself.


Krylon32,

How does "near the left leg of the firewall" differ materially from "inside the left firewall leg"?

[Krylon32]

On the pickup the VIN is stamped on the top of the left rail on the inside of the left leg behind the usual location. I've never had a VIN in this location on any of the original frames I've had over the years. When I asked the previous owner of the truck he said that was where the VIN was when he bought the truck.

[DavidG]

It is not that uncommon a location for the number in my experience.

[Model51]

Another point of potential confusion is the word "truck". In Ford Motor Company terminology of the 1930's, a pickup is a "commercial" vehicle and is not a "truck" as it's based on a passenger car frame. A "truck" is a different vehicle with a much larger frame, and different running gear. The trucks had the engine-transmission assembly number stamped on only one place on the frame as DavidG mentioned. The commercial pickup has the engine-transmission assembly number stamped in several locations on the frame. Hope this helps clarify things when the word "truck" is used.

[Reds34]

The term "truck" in my instance would be a 157"wheelbase 1 1/2 "big" truck. So does that mean it only has a "vin" stamped on the frame and not on the bellhousing?

Red

[DavidG]

Dave,

The commercial vehicles also normally had the engine number (VIN) stamped in one location, not three, following the instructions issued by Dearborn. No doubt there were some exceptions. One notable exception was the practice of Ford South Africa (a RHD market) where the engine number (VIN) was stamped on the top of the right side frame rail.


Red,
The engine number (VIN) started out being stamped on the bell housing of a four-cylinder engine transmission assembly and only on the installation of that assembly was that number stamped on the chassis frame rail. Same for the V8 engine/transmission assemblies released for vehicle production late in the '32 model year.

[40larry]

[QUOTE=DavidG;2252991]It is the sequential number of when the engine/transmission assembly was produced and became the VIN when the car was registered. It was stamped on the transmission case with V8s and on the bell housing of fours. While it is the number of the engine in terms of its production, unlike with the Model A engines, it was not stamped on the engine block itself.


I don't understand why you keep using the words "engine number". I remember reading that Ford purposely didnt want to use numbers on the engines so that they could have a rebuilding business for dealers and they could not worry about returning the original engines back into the car.

[DavidG]

Well, for the simple reason that it is the number of the production V8 manufactured in sequential order beginning with 18-1 for '32 V8s, allegedly stamped on the bell housing of the transmission of the first production V8 by Henry Ford himself.


It is real simple concept. Why are you unable to understand a sequential number starting with 1 in the case of '32 V8s and 500001 of '32 fours stamped on each engine- transmission assembly at the point of manufacture and then on a chassis frame when installed, unlike everyone else and not something created out of thin air as what you seem to suggest would be the case?

[Model51]

Reds34 - Your initial question is where the vehicle ID number is located on a 1932 big truck. It located on the top frame rail near where the left front side of the cowl meet the frame. A big truck is not classified as a commercial vehicle in Ford's identification system in 1932.
I prefer to refer to the identification number as the engine-transmission assembly number. As the completed engine-transmissions were tested and complete, Ford stamped a number on the transmission bell housing for the flathead V-8's. A daily log exists for these engine numbers so it's possible to know when an engine-transmission assembly was finished. These engines were then used at the Rouge plant or sent to the far flung constellation of Ford assembly plants around the world. The engine-transmission assemblies only stayed in order as they left the engine-transmission line and from there could be installed in vehicles the same day, or perhaps weeks or months later at which time the engine-transmission assembly number was transferred to the frame. A fire destroyed a lot of Ford archival materials and records including vehicle production information for most of the flathead era. For these reasons it's not possible to determine an exact date a particular flathead era vehicle was assembled, only that it had to be after the date the engine-transmission assembly was completed.
As I understand it, Ford did not stamp the ID number on the V8 engine block so that the engine block could be swapped out without potentially causing vehicle registration issues for owner in states where the "engine" number was used for this purpose.
Hope this clarifies things and if not, just ask more questions.

[40larry]

Originally Posted by DavidG

Well, for the simple reason that it is the number of the production V8 manufactured in sequential order beginning with 18-1 for '32 V8s, allegedly stamped on the bell housing of the transmission of the first production V8 by Henry Ford himself.


It is real simple concept. Why are you unable to understand a sequential number starting with 1 in the case of '32 V8s and 500001 of '32 fours stamped on each engine- transmission assembly at the point of manufacture and then on a chassis frame when installed, unlike everyone else and not something created out of thin air as what you seem to suggest would be the case?

When an engine transmission assembly is separated there is no number that stays with the engine. Right? Therefore if one locates an engine alone there is no way to know the VIN number of the car it was first installed in. That is my point. This engine could then go thru a Ford Authorized Remanufacturing process and installed into any vehicle without identification issues.

[DavidG]

If it was your point you sure did not express it well.

[Model51]

40larry - you are correct. There are differences in flathead blocks and some are one year only so at least for those you can know the engine and year align. The 1935 and 1936 babbet bearing blocks are the same and can be interchanged in those two years. That's over 2,000.000 vehicles and one can't tell which of those engines came from any particular car.